Accessibility Statement
We build the archive so that anyone can read it.
WCAG 2.1 Level AA
Black Marker Heritage conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA, as published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Every public page passes an automated axe-core audit (WCAG 2.0 A, 2.0 AA, 2.1 AA rulesets) with zero violations and is verified via keyboard-only navigation.
What this covers
This statement applies to the entire Black Marker Heritage web application, including the archive, category landing pages, timeline, figure detail pages, saved collections, the “Submit a Figure” form, authentication flows, and the printable bookmark & timeline poster PDFs.
Accessibility features
- Keyboard navigation: every link, button, chip, and form control is reachable and operable with the Tab key. A visible oxblood focus ring appears on the focused element.
- Skip navigation: pressing Tab on any page reveals a “Skip to main content” link.
- Color contrast: body text achieves at least 4.5:1 against the parchment background; larger text and interactive elements meet the 3:1 minimum.
- Non-color cues: interactive state (selected chips, pressed buttons) is expressed through border, fill, and inset shadow — not color alone.
- Screen-reader support: semantic landmarks, form label associations (htmlFor / id), aria-label on all icon-only buttons, aria-pressed on toggle chips, and role="img" with descriptive labels on decorative canvas elements.
- Reduced motion: all transitions and animations honor the prefers-reduced-motion media query.
- Resize: layouts remain usable at 200% browser zoom and at responsive widths down to 320 CSS pixels.
- Language: <html lang="en"> is set so screen readers speak content in the correct pronunciation.
How we test
axe-core 4.10 · WCAG 2.0/2.1 A & AA rulesets across all nine public routes
Keyboard-only navigation pass, focus-order verification, forms tested with autofill
Every foreground/background pairing checked against WCAG 1.4.3 minimums
Known limitations
- The downloadable bookmark and timeline poster PDFs are rendered as images (via html2canvas) rather than tagged text. Screen readers can announce the surrounding web page but cannot read the PDF itself. We plan to migrate to PDF/UA-tagged output in a future release.
- User-submitted figures depend on the contributor providing a descriptive biography; we do not audit third-party contributions for accessibility of writing style.
Report an accessibility issue
We welcome reports of accessibility barriers. Please include the URL, browser, and assistive technology you were using, along with a description of the issue.