Digital Accessibility Guidelines

Harvard is committed to making its digital information and resources more accessible to everyone. By ensuring that your artwork is accessible on the website and on Instagram, you are helping it reach greater audiences within and beyond the University. 

Images of artwork you submit 

All images of artwork on the Harvard Staff Art Show website and on Instagram must have alternative text (alt text) added. 

Alt text is added to images to be read aloud by screen reader software. It also displays on the page if the image fails to load. Without alt text, users of screen readers cannot access your artwork. 

Alt text is not the same as the optional “description” of your artwork requested in the submission form. The description can discuss the artwork’s history, inspiration, and context; alt text should describe only the image of the artwork itself. 

Creating alt text for your artwork: 

Consider the following: 

  • Aim for a detailed description of the image of 1-3 sentences or about 140 characters. 
  • Start with general facts, followed by more specific details. 
  • Do not repeat information already present in the title of the artwork, the medium, and the description. 
  • Describe the content of the artwork. You do not need to preface with “an image of…” or “a painting of…” since that context is supplied by the screen reader software and neighboring information. 


And focus on answering the following questions in the content of your alt text: 

  • How would I describe my artwork in an audio-only call? 
  • What am I trying to communicate to people who will experience my artwork via their screen reader software? 
  • What more would I want someone to know about my artwork if they couldn’t see it but did know its title, medium, and description? 

Example 1

A biblical figure in a white gown and rainbow scarf embraces a grey alien in a desert landscape.

Title: Lars and Pete
Artist: Michael Van Devere
Medium: Oil on Canvas, 2021
Description: The scientific origins of the grey alien may be no less striking than Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. In this retelling, a well-groomed deity programs his androgynous alien for the first time.
Alt text: A biblical figure in a white gown and rainbow scarf embraces a grey alien in a desert landscape.

Example 2

An outdoor view in black and white of nighttime, snow, an illuminated “au bon pain” cafe sign with the light of the letter "i" turned off, and steamy windows blurring those inside.

Title: Smith Center, 2016
Artist: Autumn Bennett
Medium: Photography
Description: (none given)
Alt text: An outdoor view in black and white of nighttime, snow, an illuminated “au bon pain” cafe sign with the light of the letter “i” turned off, and steamy windows blurring those inside.

Artworks submitted with audio and video components 

Artworks with video components must have accurate burned-in captions that are permanently embedded into a video’s image and cannot be turned off by the viewer. These captions must be provided by the artist and included in the artwork submission. Make sure the captions provide an accurate and meaningful alternative to the audio for people who cannot hear your video’s soundtrack. 

Example

Title: Hopper Bunker 
Artist: Jenni Nelson 
Medium: Digital Video 
Description: It’s amazing what you see when you look up close. 
Captions: Open captions added to the video file. 

Ask for help

If you have questions for how to make your artwork submission accessible and why it is necessary, contact the Digital Accessibility Services (DAS) at digitalaccessibility@harvard.edu. 


Find many resources on the DAS website, including how to write good Alt Text to describe images and how to provide captions and descriptions of video.