principleperceivable

Principleperceivable is a term used in discussions of accessible and inclusive design to refer to the design principle that information, user interface elements, and navigational cues must be perceivable by users through one or more sensory modalities. In practice, this means content should be presented in ways that accommodate different abilities and environments, so that users can perceive it whether they rely on vision, hearing, touch, or other senses. The concept overlaps with the perceivable pillar of established accessibility frameworks and with standards such as WCAG, which require alternatives for non-text content, captioning for multimedia, color-contrast sufficient to distinguish elements, and text that can be resized without loss of content.

In application, principleperceivable guides designers to provide multiple representations of information, including text alternatives for images, transcripts and captions for audio and video, scalable typography, visible focus indicators, and operability through a keyboard, screen readers, or other assistive technologies. It also encourages avoiding sensory cues that are not accessible to all users, such as information conveyed only through color or motion.

Critiques note that as a coined term, it may be variably defined and can overlap with broader accessibility concepts; nevertheless, it serves as a reminder to consider perceptibility early in design. See also WCAG, POUR, and inclusive design.