Inclusive data visualisation: a multidisciplinary approach

Data are important sources of information and knowledge. To explore a more inclusive means of communicating data, a team composed of seven researchers in the UK from different disciplines conducted a series of workshops: the first to share state of-the-art data visualisation techniques in various disciplines and to identify data visualisation challenges; the second to extract universal principles from good examples of data communication, to identify data visualisation criteria, and to develop a set of strategies for inclusive data communication. On the evidence of the first two workshops, we believe there is currently a great lack of inclusivity in data visualisation. Communicating data using multiple modalities (visual, auditory, haptic…) and understanding users’ needs and expectations were proposed as the most important strategies for making data communication more inclusive for different target users. The third workshop will focus on developing and evaluating a methodology for more inclusive data communication with different groups of users (including people with disabilities).