Towards the creation of accessible charts for the visually impaired
Ana Paula Scariot, Luis G. Montané-Jiménez, Carmen Mezura-Godoy · 2021
Visual representation has relevance in the process of representing data in a summarized way. Graphics are an example of this type of artifact. For this reason, they should be designed considering the most significant number of people, including people with visual disabilities, who, with the help of appropriate technology, can take advantage of their benefits. There are two central problems in this scenario: (i) many times the graphics are not designed adequately for the information that needs to be transmitted, which restricts the accessibility of the graphic; and (ii) even when a graphic is well designed, it may not have the necessary criteria for accessibility, making it impossible for a person with visual impairment or color blindness to understand it. Based on a literature analysis on Information Visualization (IV) and accessibility in charts, we propose a model to create accessible charts, which considers the stages of those two main areas in the design. Three experts in IV and Accessibility evaluated the model that was assessed as pertinent and adequate to this context. With the proposed model, we expect to decrease the number of charts and plots that people with visual disabilities can't interact with, generating a more accessible context.