PAGE 08 · ACCESSIBILITY & VOICE

Accessibility & voice

The framework's audience is regulators, journalists, and citizens — many of whom rely on assistive tech. Target WCAG 2.2 AA across the public surface; AAA on the public registry. The voice is plain, declarative, and never euphemistic.

01.

Contrast

All approved foreground/background pairings.

Approved pairings
Ink on paper
Body, headings, default text.
17.8:1 · AAA
Ink-soft on paper
Secondary, captions, meta.
8.6:1 · AAA
Teal-700 on paper
Links, brand accents.
7.4:1 · AAA
Paper on ink-dark
Dark hero, dark cards.
14.2:1 · AAA
Paper on teal-500
Primary buttons.
4.7:1 · AA
Ink-soft on surface
Body on subtle bg.
8.3:1 · AAA
Forbidden. Teal-300 (#66bfb9) on white reads at 2.6:1. Use only on dark surfaces or as decoration. Never for text or interactive elements.
02.

Focus

Every interactive element has a visible focus state. Never outline:none without replacement.

Focus styles
BUTTON
INPUT
LINKRead more
ElementFocus treatment
Buttons3px ring, teal-500 @ 30% opacity, outset.
InputsBorder becomes teal-500, plus 3px ring @ 15% opacity.
Links (text)2px solid teal-500 outline, 3px offset, 2px radius.
Cards (when clickable)2px outline teal-500, offset 2px from card edge.
03.

Hit targets & ARIA

Minimum sizes and ARIA conventions.

Targets & ARIA
RuleValueNotes
Touch target (min)44 × 44 pxMobile + tablet. Includes invisible padding.
Touch target (desktop dense)32 × 32 pxTables and toolbars. Cursor environment only.
Spacing between targets≥ 8 pxEspecially in lists and toolbars.
Icon-only buttonsaria-label requiredDescribe the action, not the icon ("Open menu", not "Hamburger").
Modalsrole="dialog", aria-modalTrap focus; restore on close; ESC dismiss.
Live regionsaria-live="polite"For toast notifications and async result updates.
Error fieldsaria-invalid + aria-describedbyLink the input to its error text.
Skip linkFirst tab stop"Skip to content" — visually hidden until focused.
04.

Voice & tone

Plain. Declarative. Never euphemistic about AI.

Voice principles
DO"This page was drafted with AI and edited by a named human." Specific. Verifiable. Plain English.
DON'T"This content was created with the help of cutting-edge AI to enhance your reading experience." Vague. Marketing tone.
DO"Submit assessment" "Save and continue" "Delete record" — verbs first.
DON'T"Click here to proceed with your submission" — bureaucratic, redundant.
DO"Your assessment was saved. You can return to it from your dashboard." Past tense for confirmation. Tells the user what just happened and what to do next.
DON'T"Awesome! Your assessment is now in our system. We'll be in touch soon!" Over-friendly. Vague timeline.
05.

Capitalisation, numbers, dates

UK English throughout. Sentence case for everything except product/proper nouns.

Style rules
ElementRuleExample
HeadingsSentence case"The eight entities" not "The Eight Entities"
ButtonsSentence case verb"Submit assessment" not "Submit Assessment"
Brand & programme namesTitle case as registered"AI Transparency Framework" "DTTT"
Grades"Grade " + numeral"Grade 0", "Grade 2", never "G2" except in tables.
Numbers in bodySpell out 0–9, numerals from 10"three entities", "12 questions"
Numbers in dataAlways numerals, tabular figures"247 organisations"
DatesD MMM YYYY · UK order"12 Apr 2026" not "04/12/2026"
Times24-hour, UTC by default"02:00 UTC"
PercentagesNumeral + %, no space"42%" not "42 per cent"
RangesEn dash, no spaces"2024–2026" "Grade 0–3"
QuotationCurly, double for speech"Transparency is more than disclosure."