{"id":6948,"date":"2020-07-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dvsnightingstg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=6948"},"modified":"2021-08-05T09:44:52","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T13:44:52","slug":"writing-alt-text-for-data-visualization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nightingaledvs.com\/writing-alt-text-for-data-visualization\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Alt Text for Data Visualization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alt text<\/a> (sometimes called alt tags or alternative text) are written descriptions added to images that convey the meaning of the visual. Good alt text<\/a> helps more people understand the content. Assistive technology like screen readers<\/a> reads the alt text out loud so users can hear and understand the visual content. People who use screen readers often have a vision impairment. This includes people who are totally blind, but also people with low or impaired vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not writing alt text means that people miss out on content that is necessary, just because it\u2019s visual. It means it\u2019s not accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alt Text defined from Webaim<\/strong><\/a>:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is read by screen readers in place of images allowing the content<\/strong> and function<\/strong> of the image to be accessible to those with visual or certain cognitive disabilities.<\/p>

It is displayed in place of the image in browsers if the image file is not loaded or when the user has chosen not to view images.<\/p>

It provides a semantic meaning and description to images which can be read by search engines or be used to later determine the content of the image from page context alone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There are many<\/a> resources<\/a> for how to write alt text generally (I list more at the end of this piece), but few that provide guidance for how to write descriptions for data viz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to write for alt text for data visualization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So how do you write something short that conveys the whole meaning of a visualization? You probably can\u2019t. That doesn\u2019t mean that you shouldn\u2019t try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n