Update the colour of the hint text

[tomyems]

The colour palette discussion discussed updating the colour of the hint text. There was consensus in today's design system working group.

This is because the current colour 505a5f has a contrast of 6.26 with the light grey of the page background f1f1f1.

The proposal is to update this to 4e505f which has a contrast of 7.05 with the light grey of the page background.

[tomyems]

This does reduce the contrast with the black text from 2.77 to 2.46. However the impact of this is reduced, as the grey is not in the same paragraph as the black text, and the impact on the user of mistaking the grey for black is minimal to their experience.

[WiktoriaWia]

Findings from access needs user research on the internal appointment booking system:

• The magnifier user experienced issues reading the hint text on the page where they are required to enter an applicant's details. The hint text also included an example reference number with dashes (required for the validation; see attached picture) which was difficult for the magnifier user to see and read.
• Despite the hint text meeting the WCAG AA standard, it is difficult to read for users with access needs.
• This research supports the proposed change to make this hint text darker.
• For more findings refer to the 2023 July Access needs research playback slides on the linked page with restricted access
  

[tomyems]

Hi @WiktoriaWia do you know what colour hint text was used in the research?

[WiktoriaWia]

Hi @tomyems, the hint text colour was 505a5f; however, it's worth noting that during the research, the page background colour was f5f5f5.