ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App provides options to create accessible infographics, but as the author, it's up to you to incorporate these capabilities into your infographics. By incorporating accessibility best practices into an infographic's design, you help ensure that users can effectively navigate, understand, and engage with the information presented.
The following sections describe accessibility features that require configuration from the infographic author.
Best practices for infographic text
Many infographic elements allow you to make decisions about text style, including the text in charts, tables, infographic panels, nearby tables and summary panels, and text panels. For more information, see Work with images and text.
It is recommended that you use the following font sizes (at a minimum) to ensure readability:
| Type of text | Font size |
|---|---|
Headers | 26-point |
Body | 14-point |
Captions | 12-point |
Table text | 12-point |
Best practices for infographic images
You can add images to an infographic template as a stand-alone element or panel. For more information, see Work with images and text.
It is recommended that you add alt text for images, shapes, and logos. When editing an image, shape or logo, use the Accessibility section in the image properties to add a description in the Alt text field. If the image, shape, or logo is decorative and does not provide information necessary for understanding the infographic, use the Mark as decorative toggle button.
Best practices for infographic themes
The theme for an infographic template consists of colors, font, and background image settings. It gives the template a unified look across its multiple panels and pages. You can also leverage the theme to give a template an appearance that helps visually tie it together with your organization's website or publicity materials. For more information, see Apply a theme.
Note:
If you create your own theme, use Contrast Checker to choose colors that meet accessibility requirements. You can also consider testing the contrast of the template using appropriate tools (for example, Developer tools in a Chrome browser) to emulate vision deficiencies.
It is recommended that you use color in your theme to communicate meaning and emphasis but that you do not use color as decoration. The following are some accessibility considerations for your color choices:
- Use up to three different colors in an established hierarchy (primary, secondary, tertiary) to communicate importance.
- Use color consistently to create a familiar and engaging experience.
- For greater impact, use color sparsely.
- Select a text color that is legible when displayed over the selected background color. Exercise care when selecting a background image that differs from the background color.
Best practice for infographic tables
Tables can display a large quantity of data while keeping the format neat, organized, and legible. For more information, see Work with tables.
There are several accessibility features for tables that can be configured. Authors should be mindful of these settings, as they can impact how users interpret the data. The following are some accessibility considerations for using tables in your infographic:
- Use 12-point minimum font size and 24-point minimum row height.
- Justify the variable title column to the left and columns with numeric data to the right.
- Do not use blank rows for aesthetic purposes. Instead, increase the bottom border of a row to a larger thickness to achieve the same effect.
- Apply table styling, such as designating the top row as a title row, for consistent formatting.
Best practice for infographic charts
You must choose the right type of chart for visualizing the data. For more information, see Work with charts.
You can configure several accessibility features for charts, which can impact how users interpret the data. The following are some accessibility considerations for using charts in your infographic:
- When visualizing data in a chart, use labels. It is recommended that you turn data labels on or add axis labels. Be sure that all axis labels are legible if you are using them.
- Display grid lines and stripes.
- If you are using data series to group data in a chart, limit the amount of information to ensure the chart is easy to understand.