Frank Elavsky, Larene Le Gassick, Sarah Fossheim—Outlier 2021—Are your visualizations excluding ppl?

Are your data visualizations excluding people? 10% of people report having trouble seeing and as many as 26% (of those in the US) have some form of disability. But most data visualizations exclude these people, sometimes entirely, from the participation and power that data has to offer. Especially in times of COVID, charts and graphics are an essential communication tool for staying safe and informed, and those excluded are left feeling forgotten, and at risk. How can we best use data visualizations to make complex data more accessible and easier to understand, and what are the main challenges in doing so? This talk explores what can go wrong if your data is inaccessible, common mistakes, and best practices for each step in the process, from design to implementation. The target audience is anyone who works with data and people (whether designers, analysts, or engineers). We will demonstrate how someone can identify accessibility problems as well as ways to improve. Led by 3 data visualization and accessibility experts, the goal is that every attendee will leave this talk with new insight and skills that they can immediately put to good use. We will include demonstrations using assistive technologies (like screen readers) to show what a data experience can be like, while walking through techniques to improve visualizations on the web. We will also highlight charting libraries that have strong accessibility as well as what the future holds. The best time for inclusive design is when a data visualization is being made, the second best time is now. ----------------------- The Data Visualization Society fosters a community where every member benefits from resources that support growth, refinement, and expansion of data visualization knowledge regardless of expertise level. We have three key objectives: 1️⃣Nurture: Build a cross-functional, tool agnostic community for sharing ideas, learning, and best practices for data visualization design. 2️⃣Celebrate: Amplify and showcase brilliance in data visualization design through conferences, writing, and awards 3️⃣Advance: Raise awareness about the practice of data visualization, collaborate with leaders to set professional standards, and build a more inclusive field. Become a member to access exclusive benefits such as our mentorship program, discounted event tickets, and more: https://www.datavisualizationsociety.org/membership Follow us: Website: https://www.datavisualizationsociety.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/data-visualization-society/ X: https://twitter.com/DataVizSociety Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/datavizsociety/