Image Accessibility

The practice of making images perceivable and understandable to people who cannot see them, primarily through alternative text descriptions. Image accessibility is a foundational requirement of WCAG (Success Criterion 1.1.1) and involves providing text alternatives that convey the purpose and content of images. Complex images such as STEM diagrams, charts, and infographics present particular challenges, as their descriptions must communicate data relationships and spatial information that are inherently visual. While AI-powered tools can generate alt text automatically, research shows they still struggle with complex images and are prone to hallucinations, making human review essential.