Charts and graphs are powerful tools to communicate data and insights, but they can also exclude or confuse some audiences if they are not designed with accessibility and inclusivity in mind. In this article, you will learn some tips to make your charts and graphs more accessible and inclusive for people with different abilities, backgrounds, and preferences.
The first tip is to choose the right type of chart for your data and your message. Different types of charts have different strengths and weaknesses, and some are more suitable for certain purposes than others. For example, pie charts are good for showing proportions, but not for comparing values or trends. Bar charts are good for comparing values, but not for showing relationships or patterns. Line charts are good for showing trends, but not for showing categories or distributions. To choose the right type of chart, you need to consider what you want to show, what you want to emphasize, and what you want to avoid.
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In my experience, analysts get bored doing the same type of charts over and over so they start to build highly layered and/or complicated charts to show off their skills. Sometimes you have to take a step back. If the user can't look at the chart and answer their question without intense study, the chart is not the correct one for the job.
The second tip is to use clear and consistent labels for your charts and graphs. Labels are the text elements that describe your data, such as the title, the axis, the legend, the categories, and the values. Labels should be concise, accurate, and easy to read. They should also be consistent across your charts and graphs, using the same terminology, format, and style. For example, if you use percentages in one chart, use them in all charts. If you use abbreviations in one chart, explain them in all charts. If you use colors in one chart, use the same colors in all charts.
When creating charts and graphs, it's important to use colors and contrast wisely. Highlighting, differentiating, and grouping data with colors can be beneficial, but it's essential to consider people with color blindness, low vision, or different cultural associations. To ensure accessibility and inclusivity, use colors that have enough contrast with the background and each other. Additionally, make sure the colors are meaningful and consistent with your data and message. Use colors sparingly and incorporate other ways to convey information such as shapes, patterns, or text.
Bad example....ESPN Gamecast has the GameFlow....sometimes those lines look exactly the same, rendering the visual completely useless.
The fourth tip for making data and insights more accessible and inclusive is to provide alternative formats and options for your charts and graphs. This could include adding a descriptive title and a summary, providing a data table or text description to accompany the chart or graph, adding captions, transcripts, or audio descriptions for any audio or video elements, offering options to zoom, enlarge, adjust font size, color, or contrast of the chart or graph, and providing options to download, print, or share the chart or graph.
Before publishing or presenting your charts and graphs, it’s important to test and evaluate them to identify and fix any issues or errors that may affect their accessibility and inclusivity. You can do this by checking for accuracy, clarity, consistency, compliance with accessibility standards and guidelines, compatibility with different devices, browsers, and platforms, cultural sensitivity and relevance. Additionally, it’s beneficial to ask for feedback from different people, especially those who represent your target audience or those who have different abilities, backgrounds, or preferences.
We had a consultant come in and take our charts and combine 3 charts into a single chart. You had to research everything on there to understand the visualization. 3 charts actually told the story better to those that didn't have time (C-level folks) to fully digest the new charts.
The sixth tip is to learn and improve your skills and knowledge on how to make your charts and graphs more accessible and inclusive. You can achieve this by reading books, articles, blogs, or podcasts on data visualization, accessibility, and inclusivity. Additionally, taking courses, workshops, webinars, or online tutorials on the same topics will help you create better charts and graphs that communicate your data and insights effectively and respectfully to different people. Furthermore, joining communities, forums, groups, or networks on data visualization, accessibility, and inclusivity can be beneficial. Finally, seeking mentors, coaches, experts, or peers who can guide, advise, or support you on data visualization, accessibility, and inclusivity is a great way to gain insight into the field.
One thing that is also helpful to consider is when showing data as % is to display the number this refers to as well if it is relevant. E.g. I ran a dashboard that had a 25% absence rate for a department one day and everyone panicked, however upon deep diving into the data the department only consisted of 4 employees while others had hundreds. Therefore the % was skewed without the context.