Making Dashboards Accessible: Lessons from Dashboard Week
We kicked off the notorious Dashboard Week with an enlightening session on accessibility, exploring the principles of accessible dashboard design. Accessibility ensures that as many people as possible can engage with a dashboard. This includes considerations for users with colour blindness, those unable to use a mouse or trackpad, and individuals reliant on screen readers to interpret visualisations.
Three Key Types of Accessibility
- Accessible Design
- Widely adopted in various fields.
- Focused on accommodating different disabilities.
- An attribute of design that can be measured against established guidelines.
- Inclusive Design
- A relatively new approach originating in technology.
- A method of practice that considers a broader spectrum of human differences.
- Universal Design
- Originates in architecture.
- Aims to create a single design usable by the widest audience without adaptation.
- Focuses on the end state or solution.
Accessibility in Practice: Screen Readers
Today’s project centred on creating a dashboard usable by individuals who are visually impaired, using a screen narrator. Understanding what screen readers can and cannot interpret is critical when designing dashboards.
Screen Readers Cannot Read:
- Chart areas (including tables).
- Tooltips.
- Headers.
- Axis labels or titles.
Screen Readers Can Read:
- Sheet titles.
- Sheet captions.
- Legend titles and text.
- Filter titles and text.
To maximise usability, include all critical information in titles and provide detailed explanations of charts in captions. This ensures key insights are accessible to those using screen readers.
Practical Tips for Accessible Design
One valuable strategy is to describe not only what the graph shows but also to explain the analysis beneath it. This allows visually impaired users to fully understand the dashboard with the help of a narrator.
Minimising Sheets and Simplifying Views
Reducing the number of sheets in your dashboard is a key tip. Here are some ways to achieve this:
- Use BANS (Big Ass Numbers) in sheet titles to consolidate information. These are read by screen readers and reduce the need for multiple sheets.
- Write graph descriptions directly in captions and display them on the dashboard. This allows a single sheet to serve multiple purposes: a BAN, title, graph, and explanation.
Basic Accessibility Enhancements
- Opt for larger, bold fonts.
- Use high-contrast, colour-blind-friendly colour schemes.
- Add additional differentiators, such as shapes in line graphs, to support all users.
Interactivity: Striking the Right Balance
Interactive features like filters, parameters, and tooltips can inadvertently alienate users with disabilities. Minimising interactivity where possible creates a more inclusive design.
For Screen Readers
If you want text to be read by the screen reader but don’t need it visible to other users, minimise the font size or match the text colour to the background.
Alt Text Descriptions
Adding Alt text descriptions ensures key visualisations are described clearly for users relying on screen readers.
By implementing these principles and tips, we can create dashboards that are not only functional but also inclusive, ensuring accessibility for everyone.