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Icon without a visible label

Forbidden
A toolbar of icon-only buttons whose meaning depends on recognising the glyph
Instead
A visible text label beside the icon, or the icon plus label on the primary path.

What this rule looks like

Forbidden
Instead

Why this rule

This is not the same problem as E-34. An aria-label serves a screen reader and does nothing for a sighted user with low computer literacy, or anyone meeting an unfamiliar glyph. Both are required. Icon-only is acceptable for a small set of near-universal glyphs and in operator, where repetition builds recognition — and even there, on first-run surfaces the label stays. Close, search and menu are examples, not the whole list: the test is whether most readers would name the glyph the same way without the label. A sun and moon for the theme, or a service's own widely known mark linking to it, usually pass; a funnel, a sparkle or a lightning bolt does not. An icon-only control still carries its name in text a screen reader reads (E-34).

Kind
Rule
Section
Things to avoid
Group
States and interaction
Bucket
judgment
Severity
note
Since
v0.1.0

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