The separation of content and presentation is a core principle of accessibility. Identifying content by its shape or position assumes that users can physically perceive these visual or spatial characteristics.

Objectives

• Ensure users can understand information without visual access or when the visual layout is altered.
• Improve content accessibility for people with disabilities.

Implementation

• When content is identified by a visual or spatial reference, provide a textual description and include a hyperlink to the relevant section.

Control

• Verify that references to the shape or position of illustrations, charts, or tables are not the sole means of identification. Ensure that unique semantic identifiers (e.g., ‘See Figure 1’ or ‘Refer to Table A’) or internal anchor links are used instead.