Teaching · Special Education

Every panel of the infographic,
in words and in order

Enter the title, what it is about and how it is laid out, then add each section in reading order with its heading, its words or figures and any picture that carries meaning. The page writes a short text alternative and a text version you can place beside the image.

Describe an infographicWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Special Education toolkit, $99 for 143 items.

Infographics

The worked example is made up: a school recycling drive laid out as a grid of panels with made-up figures, and a five-step flow of how a federal bill becomes a law with no main message written yet.

Loading the infographic form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · Special Education$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A saved record per infographic: title, topic, layout, source, its sections in reading order with headings, words or figures and meaningful pictures, the main message, footnotes and six checks. The page writes a short text alternative and a numbered text version, counts sections with figures and described pictures, and flags missing sources, empty sections, missing small print and very long graphics. Prints the description on its own.
Who it is for
Teachers, special education teachers, teachers of students with visual impairments, communications and accessibility staff preparing infographics for students and families.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per infographic. Prints the short text and long description together, the full record, every infographic in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Special Education toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Special Education space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Enter the title, topic and layout.
  2. Add each section in reading order.
  3. Describe only the pictures that add meaning.
  4. Write the main message.
  5. Place the short text in the alt field and the text version beside the image.

Describe an infographic

From graphic to text

Turning an infographic into text1Main messageWhat the whole graphic is for,in one sentence2Reading orderNumber the panels the way theeye should travel3Each sectionIts heading and its words orfigures, as text4PicturesOnly when they carry meaning;skip decoration5Small printFootnotes, credits, sourcesand web addresses6PublishShort text in the alt field,text version nearbyTurning an infographic into text1Main messageWhat the whole graphic is for, in onesentence2Reading orderNumber the panels the way the eye shouldtravel3Each sectionIts heading and its words or figures, astext4PicturesOnly when they carry meaning; skipdecoration5Small printFootnotes, credits, sources and webaddresses6PublishShort text in the alt field, textversion nearby
Most of an infographic is text already. The work is putting it in order and saying what the pictures add.

Reading order is the description

Sighted readers follow an infographic’s layout without thinking: top to bottom, left to right, along arrows. A screen reader user gets only the order you write down. Number the sections the way the designer meant them to be read, and say how they are laid out so the reader can picture the whole.

Pictures that matter

Many infographic pictures are decoration. Describe a picture when it carries information, such as bars of different heights, a map location or an arrow showing cause, and leave out icons that repeat the words beside them.

Sources

  1. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. Images Tutorial: Complex Images (w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/complex).
  2. W3C. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, success criteria 1.1.1 Non-text Content and 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (w3.org/TR/WCAG22).
  3. DIAGRAM Center. Image Description Guidelines (diagramcenter.org).
  4. U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk. How a bill becomes law, in general terms (clerk.house.gov), for the second worked example.

The worked example is made up, including the recycling figures. The description is assembled by fixed rules from what you enter; read it over before use. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.