UNIVERSAL DESIGN

Swinburne University

Structure and Consistency Readability Font and Size

• Use meaningful page titles. • Organise information in digestible • Use true heading style.
• Present overview and learning sizes (chunking). • Align text to left.
outcomes. • Ensure content is readable within a • Don’t shrink the text size.
• Arrange information logically and page. • Keep underline for links only.
avoid clutter. • Provide accessible PDFs where • Emphasising (size, colour,
• Outline student expectations. intended for printing. highlighting, bold) should be used in
• Utilise paragraphs, sub headings and • Use clear, unambiguous language at moderation.
bulleted lists. appropriate reading level. • Use a san-serif font.

Descriptive Links Images and Graphics Video and Audio

• Provide links with in-text context. • Use the ALT tag for educational • Provide captions and transcripts.
• Avoid using direct URLs. relevant descriptions. • Do not auto-start video or audio.
• Label all links or activities • Provide equivalent text description • Embed within the page.
appropriately for images or visual elements. • Avoid visual overload on a single
(e.g. PDF, 20KB). • Avoid creating text as an image. page.

Tables Aesthetics Colour

• Only use for displaying data (and not
layout).
• Identify the column headers.
• Avoid complex tables or excessive
use of blank cells and characters.
• Ensure graphics are relevant.
• Ensure aesthetic consistency.
• Avoid using too many sensory
inputs.
• Keep the same background
throughout.
• Use colour as a secondary means to
communicate information (e.g.
diagrams).
• Ensure anything in colour can be
distinguished in black and white.

Contrast Release Materials Early Recorded Lectures

• Always use contrasting colours.
• Avoid using photo backgrounds.
• Provide overviews, outlines or
materials in advance for printing,
translating or resizing.
• Provide assignment information and
reading lists in a timely manner.
• Always use a microphone.
• Record lectures at every chance.
• Provide the option to download (if
Copyright compliant).

Icons provided by the Noun Project. Typography by DailyPM. grid by Andrejs Kirma. paragraph by UNiCORN. link by arjuazka. Image by Karan.
Contrast by Alfonso Juan Dillera. Video by Stéphanie Walter. date by Shastry. color by Andrejs Kirma. Rainbow by Adrien Coquet.
Produced by the Learning Transformations Unit, Swinburne University of Technology. Work adapted from 'Thinking Accessibility', University of
Sydney. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.