Lower the Numeracy Level (Dataviz Accessibility Quick Wins)

How do we make our graphs more accessible?
This is a question I get asked a lot.
Accessibility is woven into all my trainings, but since this is a topic I get asked about a lot, I decided to make a new talk that’s focused just on accessibility for dataviz.
There's a misconception that accessibility takes all day, that’s it’s costly and complicated. Those are all false.
In Spring 2021 I gave a talk at the Good Tech Fest conference about dataviz accessibility quick wins.
The talk was “Choose Your Own Adventure” style where the audience chose what we discussed from a list of options. They chose:
• direct labels,
• lower the reading level, and
• lower the numeracy level.
What is a numeracy level? And how do you lower it?
Lowering the numeracy level just means making sure the numbers are easy to understand.
There are a couple of stages to this, so even if you only move one step, that’s a win.
For example, let’s say you’re starting with 33.26%.
To lower the numeracy level, the first stage would be to round it to 33%. That’s a win!
The next stage would be to go from rounded percentages to fractions. So, we could turn that 33% into 1/3. Another win!
The final stage would be taking that 1/3 fraction and changing it to 1 in 3 in a sentence.
This is a general goal to aim for. It won’t work every single time for every single project. In other words, you can’t move from 33.26% to 1 in 3 for every project. Just try to move one step in every project.
Follow along with the conversation:
0:00 Intro
0:23 Accessibility doesn’t have to take all day
0:50 What is a numeracy level?
1:15 How to lower the numeracy level
2:12 Numeracy level stages
3:03 Real-life example
4:25 Average U.S. numeracy scores
5:00 Why percentiles don’t work
5:34 BONUS: Icon lesson
9:11 Your turn: Accessibility Case Study
13:00 Quick win #1: Rotate the chart
13:25 Quick win #2: Round decimals to whole numbers
13:45 Quick win #3: Add a Takeaway Title and Dark-Light Contrast
14:30 Quick win #4: Add Fractions within a Sentence and Icons
WeePeople font: github.com/propublica/weepeople
-----
Most "professional" reports are too long, dense, and jargony. Soar beyond the dusty shelf report with our complimentary mini course: depictdatastudio.teachable.co... You'll never look at reports the same way again.