Success Criterion 1.4.11
Conformance level AA

Dropdown Caret or Control Icon Invisible Against Its Background

1.4.11 — Non-text Contrast

Scenario

Setting

A coworking-space booking app

What’s wrong

Placeholder-styled dropdown carets and control affordances invisible against fills.

Example

border: 1px solid #dcdcdc; /* icon outline, ~1.2:1 against white */

Why it matters

Low-vision and color-blind people who need to perceive controls and meaningful graphics.

How to test

Measure dropdown carets, input affordance icons, and similar control cues against their fill color: below 3:1 makes them invisible.

How to fix

The visual element (border, icon, indicator, state marker) must have at least 3:1 contrast against adjacent colors in every state. border: 1px solid #767676; /* ~4.5:1 */ Icons, borders, and other non-text UI elements need at least 3:1 contrast to stay visible.

Outcome

On a coworking-space booking app, this barrier is gone for low-vision and color-blind people who need to perceive controls and meaningful graphics — they reach the same outcome without extra effort.

Who is affected