Why WCAG 2.x guidelines feel inadequate

On Monday I wrote about why I preferred light modes over dark ones. Light modes are bright, cheerful, and easy to read for me, whereas most dark modes dilate my pupils and “burn” text into my eyes that persist even after I turn away. Not fun! But that leads to two questions. First, is a word with five letters. And second, are there any industry attempts to improve readability for all parties involved, not just weirdos like me? The answer is yes, kind of. Though based on my own lived experience, attempts to codify a set of accessibility standards around colour and contrast have proved lacklustre in practice. For example: I’ll look at a theme like Solarised now, and find it difficult to read despite the mathematical proofs presented for why it’s harmonised and optimal for reading. Sites compliant with well-meaning guidelines like the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines also aren’t ideal. WCAG attempts to codify a set of standards with the goal of making text clearer in a range of…