ISO 24552:2020

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 24552
First edition
2020-03
Ergonomics — Accessible design —
Accessibility of information presented
on visual displays of small consumer
products
Ergonomie — Conception accessible — Accessibilité des informations
présentées sur les écrans de visualisation des produits de
consommation de petite taille
Reference number
ISO 24552:2020(E)
©
ISO 2020

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ISO 24552:2020(E)

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ISO 24552:2020(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Basic design principles . 2
5 Display elements . 3
5.1 Alphanumeric characters . 3
5.2 Symbols and icons . 4
6 Presentation of information . 4
6.1 Arrangement of displayed elements . 4
6.2 Displaying status and function . 4
6.3 Coding of visual information . 5
7 Physical characteristics of digital displays . 5
7.1 Luminance contrast . 5
7.2 Colour . 5
7.3 Blinking . 6
7.4 Time . 6
Bibliography . 7
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ISO 24552:2020(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
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iso/ foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 159, Ergonomics, Subcommittee SC 4,
Ergonomics of human-system interaction.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html.
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ISO 24552:2020(E)

Introduction
Visual displays are in-built in many consumer products to be used to present information about the
status, function or operation of the product to the users. If a product is big enough to adopt large
displays, it would be easy to make the various users including older or visually disabled people feel
comfortable in recognizing and understanding the presented information on the displays. Some small
consumer products, such as digital cameras and remote controllers of air conditioners, are equipped
with a small display because of the limited space on the product itself. The adoption of small display
can mean that many users experience difficulties in using those products because they cannot easily
recognize or understand the information visually presented on it. Among the many things that can be
done to make the product more accessible to the widest range of users, one thing is to carefully design
the visual information presented on the small display. This document provides design guidance on the
accessibility of visually presented information on small displays.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 24552:2020(E)
Ergonomics — Accessible design — Accessibility of
information presented on visual displays of small
consumer products
1 Scope
This document specifies the methods to improve accessibility of the visual display on small consumer
products in order to minimize inconveniences that a variety of users including people with disabilities
and the elderly can experience while using those products.
In particular, this document focusses on how to present information on small visual displays to make
the product more accessible for older people and people with low vision or colour deficiency. The
provision of different modalities or alternative ways of displaying information to make the product
more accessible is not covered in this document. This document only covers accessibility with regard to
visual presentation of information, not audio or tactile-based display methods.
NOTE 1 Accessibility of a product can be enhanced by adopting alternative means to the visual presentation of
the information, which is not covered in this document. For information about alternative forms of presentation,
ISO/IEC Guide 71, ISO 9241-112 and ISO 9241-171 can be useful.
NOTE 2 A comprehensive catalogue of accessibility needs and strategies for accommodation for all users (not
only those with visual impairments) is out of scope for this document. Readers interested in this regard can refer
to ISO/IEC 29138-1.
This document applies to various consumer products equipped with digital displays, in which the
information about operation of the product is visually presented. The products are usually equipped
with built-in display panels. The consumer products include those hand-held products that can be easily
carried by the user or those that are not portable but equipped with small displays, though the size of
the product or the display is not specified in this document.
NOTE 3 This document focusses on the accessibility of small displays, regardless of the size of the consumer
product.
NOTE 4 Examples include, but are not limited to, electronic thermometers, digital cameras, air-conditioning
systems, remote controllers.
This document is not applicable to those products with high flexibility or adjustability in presenting
information on the display. Some examples are web- or application-based displays of ICT devices such
as smart phones, smart TVs, and tablet PCs. It is not applicable to touch-based displays that have both
the functions of display and control. Some examples are touch interfaces of smart watches or digital
cameras. Finally, accessibility issues relating to indicating lamps/lights used for simple alerts or alarm
are covered in ISO 24550 and are not considered in this document.
NOTE 5 There are many accessibility issues in the touch interface related to information presentation as well
as control function and they need to be dealt with together.
It is possible that some guidance of this document is not applicable to some products, such as oral or ear
thermometers, which have extremely small in-built displays.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
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ISO 24552:2020(E)

3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
accessibility
extent to which products, systems, services, environments and facilities can be used by people from a
population with the widest range of user needs, characteristics and capabilities to achieve identified
goals in identified contexts of use
Note 1 to entry: Context of use includes direct use or use supported by assistive technologies.
[SOURCE: ISO 9241-112:2017, 3.15]
3.2
visual display panel
means of providing visible information to the user about the status of specific product functions and
operational characteristics
EXAMPLE An LCD display of a remote controller or an LCD display of a digital camera is a visual display
panel of the products.
3.3
visual coding
coding
method of displaying information composed of multiple levels or items separately by their physical
characteristics such as size, location, colour or luminance to enhance the degree of recognition,
identification or memorizing of the displayed information
EXAMPLE WLAN quality or battery status are displayed in a series of visual bars, where different colours
can indicate the overall status, e.g. red, yellow, green for low, medium or high network quality or battery capacity,
respectively.
4 Basic design principles
The following basic design principles should be considered in order to increase accessibility of the
information displayed on the visual display. The principles are applicable to displays of various sizes,
but if the product is large enough, the adoption of larger display should be considered first.
The design principles are mainly related to the accessibility of visual presentation of information,
which is within the scope of this document. However, it should be noted that the accessibility of the
product can be increased by adopting several modalities in presenting information either redundantly
or alternatively.
a) Information should be displayed in a simple and intuitive
...