Accessibility beyond contrast, captions and fonts

By Elvin Jacob

“Ultimately, accessible communications means being cognizant of the cultural load in our language, the assumptions we make about our audiences and how comfortable they are navigating digital spaces.” In this article, Elvin Jacob explores the need for communicators to go beyond minimum requirements to make communications accessible for everyone.

If you are reading this article, it’s safe to assume that as a communicator you are used to making your content accessible. You ensure your graphics have contrast, videos have captions and fonts are readable. These best practices are staple in accessibility toolkits. But they seem to overlook one crucial factor: language itself.

There’s no place on Earth like Toronto!

Did you know that Toronto is considered the most multicultural city in the world? More than half of its residents were born outside Canada. They represent 190 ethnicities and speak over 250 languages. In other words, Toronto is filled with ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers who weren’t born speaking the language. This adds another layer of complexity that communicators need to account for – everyone in your audience didn’t grow up in the same culture speaking English with similar references. And this might be affecting the efficiency and accessibility of your campaigns if they are in English.

“Language and culture are so tightly intertwined that you can’t pretend to separate them. Every word you choose carries a cultural context, whether you intend it or not,” says researcher Dr. Hala Bastawros who has spent the last 20 years researching how ESL speakers use vocabulary in real-world communications.

She notes that when we view language and culture as one, it suddenly becomes clear that language can never be neutral. Every idiom and “fun” play on words brings cultural baggage with it. For example, the idiom, “We’re turning over a new leaf” would be obvious to someone raised with it but baffling if your schooling didn’t happen in English.

While accounting for Toronto’s rich ethnic diversity, our goal shouldn’t be to flatten our writing into lifeless corporate speak. It’s to loosen up the cultural references without dumbing down the message. We can stay precise and engaging while avoiding:

• idioms and metaphors that require shared cultural background;
• wordplay, sarcasm and humour that rely on tone, not words, to signal intent; and
• vague generalizations like “everyone knows” or “we all remember when” assume a shared history

For many ESL readers and for people reading under stress, simple and active sentences with clear connectors (“because”, “so”, “however”, “for example”) are not “baby talk” – they are a lifeline. They reduce cognitive load and make your intent visible instead of hiding it in the subtext.

Watch that tone!

We often think of accessibility as structural: font size, headings, captions. But pragmatics, the “how you say it” part, is just as critical, says Dr. Bastawros.

Tone is an accessibility choice. For many people navigating English as an additional language, extremely direct language from institutions can feel aggressive, even when it’s not meant that way. On the other hand, overly vague, “soft” language can confuse people who are looking for clear instructions.

Dr. Bastawros suggests the use of hedging to overcome this problem. Keep the instruction clear but soften the edges. For example, saying, “You must submit this form immediately or your benefits will stop” might come across as rude. Instead, say, “To make sure your benefits continue, please submit this form by September 4, 2026.”

Digital “access” still excludes people

For homes in the lower household income bracket, digital access comes at a high price. More than 60,000 Toronto residents lack home internet, according to a 2024 survey on digital divide. Add to it the cost of device ownership and the trend of shared devices, and it becomes clear why 24/7 digital access isn’t part of everyday reality for everyone.

On paper, our communications might be “accessible” as per Global North standards. But in practice, this might be far from the truth. For example:

• A mobile‑optimized landing page might work seamlessly on an iPhone 17 Pro Max and crawl on a nine‑year‑old Android, simply because the owner of the latter can’t afford an upgrade.
• A chatbot may be a no-brainer for a digital native. But for a digital immigrant who learned how to use a mobile phone only two years back, it can be a baffling experience filled with anxiety about “breaking something” or being scammed.
• An online form might be screen‑reader compatible but still impossible to navigate on a small screen on a device connected to a slow or patchy internet.

So, what’s the solution?

Erika Faust is an Internal Communications Manager at a major financial institution in Toronto. She hails a person-first approach in accessible communications, encouraging designers and creators to think beyond ticking the boxes of accessibility standards.

“One thing communicators can do beyond meeting accessibility standards is to talk to people in their audience who have a diverse range of experiences. If you can understand how different people access information and what barriers they currently face, you can better meet the audience’s needs for your content and break down the barriers that make it difficult to access,” says Erika.

As a communicator, you may not control the tech stack at your organization, but you do influence how diverse audiences consume your content. Apart from the usual accessibility best practices, always test your content to see where it stands on the Flesch-Kincaid scale. An eighth grade reading level is considered the ideal, clear standard for general audiences and web content. But as Erika notes, know your audience and their habits/preferences.

Ultimately, accessible communications means being cognizant of the cultural load in our language, the assumptions we make about our audiences and how comfortable they are navigating digital spaces. So, before you start on your next campaign, ask yourself “Who exactly must be able to understand and act on this message, even on a bad day, on an old phone, with limited English?”