Guidelines for Designing an Accessible PowerPoint Presentation

Bonnie Robinson, Research Associate

October 1, 2010

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

Why worry about this?

• Best Practice

• Reach the largest audience possible

• Meet ADA Section 508 guidelines

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

Proper Formatting

• Select a slide design from the templates.– Use one of the CCIDS templates

• The font & type information is already set. • Be cautious about going more than 3 levels deep

(this line is the third level)

• Use the appropriate layout for each slide.– Do not use text boxes!

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

Selecting a Slide Design

• Choose template with high background/text contrast.

• Avoid “busy” backgrounds.

• Use Sans Serif fonts such as Arial, Tahoma and Verdana.

• Use a unique title for each slide.

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

Unwise Slide Choices

• Use high contrast colors.

• Avoid red.

• Work within color families.

• Default colors are not always best.

• Excessive color change distracts from content.

• Maintain design consistency throughout.

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

Guidelines for Bulleted Text

• Use 40 to 44 point fonts for titles.

• Use 28 to 38 point fonts for bullets.

• Keep bullets to 8 to 10 words.

• Use 5 or 6 lines of text per slide.

• Use punctuation at end of bullets.

• Avoid italics, use bold or “quotes.”

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

Using Pictures and Graphics

• It is perfectly okay to use pictures and graphics in your PPT presentation.

• Provide a description of the picture or graphic:– Alternative text– Use of a hidden slide – Describe in notes

section.

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

Handouts

• Two (2) slides per page.

• Notes pages as handouts.

• Outline view.

• Use good color contrast for paper/print.

• Ensure font size is at least 14 point.

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

Thank you!For more information, please contact:

Bonnie Robinson, Research Associate

University of Maine

Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies

5717 Corbett Hall, Room 114

Orono, ME 04469-5717

207/581-1384 (V/TTY)

800/203-6957

e-mail: bonnie.robinson@umit.maine.edu