Oct Newsletter: AT News You Can Use

Do you know the difference between emojis and emoticons?

You should avoid using emoticons, whenever possible. 

When a screen reader encounters an emoticon, it has difficulty understanding and conveying the meaning behind the series of text characters. Rather, use emojis, when a screen reader encounters an emoji, it reads the assigned meaning of the emoji to the person using the screen reader. For example, a thumbs-up emoji might read as "Thumbs-up” to someone using a screen reader.

Other suggestions:

• Resist using more than one or two emojis in your message.
• Place your emoji at the end of your message, never in the middle, and never in place of a word.
• Never place an emoji before a “call to action” or the purpose of the message (again, they go last).
• Choose emojis that are well understood by all or keep in mind your audience. Avoid ambiguity. (Prayer hands mean thank you? Or pray?)
• As with text, consider adequate contrast of the emoji you choose against its background. Remember your message may be read in either dark or light modes. (Yellow is safe.)

It’s a curious thing, after years of inaccessible graphics, to have arrived at a moment where little, tiny cartoons are more accessible than messages created by text, but that is the upshot of emojis vs. emoticons. Progress! Emojis win.

Now let’s learn how to use them.

Read the full AT3 Blog post

For more great tips such as this one, visit the AT3 Center News & Tips Blog