Accessibility — WCAG 2.2 AA

Accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA)

LocusBIM is designed and tested against the WCAG 2.2 Level AA contrast and interaction standards. Verification runs on every code change via automated tests against the brand color specification — not a one-time audit.

What's covered

• Color contrast — every documented text-on-background pairing in the brand spec is verified per-theme via the WCAG relative luminance formula. Both dark mode and light mode are tested separately on every PR. Primary CTA buttons clear AA for the bold-text threshold; body text clears AA for normal text.
• Theme support — the entire interface flips between warm-dark and warm-cream via Home → Preferences → Appearance. The OS-level prefers-color-scheme setting is respected when no explicit choice is set. PDFs and 3D scenes always render in their native colors regardless of the chosen UI theme.
• Keyboard navigation — every menu, dialog, dropdown, and toggle is reachable and operable by keyboard. Escape closes any open menu / popover / modal. Focus rings render in copper at 2px for clear visibility against both light and dark surfaces.
• Reduced motion — animations are short (≤ 150 ms) and never the only channel carrying meaning. The khatam loaders cap their rotation speed at accessibility-friendly thresholds.
• Screen reader support — interactive controls carry aria-label / aria-pressed / aria-expanded as appropriate. Dialogs use role="dialog". Status changes (sync state, AI loading) use role="status" so they're announced when they change.
• Component vocabulary — every form input is a spec-defined component (TextField, NumericStepper, Dropdown, Toggle, SegmentedControl) so behavior is consistent across the app. Native <select> is replaced with a custom dropdown that respects all the above.

What's not yet covered

• Screen reader sweep — narrator coverage is correct for the spec components, but the long-tail of dialogs has been spot-checked rather than fully audited. If you encounter a screen reader gap, please email accessibility@locusbim.com.
• High-contrast mode — Windows / GNOME high-contrast accessibility modes display in the brand palette today; native HC overrides aren't yet honored. Roadmapped.
• Captions / transcripts — no audio or video in the app today, so this isn't currently relevant; will be added if it ever becomes so.

How we verify

Accessibility is verified by automated tests that run on every change before it ships — not a one-time audit:

• Color usage — every color in the interface is checked against the approved brand palette, so nothing drifts to an off-spec value.
• Contrast — every text-on-background combination is verified against the WCAG luminance formula, separately in light and dark mode. A failure blocks the release.
• Consistency — automated checks catch misuse such as a disabled-control color landing on a body-text label.