Providing More Accessible Data Visualizations (2024)

FAQs

Providing More Accessible Data Visualizations? ›

Use labels and legends that clearly mark and distinguish the data points. Also add either brief alternative “alt” text or a longer description that provides context and explains the most important details about the visualization.

Use labels and legends that clearly mark and distinguish the data points. Also add either brief alternative “alt” text or a longer description that provides context and explains the most important details about the visualization.

Data visualization should be accessible to everyone. When using Tableau and other tools to create graphical image of information and data, you should consider how all users will have equal access to the information in the visualization. Data visualization presents information in visual charts and graphs.

By using visual elements like charts, graphs, and maps, data visualization tools provide an accessible way to see and understand trends, outliers, and patterns in data. Additionally, it provides an excellent way for employees or business owners to present data to non-technical audiences without confusion.

Provide a text overview of the data. Include a descriptive title, a summary of the information, including trends or conclusions, links to table data and other information to orient the user. If your data visualization is interactive, include instructions on using any filters, queries, or other interactive elements.

One of the most important practices is to provide ramps and/or elevators for wheelchair access. In addition, digital accessibility can include providing keyboard-only navigation for websites, ensuring that links and buttons are easily clickable, and providing voice-controlled options for devices.

The three pillars of accessibility

Accessibility means different things to different people but accessibility is not just a single thing. We can broadly divide it into three pillars: emotional, functional and technical. Each pillar must be accessible in itself but all must be considered together.

Common accessibility barriers for data visualizations include: Prioritizing the visual experience without consideration for people navigating via screen reader. Color schemes that are not accessible to people who are color blind or have low vision.

How do you make data visualization effective? ›

Data visualizations should have a clear purpose and audience. Choose the right type of viz or chart for your data. Use text and labels to clarify, not clutter. Use color to highlight important information or to differentiate or compare.

Text is essential for ensuring that data visualization is accessible to people with visual impairments. Use bigger text when you can because small text is hard to read. Use common abbreviations to keep text larger. Make sure nothing blocks the text, and it stands out from the background.

Charts, maps, plots, and graphs can be excellent tools for presenting data to audiences in an accessible way. You want your audience to be able to understand your message, regardless of their level of technical expertise, and data visualizations can help you accomplish that goal.

They are a great communication tool as they are visually easy for viewers to understand and give a good geographical sense of the data. They can help in visualizing population density, traffic patterns, customer demographics, competition locations or market trends based on geographical distributions.

Some of the best data visualization tools include Google Charts, Tableau, Grafana, Chartist, FusionCharts, Datawrapper, Infogram, and ChartBlocks etc. These tools support a variety of visual styles, be simple and easy to use, and be capable of handling a large volume of data.