HOW TO MAKE SEXY CHARTS
People are astounding creatures who learn through vision, sound, touch, smell, echolocation and taste. Based on Neil Fleming’s VARK model, people can be categorized these into four types of learners: Visual, Auditory, Reading/writing, and Kinesthetic. This does not translate to a person only learning from one of these categories, but a possibility of combinations of the four, or different usage according to the task at hand. A bulk of humans, estimated at 65%, are visual learners, meaning they are able to comprehend information with their eyes the easiest over the other three. As majority of learners use their eyes to process information, data visualization and visual communication play important components in presentations, reports, and articles as the reader must quickly and easily comprehend the given data.
Think about a time when you are sitting in a presentation and the speaker introduces a complex graph, making you figure out the content and context all while the speaker continues to chat. You get lost pretty quickly, and may lose their attention. I’m a lazy person; I want the speaker to immediately explain the purpose of the graph, and/or easily understand it without the person walking me through. It drives me crazy the moment my eyes land on a cluttered, “dirty” (as oppose to being clean), or incomprehensible chart. Don’t get me wrong, nobody is perfect at the first go. I know I was not.
I could have written the Action Plan in a plain list style, limit the colors and like three other things. However, I did not and must live with this mistake. As I’m not the only one who made these blunders, let’s take a look at:
Some Bad Charts
Example 1: Americans United For Life’s Lines, aka Chaffetz’s Blunder
Looking at the graph above, one can see: 1) 327,000 is larger than 935,573, 2) the Y-axis is nonexistent, leaving this up to interpretation, or in Chaffetz’s case, misleading, and 3) somehow the lines make a perfect X even though the percentage change is undefined, or the numbers are highly inaccurate. Two redeeming qualities are the title allows you to clearly understand what the chart’s insight and the legibility in font choice.
Example 2: Good Car Bad Car’s Starburst Pie
In this case, there are just way too much slices where the reader can’t distinguish the slices, or even what the 61.3% is suppose to represent, and ends up being a mixed berry pie. Worse of all, it adds up to 99.9%, not 100% as pies usually come in. Imagine buying a pie and realizing a small portion of it slip out. Okay, it’s not that bad compared to the others, but it does bother me .1%-ish.
Actually, Fox News takes the “pie” as the slices add up to 193%. Adding a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, the slices aren’t even proportional to the numbers.
Example 3: Wherever Bad Graph Found This 3D Abomination
Don’t 3D it; just don’t. For one, it is hard af to match the bar to the appropriate line. Next, you have to add the number next to the bar in order for the audience to know the data point, which in turn makes the graph more cluttered than it already is. Lastly, it’s so 2003.
6 Tips to Make Good Graphs
1 Keep the data simple. No need to complicate the graph any further than adding more data sets that could be consolidated, merged, or completely cut out. If there are several small numbers, consider compiling them into a category called “Other”. Is that extra line important? Is that bar necessary? You figure it out.
2 Understand each chart’s usage. Just like a set of tools, you have to know which one is appropriate for the job. Would you build a table using a jackhammer (I don’t know anyone who actually owns one, but just in case)? The same could be said when using a pie graph to show a change of revenue over a few years.
3 Have a meaningful axis. Sounds like a dumb tip, but I have seen plenty of charts missing this part. How would I know the content/importance of each bar if I don’t know the scale they are being compared? Axis gives clarity, and simple to include.
4 A descriptive title can tell more than a graph. If you really want the audience to grasp the story, then straight up tell them in the header or a clear section. You don’t need to write a full sentence, but something that allows them to grab the insight within 3–8 seconds.
5 Choose legible font and colors. Most basic rule of design, find fonts and color palettes that are easy on the eyes, and distinguishable when pointing out insights.
Wrap Up
- Keep it simple; don’t be fancy.
- Ensure the numbers look good.
- “Slim-fit” graphs, not over-stuffing it.
I’m sure I can continue yakking more on tidbits, but these 5 Do’s and the Don’t’s seem like they cover a good portion to get you started. Got something to add? I’d love to hear it! Comment below or tweet to @BrandonTLuong
