Have you tried changing the text, fill, or highlight colour within a document recently? You may have noticed a square checkbox (Mac) or toggle (Windows) with ‘High Contrast Only’ written next to it, located just above the colour palette.
Also available in PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook.
What is it?
No, it’s not a glitch! It’s one of Microsoft’s new accessibility features which ensures the text within documents is high contrast and easy to read.
You can easily turn this feature on or off using the check box or toggle. When turned on, low contrast colours are greyed out, whilst high contrast colours within the Microsoft ‘Theme’ and ‘Standard’ Colours palettes are recommended.
Not a fan of the colours in these palettes? More colours can be found in the ‘Additional Colours’ palette located at the bottom of the menu.
After playing around with this feature, I discovered that these high contrast colour recommendations change depending on the background colour used on a page or within a text box. For instance, the colour recommendations above are based on a white background. Later I’ll explain the process, as well as some of my testing examples.
Who is it for?
In short, it’s for everyone. After all, who hasn’t been frustrated by receiving an email with black text and a dark purple highlight? Or worse, grey text on a grey background, all in the name of ‘aesthetics’? However, these examples have real impacts on people who experience low vision or colour blindness.
- People with low vision often struggle to distinguish text from its background. High contrast colours (e.g. black text on a white background), enhances the angles and curves of letters, making them clearer and reducing cognitive and visual load.
- People with colour blindness are not able to distinguish between certain colours (e.g. red and green, blue and yellow), but can still perceive contrast in brightness. High visual contrast allows these users to differentiate between elements, even if they cannot identify differences in colour.
Ultimately, good colour contrast is important for all users. Have you ever read something on your phone in bright sunlight or in a dimly lit room? A colour scheme with high contrast colours improve readability and ensures text remains legible in a range of lighting conditions. High contrast also enables users to quickly identify key written or visual information such as headings, buttons and important messages (e.g. warnings, signposting).
Ready to turn up the contrast?
Tick that checkbox or slide that toggle and let’s get started!
High contrast text
High contrast text is available in Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook.
Microsoft will automatically suggest a high contrast text colour, depending on the background colour of your page, shape or cell. For instance, a light background will show recommendations for darker colours and shades for your text (e.g. black, darker shades of blue, green, purple, orange and red). When a darker background is used, lighter and brighter colours and shades will be recommended (e.g. white, pastels, fluoro/neon).
High contrast fill
High contrast fill is available in Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
The following applies to text boxes, table cells, and even Word Art (*cue flashbacks to computer lab classes in Primary school*). This works in the same way as high contrast text. However, the colour contrast recommendations depend on the colour of the text or the background. Here are what works for the following elements:
Text boxes
- Works on any coloured page.
- Works when placed within a shape.
Shapes
- Works on any coloured slide in PowerPoint.
Table cells
- Works on any coloured page.
Spreadsheet cell
- Works on any coloured spreadsheet.
Word art
- Works within a text box.
- Works when the Word Art is turned into a text box (clicking on the Word Art > Shape Format > adding colour via ‘Shape fill’).
- You can also change the text fill and outline of the Word Art when it is located within a text box or turned into a text box.
High contrast highlight
High contrast highlight is available in Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook.
In the same vein as high contrast text, suggested colours will depend on text colour and background colour. When using a background colour other than white, it is recommended that you use a high contrast text colour first, and then select a high contrast highlight colour.
Help! I’m not sure if the contrast is high enough
Feeling unsure? In-built features aren’t always reliable.
- Find out what the HEX code is – highlight the text or click on the text box/cell.
- Under the text/text box cell colour menu, click on ‘More Colours’.
- A pop-up should appear, with the Hex code of the colour you selected.
- Head to one of these online colour contrast checkers (all are WCAG compliant): WebAIM, Colour Contrast Checker & Coolors
- Ensure the contrast passes for large and normal text, as well as graphical objects.
The easiest and most efficient solution would be to use the darkest possible text on a light background, and vice versa.