Microsoft® Manual of Style, Fourth Edition

Art, captions, and callouts

Art can be effective in providing an example of the topic under discussion or in showing hierarchies or complex relationships that are difficult to explain in words. However, use art only if it is the best method for communicating a point.

Ensure that your art complements or supplements ideas that are also expressed in text. If you make your point only in art, blind and sight-impaired users will not get the information. Provide alt text that is brief but as descriptive as possible.

Do not rely on color alone to communicate the point of an illustration. Users who are color-blind will not see what you are highlighting.

Be aware of the impact of your art on the worldwide audience. Images that are perfectly innocuous for the ...