5 easy steps to improve your data slides

Originally posted on Issue №15— June 2023

The thing is that although collecting and analyzing data is essential, one key element of working with data is knowing how to communicate it. But thankfully, data visualization has evolved so much that most tools available today provide a wide range of formatting options to make your data visualizations more effective and appealing to the eye.

To support you and your team’s work, here are five easy-to-follow design overhauls to improve data visualizations shared by Chimdi Nwosu, a Data Visualization Designer and Developer from British Columbia, Canada.

1. Apply whitespace: when communicating data, we often put too much in the slides, making them look heavy and overwhelming. Be intentional about adding whitespace to provide a sense of harmony and balance to a design, making it easier for the eyes to focus on what’s in front of them.
2. Ensure proper text use: this is 1) about adding text where it’s needed, such as using subtitles and labels to provide a better idea of what’s being shown; and 2) applying a logical text hierarchy to help focus on the most important elements. Make titles and insights larger and bolder.
3. Evaluate chart choices: explore the chart options available in your preferred software to convey your message. Are you comparing two groups? Tracking change over time? Showing the location of a specific issue? The nature of the question will help you decide what type of chart works best. Keep it as simple as possible.
4. Use color purposefully: you want to connect with people, and good color choice catches and pleases the eye. Highlight only the key data points and keep a consistent color narrative throughout your dashboard.
5. Eliminate noise: by default, most charts will come with elements that don’t help communicate your message and, instead, add complexity to your graphics. Decide if you really need the borders, gridlines, labels and other items that might overwhelm your audience.

To illustrate each of these steps, Chimdi Nwoso designed this Tableau dashboard that walks users through the five steps, showing the change of a basic dashboard into a much more visually appealing version.

Regardless of the software we use, we put these steps into practice daily and hope they help you with your work, too. But if you need more support or want to take your visualizations even further, let’s talk! Data viz is our passion 😊