Our Commitment

Accessibility

Every design choice on BrainWave is deliberate. Here is why we do what we do, and how you can customise your experience.

Our Design Choices

Accessibility is not an add-on. It is built into every pixel, every word, and every video we create. Here is what we do differently and why.

Cream Backgrounds

All BrainWave pages use a warm cream background (#FEFBE9) instead of pure white. Research shows that off-white backgrounds reduce visual stress for dyslexic readers. Pure white creates harsh contrast that can cause letters to appear to shimmer, move, or blur. Cream reduces this effect significantly.

Lexend Font

We use the Lexend font family across all BrainWave content. Lexend was specifically designed by Dr. Bonnie Shaver-Troup to increase reading fluency. It features wider letter spacing, distinct character shapes (the lowercase "b" and "d" look clearly different), and optimised proportions that reduce the cognitive effort of reading.

Larger Text with Extra Spacing

Our body text starts at 18px — larger than most websites. We also increase line height to 1.9 (most sites use 1.4 to 1.6), letter spacing to 0.03em, and word spacing to 0.12em. These small adjustments make a significant difference for readers who struggle with crowded text. Each word has room to breathe.

Why We Avoid Pure White and Pure Black

Pure white (#FFFFFF) backgrounds and pure black (#000000) text create maximum contrast, which might sound good but actually causes problems. For many dyslexic readers, this extreme contrast causes a "rivers of white" effect where the spaces between words appear to flow down the page, making it hard to track lines. Our text colour is #2D2D2D (a soft dark grey) on cream, which provides excellent readability without the harshness.

Calm Blue Accent Colour

Instead of bright red or vivid orange for headings and accents, we use a calm teal-blue (#2E5A73 and #4A7B9D). Blue is the colour least likely to cause visual discomfort, and its calming properties help reduce anxiety — which many neurodivergent learners experience when studying.

How to Use Reading Mode

Reading Mode transforms any page on the Cora Law website into a dyslexia-friendly layout with cream backgrounds, wider spacing, and calm colours.

Activating Reading Mode

  1. Look for the "Reading Mode" button in the top navigation bar, next to the Subscribe button.
  2. Click or tap the button once to activate Reading Mode. The entire page will switch to cream backgrounds and wider text spacing.
  3. Click or tap the button again to deactivate Reading Mode and return to the standard design.
  4. Reading Mode works on every page of the website, including the law topics and quiz pages.

What Reading Mode Changes

  • Background colour changes from dark navy to warm cream
  • Text colour changes from light grey to soft dark grey
  • Line height increases to 1.9 across all text
  • Letter spacing increases to 0.03em
  • Headings change from gold to calm teal-blue
  • Cards change from dark background to white with soft borders
  • Navigation bar changes to teal-blue

How to Change Font Size

Using Our Font Size Button

  1. Look for the "A+" button in the top navigation bar, next to the Reading Mode button.
  2. Click once to increase text to 20px (Large).
  3. Click again to increase text to 22px (Extra Large).
  4. Click a third time to reset back to the default size.

Using Your Browser

You can also use your browser's built-in zoom feature for even more control:

  • Windows/Linux: Press Ctrl and + to zoom in, Ctrl and - to zoom out, Ctrl and 0 to reset
  • Mac: Press Cmd and + to zoom in, Cmd and - to zoom out, Cmd and 0 to reset
  • Mobile: Pinch to zoom on any page. Our pages are designed to reflow cleanly at any zoom level

Video Accessibility Features

Our BrainWave videos are designed from the ground up for neurodivergent viewers. These are not standard YouTube videos with accessibility added as an afterthought.

Slower Text-to-Speech

Our narration uses a measured, deliberate pace. We do not rush through information. Every sentence is followed by a brief pause to give your brain time to process what was said before the next piece of information arrives. You can also use YouTube's playback speed controls to slow down or speed up any video.

Larger Subtitles — 3 Words at a Time

Instead of displaying full sentences as subtitles (which can be overwhelming), our videos show only 3 words at a time in large, bold, high-contrast text. This means you never have to scan a line of text. Your eyes stay in one spot. The words come to you.

One Concept Per Video

Each BrainWave video focuses on exactly one concept, one idea, one thing to understand. We do not jump between topics. We do not cram 10 minutes of content into a 5 minute video. When the video ends, you understand one thing well. Then you choose whether to move to the next.

Calm Visuals and Gentle Transitions

We avoid fast cuts, flashing images, and chaotic editing. Our visuals use warm colours, gentle fades, and clean layouts. Backgrounds are uncluttered. On-screen text is kept to a minimum. Every visual element serves a purpose.

YouTube's Built-in Accessibility

All our videos benefit from YouTube's built-in features: auto-generated closed captions, adjustable playback speed (0.25x to 2x), full-screen mode, and theatre mode. On mobile, you can also enable YouTube's ambient mode for a more comfortable viewing experience in dark environments.

Screen Reader Compatibility

How We Support Screen Readers

Our website is built with semantic HTML, which means screen readers can navigate it effectively. We use:

  • Proper heading hierarchy (h1, h2, h3) so screen readers can jump between sections
  • Descriptive alt text on all images
  • Meaningful link text (never "click here")
  • ARIA labels where needed for interactive elements
  • Logical tab order for keyboard navigation
  • The lang="en-GB" attribute so screen readers use the correct pronunciation

Keyboard Navigation

Every interactive element on our website can be reached using only a keyboard. Press Tab to move forward through links and buttons, Shift+Tab to move backwards, and Enter to activate a link or button. This is essential for users who cannot use a mouse or trackpad.

Reduced Motion

Respecting Your Preferences

If you have enabled "Reduce Motion" in your operating system settings, our website automatically disables all animations and transitions. This includes hover effects, card lift animations, and smooth scrolling. We detect this preference using the prefers-reduced-motion media query and set all animation and transition durations to near-zero.

How to enable Reduce Motion:

  • Mac: System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Reduce Motion
  • Windows: Settings > Ease of Access > Display > Show animations in Windows (turn off)
  • iOS: Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Reduce Motion
  • Android: Settings > Accessibility > Remove animations

Accessibility Feedback

We want to make BrainWave accessible to everyone. If you encounter any accessibility barriers on our website or in our videos, or if you have suggestions for how we can improve, please let us know.

Get in Touch

Email us at hello@coralaw.co.uk with "Accessibility" in the subject line. We read every message and will respond within 48 hours.

You can also reach us through our contact page or leave a comment on any of our YouTube videos.

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