Accessibility in Dashboard Design: Key Insights and Best Practices
When creating dashboards, it's essential to ensure they are accessible, inclusive, and universally designed to accommodate all users, including those with disabilities or specific needs.
There are 3 key design concepts to adhere to.
- Accessible Design: Focuses on accommodating disabilities (e.g., visual, motor, cognitive impairments).
- Inclusive Design: Addresses broader human differences, such as cultural norms.
- Universal Design: Strives to serve everyone without requiring adaptation.
User Needs and How to Address Them
1. Neurodiversity
- ADHD: Use clear, structured layouts (e.g., top-to-bottom, left-to-right).
- Dyslexia: Choose sans-serif fonts like Verdana to enhance letter distinction. Avoid using all uppercase text.
2. Visual Impairments
- Blindness: Utilize screen readers like the Narrator tool. Ensure titles and captions are visible to be read aloud, even if styled to match the background.
- Color Blindness: Use tools like Color Oracle to simulate how dashboards appear to colorblind users. Employ high-contrast and colorblind-friendly palettes.
3. Cognitive Differences
- Use larger fonts and simple visuals to enhance readability.
4. Motor Impairments
- Design for keyboard navigation, like using TAB for filters, SPACEBAR to toggle.
Key Dashboard Features for Accessibility
- Focus Order: For keyboard-only users, ensure the navigation sequence (focus order) is logical.
- Alt Text: Add alt text for screen readers to interpret dashboard elements. Convert dashboard titles and filter titles into sheets to ensure they are readable.
- Shapes and Icons: Supplement colors with shapes to differentiate dimensions visually.
- Download Options: Provide clear buttons for downloading data in accessible formats like Excel.
- Tooltips: Simplify or remove tooltips if their content is already visible elsewhere or redundant.
Making dashboards accessible not only improves usability for individuals with disabilities but enhances clarity and efficiency for all users. Incorporating accessibility into design ensures your dashboards reach and resonate with a broader audience.