← Years 5–6 Creating Digital Solutions

Readable text and colour choices

How different the text colour is from the background colour. High contrast, like black text on white, with large enough text, makes words easy to read.

Part of: 5-6 Digital Technologies Vic Curric - Creating Digital Solutions — Module 36, VCE Applied Computing - U1O1 - Data analysis — Module 83, 7-8 Digital Technologies: Using digital tools and conventions — Module 11, 7-8 Digital Technologies: Designing user interfaces and experiences — Module 8, 9-10 Digital Technologies: Interactive content with emerging tools — Module 9, 9-10 Digital Technologies: Designing user interfaces and experiences — Module 7, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 1 — User Experiences and Interfaces — Module 52

Understanding Readable text and colour choices in Years 5–6 Creating Digital Solutions

What it does: Black on white is a high contrast pair, so the words are clear and easy to read. Too many colours on one screen is distracting and can make text hard to read. A few well-chosen colours work better. Big text with strong contrast helps everyone read the question quickly. Pink on light orange has low contrast. Large text helps readability, especially for younger users or people who are far from the screen. Pale yellow on white almost disappears. Changing the text to a dark colour fixes the contrast.

Common mistakes: White text on a white background cannot be seen, so there is no contrast. The text colour should be black, which has high contrast with white. Yellow text on a yellow background disappears. The text colour should be black so it stands out from the yellow background.

Class: _____________________  ·  Name: _____________________  ·  Date: _________

Free printable worksheet with full answer key — or add this module to a class and your students practise it interactively.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 31–40) and word search (Modules 21–40).

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Learning
Duo
Which text will be easiest to read on a white background?
Black textLight yellow text
Matches
Light yellow text on a white background
↓
Low contrast: the text colour is too close to the background colour, so it is hard to read. Use a dark colour like black instead.
Applying
Meanings
Term
contrast
Meaning
How different the text colour is from the background colour. High contrast, like black text on white, with large enough text, makes words easy to read.
Practice
Text size: large (24 pt)
Testing
Gaps
contrast:
Check Answer
Spots
1Text colour: white
2Background colour: white

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Quick Questions

1. Which text will be easiest to read on a white background?
A. Black text ✓
B. Light yellow text
Black on white is high contrast, so the words stand out clearly. Light yellow on white is very hard to see.
2. A poster for Year 1 students has tiny writing. What should you change?
A. Make the text smaller so more fits
B. Make the text larger ✓
Large text is easier to read, especially for young children or people far away from the screen.
3. Which choice shows high contrast?
A. White text on a dark blue background ✓
B. Light grey text on a white background
High contrast means the text colour is very different from the background colour. Light grey on white blends in.
4. A screen uses red, green, orange, pink, purple and yellow text all at once. What is the problem?
A. Too many colours make it hard to read and look messy ✓
B. Nothing, more colours always make it easier to read
Using too many colours is distracting. Pick just a few colours and use them carefully.
5. True or false: Dark blue text on a black background is easy to read.
A. True, dark colours go well together
B. False, the colours are too similar ✓
Dark blue and black have low contrast, so the words almost disappear. Try white or yellow text on black instead.

Match the Pairs

High contrast → Text and background colours are very different, like black text on white, so the words are easy to read
Large text → Words big enough that the user can read them easily without squinting
Good colour choice: dark text on a light background so the words are easy to read → Black text on a white background
Using too many colours makes a screen messy and the words hard to read, so keep to a few colours → Red, green, blue, yellow and pink words all on one screen
Light yellow text on a white background → Low contrast: the text colour is too close to the background colour, so it is hard to read. Use a dark colour like black instead.
Tiny text size 6 on a button for young users → The text is too small to read easily. Make the text larger so everyone can read it.

Key Term

contrast
How different the text colour is from the background colour. High contrast, like black text on white, with large enough text, makes words easy to read.

Fill in the Blanks

1. text colour: black background colour: white contrast: high
Hint: Type the word that describes black text on white: a big difference between text and background.
2. title text size: large text colour: black background colour: white
Hint: Type the size word that makes text easy to read from far away.
3. text colour: black background colour: white contrast: high
Hint: Type the light background colour that makes black text stand out.
4. text colour: dark blue background colour: white colours used: few
Hint: Type the word for the amount of colours that keeps a screen clear, not too many.
5. text colour: white background colour: black contrast: high
Hint: Type the term for how different the text colour is from the background colour.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A Text colour: white
B Background colour: white
C Text size: 20
D Contrast: high
Line A — White text on a white background cannot be seen, so there is no contrast. The text colour should be black, which has high contrast with white.
Question 2
A Screen: Reading app
B Background colour: yellow
C Text colour: yellow
Line C — Yellow text on a yellow background disappears. The text colour should be black so it stands out from the yellow background.
Question 3
A Poster: Sports Day
B Background colour: white
C Title size: 6
D Title colour: black
Line C — A title size of 6 is far too small to read from a distance. The title needs large text, such as 36.
Question 4
A Poster: Book Week
B Colours used: 10
C Background colour: white
D Text colour: black
Line B — Using 10 colours is too many and makes the poster messy and hard to read. It should use only a few colours, such as 3.
Question 5
A Screen: Maths game
B Background colour: black
C Text size: 24
D Text colour: dark grey
Line D — Dark grey text on a black background has low contrast and is hard to read. The text should be white, which stands out against black.

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