What do you do if you really wish to understand something? It is simple. You will probably cut the text, simplify the vocabulary, or probably use icons.
Icons actually work, even for someone who may fail to read or write. Haven’t you come across subway signs telling you what to do? And what about the no-guns signs on almost all buildings, representing laws for complete understanding and compliance?
Icons explain as soon as you glance at them, and there are many including compliance icons. They come with defined meanings, making it easier for you and your employees to follow them.
This detailed guide discusses compliance icons and all they do to help you become WCAG compliant, and save yourself from unnecessary fines. Have a read!
What Are Compliance Icons?
Have you come across a lock icon? This one is quite common and represents data security. Similarly, the green recycling symbol communicates environmental standards and sustainability efforts.
These small icons cross our eyes now and then, but have you ever wondered what they stand for or why they are important?
These are compliance icons designed as visual symbols to represent adherence to regulations, standards, and laws. They also help explain industry guidelines as soon as you lay your eyes on them.
One of the best benefits of these icons is that they communicate even the most complex matters with ease. They are designed to simplify understanding and elevate clarity.
So, even if you are in a foreign land facing language barriers, you would easily know what to do or follow by looking at these symbols.
The icons also help build trust. They establish credibility, especially for organizations, big or small. For instance, when an organization uses some of these icons on their display, they give an impression of being legally compliant with industry standards and also considerate towards ethical practices.
Compliance icons labeled as simple and consistent are the most effective. If you design such a symbol, you need to make sure that it is clear, easy to comprehend, and flawlessly aligns with the brand. It should also be visible to know what exactly it stands for.
Web Accessibility Icon Explained
While all compliance icons hold importance, a web accessibility icon takes more attention. Why?
That’s because, as per the latest reports, an average person spends six to seven hours on the internet exploring various websites or similar platforms. And companies are aware of that. This is why they make online platforms that are committed to inclusivity and are compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG.
But how can a layperson know if the websites are truly what they promise to be? Well, you can figure it out with various compliance icons on these platforms.
Some of the popular web accessibility icons are:
- Wheelchair: This symbol represents the general accessibility on a platform for people with physical disabilities.
- Eye: If you see an eye icon on a platform, you would know that this represents features present for people with visual impairments. For instance, the platform with an eye icon may have adjustable font size or screen reader compatibility.
- Hearing Icon: This one signifies features present on the website for people with hearing difficulties. For instance, if a website has captions for audio content available, it will display the hearing Icon.
- Keyboard: If you see a keyboard sign on a website, you will know that it represents the optimized features present for people who use keyboards only.
- Language Icon: A language or sign icon is a representation of sign language translations available on the platform.
What if your website lacks the significant icons it requires to make a website accessible for all? In that case, you can run an ADA compliance website checker to see which signs are missing or where compliance is absent. Once the issues are clear, you can redo your website to fix the errors.
Accessibility Spark can help make your website accessible to the masses. It supports your platform’s adherence to ADA and WCAG standards. What’s more, it provides a quick implementation with an automated setup before providing you with a performance certification.
So, if your website has all the icons related to the important standards you follow, you will get a positive result on your performance certificate to display for your stakeholders.
Benefits of Compliance Icons
Whether they are related to web accessibility or represent general laws, compliance icons have multiple benefits in today’s world.
Provide Clear Communication About Regulatory Standards
These icons are designed to communicate complex laws and regulations in the most easy manner. They help summarize the crux of a regulatory standard so they can be understood by the masses by just looking at them.
Icons Help Spread Clarity of Regulations
The language barrier is a major challenge around the world. However, icons help overcome this issue. The easy-to-recognize symbols allow companies to convey even the most critical information quickly and without any detailed explanations.
These Icons Build Credibility and Trust
When a company displays icons, it reassures its stakeholders and customers that it follows all relevant laws. Suppose an online business displaces a web accessibility icon for hearing impairments. In that case, it shows its inclusivity and adherence to WCAG.
Similarly, when a brand displays icons representing ISO certifications, it shows its commitment to quality, enhancing its reputation and gaining the attention of its consumers in a positive way.
Icons Are Designed to Elevate Consumer Experiences
When you look at an icon, you can identify all the important information related to it, without exploring any extra information. For instance, when you see a wheelchair sign on a location, you would easily know that a particular digital or physical location is easy to navigate for people with disabilities.
These Icons are Scalable and Cost-efficient
A simple icon can be used in several places without being used repeatedly. This ensures consistent communication of the message that the icon may wish to spread.
What’s more, when you use an icon over an extensive text, you save a lot of space for the design. This helps maintain the aesthetics of the symbol.
Designing a Compliance Icon
The process of designing a compliance icon is complex, thoughtful, and creative. You will have to learn about the already established standards and the usability of the sign before designing it properly. Here are all the steps you can take to design an icon.
Start With Understanding the Purpose
What will the icon represent? Will it display environmental sustainability or web accessibility features?
If you are clear about the purpose, having a conceptual and visual direction won’t seem a tough job.
Make Sure to Research Your Standards
You have to make sure that the icon you make should adhere to a global convention or a standard. You can’t call it a ‘compliance’ icon if it doesn’t.
We suggest you go through standards relevant to the research of these icons. For instance, ISO 7001 covers all the guidelines for WCAG or public information symbols required to create authentic icons.
You can also elevate your research by familiarizing yourself with all the icons already used in your domain. This way, you can follow the patterns of designs that are easily acceptable to the public.
Keep Your Icon Design Simple and Visible
When designing an icon, go for a simple design as much as possible. Besides, simple colors and lines should be integrated to make the icon visible to everyone.
If you want to add shapes to your design, go for the basic one. Avoid using complex structures that may confuse anyone.
Have you seen the universal accessibility icon? The symbol is a figure with arms open but wrapped in a circle. It is simple yet highly effective and easy to remember.
Here is another tip. Use recognizable symbols in your icons. For instance, if you want to design a security icon, you can use a lock to represent its purpose. Similarly, a house may help represent laws on creating shelter homes for old people.
Similarly, the financial compliance icon is a sack of coins labeled with dollars, again easily recognizable by everyone.
Consider Your Icon Colors
While the design is a crucial part of an icon, the colors you choose also play a solid role in conveying a message. Make sure that you opt for colors that don’t complicate the icon design and follow the guidelines.
For instance, most compliance icons with green color represent eco-friendliness and safety.
Similarly, red is a color used to warn about something. Blue represents trust, harmony, and professionalism.
Evaluate the Scalability and Versatility of the Icon
Make sure that the design you choose for an icon should be versatile and easily scalable. For instance, whether you display it on a big screen or a small surface, it should be easily visible without losing its clarity. Its resolution should also be the same for all types of displays.
If you aren’t experienced in designing icons, you can get help from professionals who may know how to use tools to make these icons perfectly.
Test Your Icons
Once your compliance icon is ready, don’t just publish it without testing. Finalize the design but not before testing it for clarity. You can display it for people with visual impairments to check whether it can be viewed properly. You must also make sure that your digital design is compatible with screen readers.
Provide Short Context Where Necessary
Your icon may be enough to convey the message. However, sometimes, you may have to present it with a small context for clarity. For instance, adding GDPR Compliant may help enhance the viewer’s understanding.
Once your icon is ready, get it approved for licensing and legal considerations before you use it.
Display Icons Strategically
Your icons won’t be impactful until you place them strategically. Their visibility, placement, and relevance are quite important for their success.
- You should position icons in areas where your audience usually looks for them for information. For instance, you can display a web accessibility icon on the home page at the web footer. Similarly, display data protection icons can be strategically positioned on checkout pages.
- If you want to display multiple compliance icons, make sure to group them in a logical way without causing clutter. When putting these icons together, ensure to take care of alignment and spacing so the display looks clean.
- What is the design language of your website? If you are aware of that, ensure to follow the same tone for your icons. Your sizes, colors, and styles should be uniform.
- If you need your viewers to take immediate action after seeing the compliance icons, make sure that you display them with some context. Also, this move helps develop clarity.
Challenges in Using Compliance Icons
While compliance icons are ideal for communicating your company’s adherence to regulations and laws, using them at times could be quite challenging.
Certain challenges don’t only impact their effectiveness but can also confuse the viewer.
Here is the list of challenges you should be aware of.
Misinterpretation of Icons
Some icons, such as a lock, are widely recognized. However, some symbols, such as a figure with its arms open in a hug, may not be interpreted in the same way by different cultures. At the end of the day, an icon is an image that can be analyzed differently by individuals around the globe.
Unfortunately, misrepresentation of an icon can lead to confusion among people and easily undermine the primary purpose of the images.
Most Compliance Icons Do Not Follow Universal Standards
Another major challenge with compliance icons is that most of them don’t follow universally known or accepted standards. There are many standardized icons in industries like healthcare and safety.
However, fields like sustainability don’t follow a formal convention and often result in inconsistency. As a result, compliance icons vary widely in meaning and design.
Overloading Can Diminish The Impact of Icons
You may have noticed multiple websites and platforms overloading compliance icons on their footer. They display more icons than required, which diminishes their impact. It becomes hard for you as a viewer to process the information and truly get the message from each icon.
Icons May Have Many Accessibility Limitations
While most icons focus on creating accessible designs for everyone, some fail to achieve this goal. Some inexperienced designers often end up creating color-based icons that may look attractive but fail to cater to a color-blind audience. It is important to hire a designer who understands the concepts of accessibility in depth so they can create accessible designs effortlessly.
There is a High Resistance to Change
People who follow traditional compliance icons find it difficult to shift to new designs. For instance, the sign for recycling is three green arrows in a circle.
This is a universally known symbol, and a change in it can be very confusing for so many people. It can be very time-consuming and costly to change these icons as it may require educating the stakeholders first.
The Future of Compliance Icons
Compliance icons are here to stay. They help people absorb information quickly without getting into details.
Besides, these icons communicate the standards brands practice to contribute towards sustainability and work ethics, helping them build their reputation.
Interactive Icons
Compliance icons should be updated regularly so they stay trendy and relevant. For instance, interactive compliance icons are quite popular these days. You may see them hovering on various digital platforms and responding to your actions immediately.
AI Integrated Compliance Icons
Additionally, Artificial Intelligence is taking over every aspect of our lives. So, expect it to generate compliance icons for you in the future. Designers are predicted to make AI-integrated icons that may automatically adapt to your preferences.
Besides, AI may help increase the number of compliance icons by generating these symbols faster than any human designer can.
Sustainability Compliance Icons May Take Over
With more and more businesses and consumers taking sustainability seriously, you may see many new compliance icons related to this field quite soon. Since eco-friendly practices are predicted to increase with rising environmental concerns, it is understandable to see trendy symbols helping you follow certain laws regarding sustainability.
Incorporate Compliance Icons On Your Website With Accessibility Spark
Compliance icons are a game-changer feature to add to your website. They help communicate complicated information simply and, at the same time, increase your brand’s reputation.
Therefore, if you want your website to comply with ADA and WCAG guidelines, make sure that you display all the relevant compliance icons on your platform. This action will protect you from possible lawsuits and can also help you establish a responsible brand.
Simply contact the team at Accessibility Spark to help you gain easy web accessibility. They will get an automated setup for your compliant website and provide you with a performance certification to display at the end.
Accessibility Spark is trusted by many CEOs globally for its advanced technology and AI features. You can use the platform to meet the compliance needs of all users by integrating icons for information.