SmartArt
SmartArt is a tool in Microsoft Office that turns text into visuals like flowcharts, hierarchies, and diagrams—perfect for making ideas easier to understand and more engaging.
SmartArt: Accessible or Inaccessible?
Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel: Inaccessible
SmartArt in Microsoft Word and Excel is largely inaccessible due to the fact that it exists on a separate drawing layer. As a result, screen reader users cannot navigate or read the content within SmartArt. Instead, it is treated simply as a graphic. While alternative text or long descriptions can be added to improve accessibility, these workarounds often fall short—especially when SmartArt contains complex or detailed information. In most cases, it’s best to present this information using standard text, lists, or tables. Doing so ensures that all users, including those using assistive technologies, can fully access and understand the content.
Making Your SmartArt Accessible
SmartArt is considered accessible when users—especially those using screen readers—can meaningfully interpret both the content and the relationships between elements in the graphic. Accessibility in SmartArt can be enhanced by ensuring the following:
When applying SmartArt to your PowerPoint Slides, graphic elements are typically grouped together. This is meant to help maintain the reading order for the graphic. Since the elements are already grouped, you will need to assign alternative text to the overall graphic. This text should provide a concise summary of the graphic and explain any essential relationships or processes depicted.
- Tip: A long description is not required, since screen reader users can navigate into individual SmartArt elements.
If the SmartArt contains standalone images (e.g., icons or photos), each of these must also include its own descriptive alt text. You can manage and edit these through the Picture Format tab within the SmartArt Tools menu.
Not all SmartArt themes automatically meet accessibility standards for color contrast. It's important to verify contrast based on the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines:
- Text & Images of Text: Minimum contrast ratio of 5:1
- Large Text (18 pt or 14 pt bold): Minimum contrast ratio of 3:1
- Logos: No minimum contrast requirement
If you need to adjust colors for all the elements within your SmartArt graphics, you may do so by navigating to the SmartArt Design Tab and then selecting Change Colors.
SmartArt will automatically apply a set reading order to it graphics. The order attempts to follow the same guidelines that screen readers do when reading content (i.e. left to right and top to bottom). However, this default order may not always align with the visual or intended flow—especially in complex layouts.
On a general basis, simplistic graphics with text contained in ordered blocks have a logical reading order that most screen readers can comprehend. Graphics with the following elements may cause issues in reading order:
- Graphics with photos: Photos often receive priority in the reading order, separating them from the context of accompanying text.
- Graphics with decorative shapes: Some graphics apply additional shapes behind text boxes to create a floating effect. These shapes are given priority over the actual content, confusing the information hierarchy.
- Floating Process Arrows: Many graphics contain floating arrows to denote the process and/or relationship of the data. These arrows are often read first, prior to the textual elements. This often disrupts the logical sequence of the data.
- Timelines: Dots, markers, and shapes on timelines may be read out of context, detached from the corresponding text.
- Symbolic shapes (e.g., +, -, =): These shapes help denote relationships in data. However, these shapes aren’t read out as signs in an equation. Instead, they are merely read out as “shape.”
Resources
For more guidance on using SmartArt in PowerPoint documents, see TTaDA's Accessibility Resource Index.