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Courses/UX Design Foundations/Image Terminology/
Exercise #6

Decorative vs. Informative Imagery: Accessibility Standards

Every image in a web application must be categorized for assistive technology under WCAG 1.1.1:

Informative Images

Images that convey conceptual information, instruction, or data (e.g., an infographic or a photo demonstrating how to wear a headset).

  • Requirement: Must carry descriptive, concise alt text explaining the content and functional purpose to screen reader users.

Decorative Images

Images used purely for visual styling, emotional ambience, or redundant decoration (e.g., a background flourish).

  • Requirement: Must carry an empty alt attribute (alt="") or aria-hidden="true" so screen readers ignore them rather than reading irrelevant filenames.

Topics

Raster vs. Vector Graphics in Digital Interfaces
Modern Web Image Formats: SVG, WebP, and AVIF
Aspect Ratios and Responsive Focal Cropping
Pixel Density, Retina Displays, and @2x/@3x Assets
Authentic Human Imagery vs. Stock Clichés in UX
Decorative vs. Informative Imagery: Accessibility Standards
design
UX Design

From lesson

7

Image Terminology

Level 2 · Elements of Design I

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