23 April 2026
Webinar
Explore Passion4Social’s free webinar and learn how to present your charity’s data in a way that’s clear and accessible to all.
Charts, graphs, dashboards, infographics, we all use them to make data make sense. Data visualisation is all about turning numbers into something people can understand at a glance.
Accessible data visualisation goes further: it makes insights clear and usable for everyone.
An accessible chart or data visualisation is one that:
This includes people with visual impairments, colour blindness, cognitive disabilities and learning differences. It also includes people accessing content in different contexts, such as on small screens, with low bandwidth, or using accessibility settings, like high-contrast screen mode.
But accessible visualisation doesn’t just benefit disabled people. Clear charts, simple design and thoughtful labelling make complex information easier for everyone to understand. For example, someone carrying a baby on their commute may face the same barriers as someone with a temporary injury, like a broken arm.
Your data tells your story, but only if people access and understand it.
Charities often rely on data to explain their impact, demonstrate need, and report to funders, partners and supporters.
Charts and graphs can make this information easier to digest, spotting trends like which campaign brought in the most donations last month. But when data visualisations aren’t accessible, the information they contain may be difficult or impossible for some people to access.
For example, a chart that relies only on colour may not work for someone with colour blindness. A complex infographic may be hard to interpret quickly. And if a chart has no written explanation, someone using a screen reader may miss the key insight entirely.
In some cases, inaccessible content may also fail to meet accessibility expectations under equality legislation, such as the Equality Act 2010.
Accessible data visualisation helps charities communicate information more clearly, reach wider audiences and ensure that their data can be understood by the people they want to engage.
Even small design choices can unintentionally block understanding.
Many accessibility issues in data visualisation come from small design choices that unintentionally make information harder to interpret.
Some common barriers include:
These issues can make it difficult for some users to understand what the chart is showing.
The good news is that many of these barriers can be reduced with small, practical changes.
Improving data visualisation accessibility doesn’t always require specialist tools or technical knowledge. Often, it’s about presenting information more clearly and considering how different users may interact with the data.
Charts should always include a short written explanation of what they show.
For example:
“Volunteer participation increased steadily between January and June, with the highest number of volunteers recorded in May.”
This ensures that people who cannot access the visual chart can still understand the key insight.
Colour is often used to distinguish categories in charts, but colour alone may not work for people with colour blindness.
Combine colour with other indicators such as:
This helps ensure the meaning of the chart remains clear.
Text and chart elements should stand out clearly from the background.
Low contrast can make charts difficult to read, particularly for people with low vision. High contrast improves readability for everyone.
Some visualisations look impressive but can be difficult to interpret.
Whenever possible, use familiar chart types such as bar charts, line graphs or simple pie charts. These formats are widely understood and easier for most audiences to interpret.
Chart titles, axis labels and data values should be easy to read.
Use clear sans-serif fonts, ensure text is large enough, and avoid unnecessary jargon. Good labelling helps users understand exactly what the data represents.
Some people find it easier to read the data itself rather than interpret a visual chart.
Providing the same information in a simple table can give users another way to access the data, particularly people using screen readers.
Ready to start making accessible charts?
Watch Passion4Social’s full webinar to learn practical ways to present data in ways that more people can understand and access. For webinar materials, downloads and the session transcript, see the Passion4Social webinar resource webpage.
It covers:
Accessibility in Data Visualisation webinar by Passion4Social. Duration: 55 minutes.
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