Guidelines for PowerPoint accessibility
Ensure the text is a minimum 24 point and in a sans-serif font such as
Arial or Verdana.
Keep the text background clear and avoid overlaying graphics with text.
Do not overcrowd your presentations/handouts with pictures.
Avoid hard to read word art.
Aim to use light backgrounds, with darker wording. Have a good colour
contrast. For many people this can be more important than the actual
size of the font. Remember that, depending on colour perception, what
seems readable to one person may be unreadable to another. Avoid:
low contrasting colour schemes
Black on white (it can cause glare)
Red and green (difficult for colour blind students)
Use bullet points and short statements in jargon-free plain English.
Do not use more than six bullet points to a slide
Limit animations and transitions, keep them simple and avoid flickering.
When Distributing PowerPoint Resources to Students
Use full stops on headings so that assistive technologies will pause
between headings and body text.
Use slide masters instead of adding text boxes when creating slides.
Text boxes will not be read by assistive technologies. Only information
that you can see in outline tab will be seen by assistive technologies.
Provide a text description for graphics, photographs or for information
conveyed by colour. You can also use the notes section to add more
information.
Provide a link to PowerPoint viewer for those who do not have it installed.
Trinity Inclusive Curriculum
Room 2054,
Trinity College Dublin
Telephone +353 (0) 87 9201209
Facsimile +353 (0) 1 896 3672
E-mail include@tcd.ie