Accessible Font: A Brief 
Introduction 
Accessibility Video Tutorials 

Katie Allen 
Center on Victimization and Safety 
Vera Institute of Justice 

November 25, 2019 

This project was supported by Grant No. 2016-TA-AX-K068 awarded by the Office on Violence Against 
Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations 
expressed in this program are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the 
Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women. 


What we will cover in this video 

In this video, we will discuss & demonstrate: 

What are font style, font size, and line spacing? 
Why do font style, font size, line spacing, and other font 
elements matter for survivors with disabilities? 
What are some examples of accessible fonts and inaccessible 
fonts? How can we use accessible fonts? 
What are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for font style 
and size? 


Vera Institute of Justice Center on Victimization and Safety logo

Accessible Font Elements 

Font Style: 

•Sans-serif 
•Strategic use of bolds & italics 
Font Size: 

•at least 14 point for print and 
electronic materials 
•at least 20 point for web-
based presentations 
•at least 28 point for in-person 
presentations 
Font & Line 
Spacing: 

•adequate and 
variable spacing 
between each 
letter 
•between 1.25 to 
double spacing 
between lines of 
text 

Accessible Fonts 

Some of the most universally accessible fonts: 

• are sans-serif fonts (no dashes); 
• with adequate & variable spacing between each letter; 
• with letters that look different from each other. 


Some accessible fonts include: Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, and 
Century Gothic. 

• Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, Verdana, and Century Gothic are all sans-serif. 
• Arial is variable-spaced font, where each letter takes up proportional space. 
• In Verdana and Tahoma: the 1 and I and l all are different characters. 



Less Accessible Fonts 

• Serif Fonts, like: Times 
New Roman, Cambria, and 
Georgia. A serif is a line or 
dash at the end of each 
letter in a font. 
• Cursive Fonts (Cursive Fonts) 
• Excessively Bold 
fonts 


• Type-writer fonts 
• Script fonts 
• Overly Decorative Fonts 
• All Capital letter fonts 
• Condensed Fonts 
• Monospaced Fonts 



Examples of Line Spacing 

Single-Spaced: 

Read between the lines 
Read between the lines 

1.25 Spacing: 
Read between the lines 
Read between the lines 

1.5 Spacing: 
Read between the lines 
Read between the lines 

Double-Spaced: 

Read between the lines 
Read between the lines 


Other font-related access elements 

• Left Justification, which aligns text on the left to help 
readers find the beginning of each line 
• White space, like margins, helps separate pieces of 
content, which improves the visual layout 
• Complete words on each line (avoid hyphenating 
words between lines) 
• High color contrast for text and images (watch our 
video, Color Contrast: A Brief Introduction) 
• Multiple formats like PDF, Plain Text (txt), and large 
print for survivors who request them 



Customization is Key 

Ask Survivors what they need! 

• There are many individual needs when it comes to 
font style, size, spacing, and paper type (for printed 
documents). 
• For example, bold and large fonts may be accessible 
to some survivors with low vision. 
• For some survivors with Dyslexia, fonts with larger 
spacing between letters can be more accessible. 
• It is important to have multiple formats, like large 
print, and to ask survivors what they need. 



How can I make fonts accessible? 
Changing Font Style, Size, and Spacing 


Changing Font Style, Size, & Spacing 

• This is a line of text in 20 point, Verdana font. 
• This is a line of text in 22 point, Century Gothic font. 
• This line spacing is 1.25. 


Accessibility Guidelines for Font 
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAGs) 


Web Content Accessibility 
Guidelines (WCAG) 

The WCAGs provide accessibility criteria for websites. 

• Font Style: Generally, use sans-serif fonts that are widely 
available on many systems 
• Font Size: Font should be re-sizeable without assistive 
technology on websites. 
• Font Spacing should be at least 1.5 spacing within paragraphs. 
Other font accessibility criteria: 
• Use actual text, not text inside of images or graphics. 
• Avoid text that blinks or moves. 



Avoiding Images of Text 

• We can communicate the 
words in this image of an 
inspirational quote using 
just text. 

• The font is inaccessible 
and is obscured by the 
image. 
• The color contrast is low. 
• Some of the text is too 


small. 

Woman standing facing a sunset with the quote, The more you know yourself, the more you forgive yourself. - Confucius

To Recap: Font Accessibility 

Accessible Fonts are important for survivors with a variety of disabilities, 
for a variety of reasons. Some fonts are visually inaccessible, and others 
pose issues with reading and comprehension. 

•In print and electronic documents, 
fonts should be: 
• sans-serif; 
• at least 14 point in size; 
• consistent throughout; a nd 
• include 1.5 line spacing within 
paragraphs. 

•Font sizes should be larger for 
presentations 
•You can easily change font 
styles, sizes, and line spacing in 
Microsoft Office. 
•It is helpful to create multiple 
formats to meet a variety of 
needs. 


Thank you! 

For more information and videos about accessible 
content, visit: www.endabusepwd.org 

Ending abuse of people with disabilities is a team effort. 
Contact us for support: 

End Abuse Email Address: cvs@vera.org 
End Abuse Phone Number: (212) 376-3096 
End Abuse Toll Free Phone Number: (855) 274-8222