Infographics are a popular means of attractively communicating highlights and quick points of information to a broad audience. However, they can be both visually and on a technically problematic for accessibility.
Canva is a popular graphics design tool that is both more approachable and cost-effective than some of the more complex graphic design tools like Adobe Publisher. But it also struggles with basic accessibility functions.
Yet, with some careful forethought and understanding of how to design infographics and how Canva works as a program, you can make Canva present a basic screen reader friendly infographic.
Note: this is only a first step to designing a fully-accessible infographic, which may also include additional elements such as hidden transcripts, aria labels, and alternative links. Note that Canva is not capable of many of these features, so this is not intended to be a tutorial for fully accessible content, but as a first achievable step for small libraries.
This tutorial discusses designing and publishing an effective infographic in Canva, specifically:
Basic principles of infographic design for all audiences.
Content
All infographic design should begin with the why? Why are you creating this document. Carefully consider:
- Audience – who are you producing this for?
- End goal – why do you want them to care about this information?
Numbers by themselves mean nothing. Provide context. Frame your information to tell a story. Write out whole phrases to explain what the numbers mean.
Keep information and words to a 4-5th grade reading level unless you have a very specific audience need.
Organization
Once you have your information, organize it in a logical order.
- Begin with a clear structure and logical flow of information.
- Design your information to read from the top left to the bottom right of the page.
- Designate clear headings and use full text.
- Carefully consider visual elements: are they “decorative” or are they transmitting information?
Essential accessibility design features of infographics
Regardless of the final publication tool, there are universal design elements essential accessibility elements necessary for all infographics and that can benefit all users, not just those using a screen reader.
- Design using a heading structure. Lay out information in a clear reading order using defined headings.
- Use good contrast. Select colors using an inbuilt tool or the WebAIM Color Contrast Checker. Avoid red-green color combinations and do not convey information using only color.
- Write in full but short sentences and use proper punctuation. Using punctuation can helps a screen reader to pause naturally.
- Use large, dyslexia-friendly fonts. Do not use fancy fonts. Use 12 – 14 point font sizes and no more than two different font styles.
- Use true text and not text of images. Write out text, don’t use words of text.
- Carefully consider visual elements. Select images that enhance the message. If you are using charts, be sure to have a full verbal description prepared for alternative text.
- Use alternative text. Unless an image is purely decorative, add alternative text that fully describes the image.
- Consider alternative means of communicating the information. You do not need to rely on a single form to communicate the same information to multiple audiences.
Canva-specific elements and tools to create a screen reader-friendly version
Once you have developed a layout with all of the essential infographic design and accessibility features in mind, here are some Canva-specific tips for creating as screen reader-friendly version of your infographic.
Use “Layers” to determine reading order.
Currently (March 2026) Canva does use headings to create a hierarchical reading order. This is one of the major reasons we do not recommend using Canva to produce website documents. However, you can use the “Position” > “Layers” feature to create a logical reading order for your document.
The major consideration? The layers must be arranged “backwards” for the screen reader to read it forwards. Canva is first a graphic design tool. The bottom layer, the “last” item in the document, is listed first in the layer list.
So in order to have the screen reader read the content in a logical order, you must organize the layers in a bottom-top order.
Publish as a “Website” in Canva
Once you have the infographic organized, you will want to publish the item as a Canva website, not as a Public View Link etc. This preserves the reading order and the alternative text.
Note: once you have published the link, you can continue to make changes to your Canva document and when you republish, this changes will appear live on your link.
Now test your new infographic with a screen reader to make sure the content is being read in the proper order!
You can now add this link to your library website and share a screen reader-friendly version of your library infographic.