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Quick answers
When should I pick WCAG contrast check?
When the story is: UI type, slide titles, poster captions, badge labels.
When should I avoid WCAG contrast check?
Skip it in cases like: judging brand hue alone without measuring the pair.
Who invented or popularised it?
WCAG contrast ratios; APCA research (Myndex) as a next-gen model
What does it encode?
luminance difference between foreground and background
Is it OK in ads?
Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.
Will a teacher accept it?
Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present.
WCAG contrast check encodes values as luminance difference between foreground and background. WCAG contrast ratios; APCA research (Myndex) as a next-gen model.
In reports, ads and assignments it fits UI type, slide titles, poster captions, badge labels. Skip it when judging brand hue alone without measuring the pair.
Use when
- Use when 1 — Use WCAG contrast check when the story is UI type, slide titles, poster captions, badge labels.
- Use when 2 — Build the first draft in Excel or Google Sheets, then restyle — do not screenshot.
- Use when 3 — In PowerPoint, one WCAG contrast check per slide, claim in the title.
- Use when 4 — For lab reports and poster boards, this form works when the question is comparison or process.
- Use when 5 — In Meta, Google and retail print, keep one number visible at thumbnail size.
Avoid when
- Avoid when 1 — Skip WCAG contrast check in cases like: judging brand hue alone without measuring the pair.
- Avoid when 2 — 3-D, dual axes, rainbow scales
- Avoid when 3 — Undated numbers, undated time series
- Avoid when 4 — Four charts on one slide
Audiences
- Work — PowerPoint
- Ads — Meta, Google and retail print
- School — lab reports and poster boards
WCAG contrast check: honour luminance difference between foreground and background, and switch when judging brand hue alone without measuring the pair.