Images and Graphics

Digital Images and Graphics

• Logos
• Illustrations
• Graphics
• Photos

Where are digital images and graphics used?

• Website
• Social media
• PowerPoints
• Email
• Online course material

Alt Text

Alt text is needed for all digital images and graphics. It allows screen readers to describe images to users who are blind or have low vision, ensuring they have equal access to visual information.

What you put into an alt text box is what a screen reader will read aloud to the user.

Alt text also serves as a technological solution when offline conditions or slow connections cause an image to fail to load, showcasing the alt text in its place.

Explore best practices on creating alt text

Decorative Images

Many platforms present the option to mark a visual element as "decorative." Selecting this option signals assistive technology to skip over the image. SCSU treats all images and graphics as informative and does not mark them as decorative. Some exceptions include:

• Visual styling such as borders, spacers, and dividers;
• Redundant icons next to text that already explains the meaning (ie: magnifying glass icon immediately next to the word search).

Marking Decorative Images

Images can sometimes be marked as decorative if they're purely cosmetic and do not convey key information on their own. Ask yourself: Can this be ignored by a screen reader?

• To mark as decorative in Microsoft products, you can either tick a 'decorative' box, or enter two speech marks ("") in the alt text field. Right click on the image to see your options.

Why this is useful: 

• It would be unnecessary to describe a campus image on the front cover of a handout about learning resources, as it adds no value if you can't see it.
• If it isn't marked as decorative and the alt text is left blank, the software is likely to read out the filename, which really isn't useful to the person listening.