Recording of May 27 session by Amy Ellison and Ruth MacDonald from the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources and Kitty Hurley of MN IT Services, who will share
their knowledge of map accessibility. This special session will be two
hours long, with a short break after the first half.
Maps tell a story, and so should be usable and understandable to
everyone. This means making design choices that consider, from the very
start, users with different situations, such as color vision deficiency
and visual impairments, motor impairments, and cognitive disabilities
and conditions; cultural understandings; and much more.
This session will highlight accessible map principles and how to design
for the web using color, patterns, aerial photos, and more. Once
designed, we’ll highlight how to tag maps, use alternative text, and
incorporate accessible web standards. Additionally, we will provide
tools, resources, and tip sheets to incorporate accessibility into map
products.
Content is focused on cartography, static maps (e.g., PNG, or
PDF-based), and interactive web maps. Participants will learn ways to
make their maps digitally accessible. This session assumes general
accessibility knowledge and some basic PDF tagging in Acrobat. All
audiences welcome!