Designing for Charts
Applying basic design principles, Part 3: Details of chart display
This is the third in a series of articles that illustrate how basic design principles can improve information display. Previous articles focused on whitespace and establishing page hierarchy, and the next will discuss different considerations for choosing between chart types. Here, we’ll get into the details of how to optimize a chart display.
“Good information design works like a tour guide, telling the user what matters most and where to go from here.”
Every design system is the result of competition between different constraints. You may need to adhere to specific space constraints or charting libraries, support a particular kind of information, or satisfy a strong brand or aesthetic. A good design solution balances these competing influences to support a specific user task. For a chart, the primary task is analytical: a user must be able to read and understand the data. For this reason, data visualization design prioritizes quantitative accuracy and emphasizes clarity and legibility over other considerations. Let’s start with a typical default chart, and see how information design principles can make it better.
