Images added to web pages must have a text alternative that describes the information of that image, except for:
- Sensory images: if the image is intended to create a sensory experience, for example, image of an artwork.
- Decorative images: if the image is pure decoration, used for visual purposes only.
What are complex images?
Complex images contain a lot of detail. They include:
- infographics - e.g. images that include text descriptions
- graphs - e.g. bar or pie graphs
- flowcharts - e.g. a step-by-step process that uses images and text
- maps - e.g. a boundary map of a Victorian local government area
When to use a complex image
Alternative text for images should only be brief - no more than 125 characters or so. This component was built to provide information from complex images in an accessible way. Use the complex image component when you need to provide a longer description for an image or you have data that can be provided in a table.
How to add a complex image
Click on Add component and select Complex image.
Complete the following fields:
- Title: (this will display as a Heading 3) e.g. Figure 4.2: Excerpt from The Orange Door’s Client Experience Toolkit for staff
- Image: no larger than 800px wide, however the ideal size for a complex image is 800px wide x 400px high
- Source: (not mandatory) e.g. The Orange Door 2018 evaluation
- Corresponding data: Include a detailed description of the content included in the infographic, table, chart or image. For graphs you should include a table with the data from the graph.
You can edit the title fields which display the following options for an image:
- View figure {custom title} in full screen
- View figure {custom title} in table format
- Download {custom title}
If left unchanged, the descriptions will pull in the default complex image title, for example:
- View Figure 4.2: Excerpt from The Orange Door’s Client Experience Toolkit for staff in full screen
- View Figure 4.2: Excerpt from The Orange Door’s Client Experience Toolkit for staff in table format
- Download Figure 4.2: Excerpt from The Orange Door’s Client Experience Toolkit for staff
Complex image examples
Victorian Government advertising expenditure by category 2019−20
Victorian Government advertising expenditure by year
Figure 4.2: Excerpt from The Orange Door’s Client Experience Toolkit for staff
Reviewed 16 June 2022