This document provides guidance on making animated GIFs and other content accessible to people with disabilities. It discusses various types of disabilities that may impact accessibility like seizures, visual impairments, cognitive impairments, and motor impairments. It outlines best practices for ensuring animated content is described in text, meets safe flashing thresholds, and has non-animated equivalents. The roles of various teams in implementing accessibility are defined. Key considerations for determining if animated content is useful and guidelines for creating accessible GIFs are provided. Resources for testing accessibility and learning more are included.

1. Choosy Content Folks
Choose Accessible GIFs

2. Principles of Web Accessibility
YES! We can access this content!

3. Meet PEAT
Example

4. Seizure and
neurological
disorders
Deaf and
hard of
hearing
Color blindness
Cognitive and
mental health
impairments
Blindness, low-
vision, other
visual
impairments
Motor impairments
Disability Types

5. Other non-disability considerations
● Functional accessibility
(compatibility with assistive
technologies)
● Aging/Older
Persons/Seniors
● Old equipment or devices
● Low-literacy
● Low-language proficiency
● Dyslexia, ADD/ADHD
● Autism/Asperger syndrome

6. Roles
The
content
marketer
The
Accessibility
Expert
The
Developer

7. Roles
● Content managers: Describe the animated content sufficiently in text
● Developers or Accessibility Experts: Ensure elements blink or flash is in a
safe threshold - use PEAT
● Developers: Avoid using the marquee element
● Content managers Where possible, provide a non-animated equivalent or
method to skip the animation and get to the content
Also see: Best practices in Animation

8. Consider
Is it useful?
Does the image(s) add to the content or detract from your message?
Is the content in plain language?
Is there a non-animated equivalent you can use?
Quality vs. Quantity do the images compete for the audience’s
attention?
Should this be translated or adapted to another language?

9. Reminder List for GIFs:
● Ensure animated content is sufficiently described
in text
● Ensure elements blink or flash are in a safe
threshold - use PEAT
● Ensure the marquee element is avoided
● Where possible, provide a non-animated
equivalent or method to skip the animation and
get to the content

10. Resources for other animation
● Content: http://www.4syllables.com.au/
● Infographics and Animation:
http://webaim.org/resources/designers/
● Video: https://www.digitalgov.gov/2014/06/30/508-accessible-
videos-why-and-how-to-make-them/ and an example from
Kids.gov
● PEAT: Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool
● Accessibility Testing Information: http://trace.wisc.edu/peat/
● Best Practices in Animation:
https://www.webaccessibility.com/best_practices.php?technolog
y_platform_id=11

11. Questions?
victoria.wales@gsa.gov