Design Principle
Dates, numbers, currency, units, and language direction should match the user's locale and avoid ambiguity.
Principle
Dates, numbers, currency, units, and language direction should match the user's locale and avoid ambiguity.
Design action
Format dates, numbers, currency, and units by locale; use full text or ISO support for critical dates to avoid ambiguity.
Examples
Positive example: Multilingual products, accounts, billing, orders, schedules, and reports support Chinese and English. Counterexample: Dates appear only as 06/07.
Apply when
Multilingual products, accounts, billing, orders, schedules, and reports support Chinese and English. Users need to judge state, scope, risk, or next action quickly.
Source notes
Source note: Synthesized from W3C WCAG 2.2, Apple Accessibility, IBM Carbon Accessibility, and accessibility practices in major design systems. WCAG 2.2: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/ WCAG Contrast Minimum: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html WCAG Non-text Contrast: https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/non-text-contrast.html Apple HIG Accessibility: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/accessibility Carbon Accessibility Overview: https://carbondesignsystem.com/guidelines/accessibility/overview/
Agent Directive
Format dates, numbers, currency, and units by locale; use full text or ISO support for critical dates to avoid ambiguity.