Overview
ISO/IEC 23859:2023 - Information technology - User interfaces - Requirements and recommendations on making written text easy to read and understand provides a practical, universal-design–oriented framework for creating, adapting and evaluating written text in user interfaces. The standard applies to all written text formats (printed, digital, audiovisual, tactile) and focuses on making content easy to read and understand regardless of delivery device or language. It explicitly does not provide language-specific rules nor address the devices or transmission mechanisms used to deliver text.
Key topics and technical requirements
ISO/IEC 23859:2023 organizes requirements and recommendations across a clear set of topics to improve readability and comprehension:
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Framework & principles
- Universal design perspective, multimodality, user- and language-considerations.
- Roles of technology and functions that support easy content.
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Creation, adaptation and evaluation processes
- Guidance on content creation workflows, adaptation of existing material, and both technical and user-centred evaluation methods.
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Language-level requirements
- Vocabulary, numbers, abbreviations, spelling, punctuation, compound words, grammar, sentence construction, style and implied meaning.
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Content presentation
- Layout and structure, headings, justification, line spacing, columns and margins, page orientation and numbering.
- Font selection, contrast, colour use, paper quality (for print), and other visual elements to support legibility.
- Paratextual elements: images, tables, glossaries, summaries and pre-/post-reading activities.
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Audio and multimodal guidance
- Audio alternatives for written text: narration style, pronunciation, reading speed, audio quality and text-to-speech (TTS) considerations.
- Guidance on hybrid access services and multimodal combinations (text + visuals + audio).
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Identification and procurement
- Advice on locating, labelling and procuring “easy content” and specifying requirements in procurement processes.
Practical applications
This standard is useful where readable and comprehensible written content is critical:
- Digital product teams improving UI/UX text and microcopy
- Technical writers and content strategists producing user-facing documentation
- Accessibility specialists implementing universal design and multimodal content
- Government, healthcare and education bodies creating public-facing materials
- Procurement officers specifying accessible content requirements
- Developers and vendors of TTS and hybrid access services
Who should use this standard
- UX designers, UX writers, information architects
- Content designers, editors and translators (awareness of non-language-specific scope)
- Accessibility leads, product managers, policy makers and procurement teams
Related standards and guidance
- ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 35 user interface work (committee responsible)
- Relevant accessibility and plain-language guidance (e.g., WCAG, national plain-language guidelines) for complementary practices
For the official document and purchase, consult the ISO website (iso.org) or your national standards body.
Open preview (PDF)Information technology — User interfaces — Requirements and recommendations on making written text easy to read and understand
