Sensory Characteristics
Tier 1 · The normative floor
Baseline compliance
What the normative text of WCAG 2.2 requires, and nothing more. Only a failure of this tier is a WCAG failure.
The bare minimum
Instructions for understanding and operating content don't rely solely on sensory characteristics such as shape, color, size, visual location, orientation or sound.
Normative text
Verbatim from WCAG 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024. Underlined terms are defined below.
Instructions provided for understanding and operating content do not rely solely on sensory characteristics of components such as shape, color, size, visual location, orientation, or sound.
Not required by the normative text
Common claims that this criterion does not support. Don't log these as WCAG failures.
- Avoiding sensory words altogether. "Select the round Start button" passes because it also names the control.
Notes in the criterion Informative
WCAG 2.2 lists notes among its informative material, which "does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim." They help interpret the criterion but are not part of the floor.
For requirements related to color, refer to Guideline 1.4.
Tier 2 · The gap
Usability & user impact
Where content can meet this criterion and still make things harder for people with disabilities. These are not failures of SC 1.3.3, so raise them as usability defects. Known failures, including failures of related criteria, are listed in Tier 1.
Instructions that lead with position ("in the panel on the right") still slow down people who can't see the layout, or who see a reflowed version of it.
Tier 3 · The golden path
Recommended best practice
The pattern that meets the floor, closes the gap, and avoids audit disputes. A recommendation, not a requirement.
Refer to controls by their visible label first. Add location or shape only as a secondary hint.
W3C's Understanding document and techniques for SC 1.3.3 ↗ are informative: sufficient techniques show ways to pass, and documented failures show common ways to fail, but neither changes what the criterion requires.
How SC 1.3.3 maps to the WCAG 3 draft
From this site's reviewed map to the WCAG 3 editor's draft. It's an interpretation: W3C has not published a mapping.
Successor provisions
From WCAG 2.2, section 5.1: “The main content of WCAG 2.2 is normative and defines requirements that impact conformance claims. Introductory material, appendices, sections marked as "non-normative", diagrams, examples, and notes are informative (non-normative). Non-normative material provides advisory information to help interpret the guidelines but does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim.”