Accessible Power BI reporting

Font formatting 

To ensure your dashboard is clear and readable, consider the font colour, size and style you use. This is important for people with conditions like dyslexia and visual impairments.

Aim for consistency across your dashboard. This provides a clearer experience for users.  

Font choice

The choice of font is important for accessibility and readability. Especially for users with dyslexia.

Many fonts are created with this in mind. For example, Sans serif fonts. These are perceived as less crowded and therefore easier to read.

Recommended fonts include Verdana, Calibri, Tahoma, Arial, Corbel and Helvetica. 

Font size 

Avoid using small text as this is harder to read.

We recommend using a text size no smaller than size 12. Due to Power BI's automatic formatting this is not always possible.

Font styling

We recommend avoiding:

• Using italics. This can be hard for some people to read.
• Using block capitals. This can be hard for some people to read.
• Underlining text. This can make the text look like a link.  

Font colour

There must be enough contrast between the font colour and the background colour.

Learn more about accessible colour contrast.

Headings, titles and labels

Apply visual formatting to your titles, headings and labels. Use a larger font size (where possible) and bold formatting. This helps users looking at your report find key information and navigate the layout.

Titles and headings with the same level of importance should look the same. The more important your title or heading is, the bigger it should be.  

Axis titles should be smaller than graph/chart titles. Axis labels and data labels should be smaller than axis titles. Ensure that text in a graph/chart is not obstructed by other chart elements. More information on how to format graphs and charts.

Text alignment 

Use the same text alignment across your dashboard, for consistency. Left aligning text makes it easier to read. Especially for users with dyslexia.

Avoid centre aligning text, particularly when it runs over more than one line.

Right align numbers in tables. This is so it is easier to see the size of the numbers as they increase.

Number formatting

Make the numbers in your graphs/charts easy to understand. To do this, you should:

• Use commas in large numbers. For example, "1,000" or "250,000" 
• Use units to shorten numbers. For example, use "m" for millions, such as "50m". Make sure you explain all abbreviations in the first instance.
• Avoid using more decimal places that you need. For example, use "10.5" instead of "10.50". Consider rounding to whole numbers if a high level of accuracy is not required.
• Avoid using more than 2 decimal places (except in exceptional circumstances). For example, use "3.65" not "3.652". 
• Use currency symbols for values that represent amounts of money. For example "£1,000".
• Use percentage symbols for values the represent percentages. For example "20%".
• Use long date formats instead of short date formats where you can. For example "1 April 2024" instead of "01/04/2024".

Formatting that is not possible in Power BI

• Line and word spacing are not controllable in Power BI
• Power BI may truncate longer titles. This cannot be manually adjusted.
• You cannot make Y-axis labels horizontal in Power BI
• It is not always possible to control font size within graphs and charts. This is due to Power BI pre-set formatting. If this happens, consider if the page is too crowded and if the graph may be better placed on another page.