Accessibility Standards and Their Implementation in Custom Data-Driven Maps

This paper provides an overview of several standards and gives an example of their implementation in custom visualizations such as dynamic data-driven maps. A specially developed tool MapSpice for data visualization will be presented in this paper. This tool is developed and designed to fulfill accessibility standards and requirements of the web publishing industry. There are descriptions and examples of important features and functionalities in map visualizations that are developed using accessibility best practices. Following these guidelines and recommendations map content is accessible to a larger range of people with different disabilities, including blindness and low vision, photo-sensitivity, speech disabilities, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, and others. The result of this paper will be an overview of accessibility standards and guidelines and their implementation in custom data-driven maps developed by MapSpice.