Modern Player Accessibility Issues with Color
May 15, 2019
It appears one cannot change or manage the color of most text and controls in the modern player other than the Accent Color. Is that true?
Upon testing the default colors for both the Dark and Light Player Themes so our department can use the Modern Player in our course designs, I find that neither player meets WCAG 2.0 A, or AA criteria 1.4.1 and 1.4.11 though the player icons do meet the criteria.
Is there some way we can at least modify the text colors in the modern player, to apply some accessibility compliance?
(please see the attached results image of the dark player)
44 Replies
Hi there David,
Thanks so much for reaching out. I'm going to share all of this helpful information with my team. While there isn't a way to change the Modern Player text colors at this time, we'll let you know if we add that functionality in the future.
For the latest information on the accessibility improvements coming to Storyline 360, head over to Simon's post in this discussion.
Hi Alyssa,
Has there been any progress on making the default Modern Player text colours accessible? I don't see the rationale of using colours which don't meet the applicable accessibility criteria. Would this not be an easy thing to fix?
Many thanks,
Peter
Thanks for checking in, Peter!
There isn't a way to customize the modern player colors, but we are actively tracking votes in its feature report. I'll add your vote and keep you updated on any changes!
📌 For more details on our accessibility improvement efforts, check out these resources:
We are also waiting for this issue to be resolved. As a government agency, we have pretty strict standards for accessibility. If you can't make the colors of the modern player customizable by the developer, could you at a minimum update the software to have a color contrast that meets the accessibility requirement?
Where can votes be added to that feature? Who gets to vote?
Also, can you correct your VPAT which states that you support this standard.
1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA)
Also applies to Revised Section 508
501 (Web)(Software)
504.2 (Authoring Tool)
602.3 (Support Docs)
Supports
Use a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 or higher for on-screen text so learners with low vision can read it. Here’s a helpful contrast checker to determine your contrast ratio.
The built-in player themes meet this criterion
https://articulate.com/support/article/Storyline-360-Accessibility-Conformance-Report-VPAT
Our agency has purchased your software under the assumption that the VPAT is accurate.
Hi Leah,
Thanks for weighing in with your needs and concerns. I'm adding your thoughts and suggestions to our report.
Hi Matthew,
Thank you for contacting us and sharing that you've been impacted by this.
Replying here gets you on our radar as this conversation is linked to the report.
I'm adding your specific VPAT concerns as well.
Hi Leslie,
Where can I add my vote for adding a feature that allows you to change the modern player colors? Here? Or somewhere else?
Paul
You've got it, Paul. Right here is the perfect place for us to keep track. If you have any specific use-case or concerns, let us know and we can add it to our report as well.
Please add the vote from our team as well.
I honestly do not understand why this issue is up for a vote, to help your company decide whether to take any action. This is a federal standard for compliance with a law we all need to respect and follow, in addition to just the concept of doing the right thing!
I can understand that building the ability to change the colors may take development time, but IN THE MEANWHILE please adjust the colors to meet compliance standards! It is not a big ask, really.
Please add my vote from my team as well.
Can we please get an update on this issue? These accessibility issues with the modern player are a major issue for us. If full color customization for player text is not possible, can we at least get a high-contrast option that meets accessibility standards? Thank you!
We used the light player, and a bold font (roboto black) and increased the font size to 150%. I haven't tested the color contrast yet. But if it's larger text, it can be 3:1 instead of 4.5:1
I believe.
I also have this issue. It would be really nice to be able to adjust the color of the script panel to white on the black player, so you know, you can actually read the text...white on black is a hard read for a lot of people... but for branding purposes, we need the black player. Also, I find it unacceptable that I have to manually adjust every slide script for size and spacing...
I completely understand how frustrating it must be that the Modern Player text color doesn't meet current WCAG guidelines. We are currently looking at this as a team, so I'll update you when we have more information. I can assure you that your voices are being heard, and we appreciate you taking the time to share the need for text color that meets current color contrast guidelines with us.
We'll share an update when we have more information.
Please add the vote from our team as well.
This is unfortunate, that equity of access is considered "up to a vote." This should be fixed already... very disappointed with Articulate with this one.
I agree - please fix this issue
I hope you will have an update with fix for this issue soon.
At least update the player-font to a color that passes the minimum color contrast ratio level.
Hello,
Is there any progress on this yet? This continues to be an issue for my work. Very unfortunate that the text wasn't attended to originally...
Adding my voice to the chorus. If it's not possible in the near term to allow developers to customize the player colors, would it be possible to modify the defaults to be accessible?
I understand that some folks prefer the aesthetics of the current light/dark options, but personally, I don't think that subjective preference should outweigh the objective need to make our courses more usable for more of our users.
I have a long email chain with Articulate Enterprise Support where they said it would be resolved in the October update, but it never was.
The Articulate Storyline 360 Accessibility Conformance Report was updated on October 14, 2020 but it still continues to tell the apparent untruth that "The built-in player themes meet this criterion" regarding the 4.5:1 contrast ratio for text... 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA).
This has been pointed out by several contributors to this forum, but continues to be ignored. I would like to respectfully ask why, if the issue has not been fixed, does Articulate continue to claim in the report above that the player meets the 4.5:1 contrast ratio for text? Please can someone justify the claim?
Apparently it is hard to tweak a contrast ratio as their "design team continues to work on a solution, but unfortunately, their work was not completed in time"!
I cannot fathom why this has not been addressed - it's such a simple fix. No one yet at Articulate has been able to front up and explain why they are happy to let this issue bumble along and soak up the bad will it generates.
Matthew, thank you, for doing and sharing!
I am going to give it a try.
~ deirdre
Please add my vote to the count. I also work in state government and am currently using a customized version of the classic player because the modern is not fully accessible with the contrast issues.