creating more effective charts · 2019. 7. 31. · poultry production is rising in australia...

CREATING MORE EFFECTIVE CHARTSEcho Swinford

Presentation consultant@echosvoice | echosvoice.com

Sensory Long-termWorking (ST)

Source: Cliff Atkinson, Beyond Bullet Points; Richard E. Mayer, Ed., The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning

Source: Cliff Atkinson, Beyond Bullet Points; Richard E. Mayer, Ed., The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning

Sensory Long-term

Gestalt principles

PROXIMITYObjects close together

are perceived as related.

FOCAL POINTSObjects with a point of interest, emphasis

or difference will capture attention

FIGURE-BACKGROUNDObjects are perceived as figures

(in focus) or background.

CONTINUITYObjects moving in the same direction


SIMPLICITYPeople will perceive and interpret ambiguous or complex images as the simplest form(s) possible

CONNECTEDENESSConnected objects


CLOSUREOpen structures are perceived as closed.

SIMILARITYObjects similar in nature are perceived as related.

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/03/design-principles-visual-perception-and-the-principles-of-gestalt/

Pre-attentive processing

POSITION LENGTH ANGLE DIRECTION

SHAPES SATURATION COLOR

SIZE

ENCLOSURE LINE WEIGHT

https://policyviz.com/product/core-principles-of-data-visualization-cheatsheet/

Year Sheep & goat Beef & Buffalo Pig Poultry

1961 583,775 642,924 110,066 49,388

1962 596,526 803,950 122,328 49,740

1963 603,234 928,606 116,201 51,520

1964 595,377 1,001,315 113,190 60,384

1965 594,473 1,026,287 122,061 72,946

1966 608,689 946,333 135,105 69,316

1967 596,671 878,683 142,274 88,845

1968 664,747 904,285 149,438 102,929

1969 679,987 934,766 162,610 109,297

1970 755,175 1,009,954 174,684 124,384

1971 825,519 1,047,200 181,852 151,992

1972 956,703 1,164,393 194,118 163,741

1973 713,770 1,437,944 236,271 161,248

1974 467,847 1,321,817 211,048 193,982

1975 527,523 1,546,965 175,126 189,760

1976 588,095 1,840,415 173,989 204,552

1977 549,636 1,987,800 185,041 218,626

1978 513,995 2,183,800 199,097 246,487

1979 491,775 2,018,000 198,512 271,938

1980 548,875 1,564,400 219,580 313,457

1981 578,600 1,467,200 233,161 304,228

Glanceable vs referenceable

Source: Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center bears no responsibility for interpretations presented or conclusions reached based on analysis of the data

Poultry production is rising in Australia


Sheep & goat746,852

Beef & Buffalo2,586,317

Pig360,893

Poultry1,098,482

0K

500K

1,000K

1,500K

2,000K

2,500K

3,000K

1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013

ton

nes

Glanceable vs referenceable


Sheep & goat746,852

Beef & Buffalo2,586,317

Pig360,893

Poultry1,098,482

0K

500K

1,000K

1,500K

2,000K

2,500K

3,000K

1961 1965 1969 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013

ton

nes Year Sheep & goat Beef & Buffalo Pig Poultry

1961 583,775 642,924 110,066 49,388

1962 596,526 803,950 122,328 49,740

1963 603,234 928,606 116,201 51,520

1964 595,377 1,001,315 113,190 60,384

1965 594,473 1,026,287 122,061 72,946

1966 608,689 946,333 135,105 69,316

1967 596,671 878,683 142,274 88,845

1968 664,747 904,285 149,438 102,929

1969 679,987 934,766 162,610 109,297

1970 755,175 1,009,954 174,684 124,384

1971 825,519 1,047,200 181,852 151,992

1972 956,703 1,164,393 194,118 163,741

1973 713,770 1,437,944 236,271 161,248

1974 467,847 1,321,817 211,048 193,982

1975 527,523 1,546,965 175,126 189,760

1976 588,095 1,840,415 173,989 204,552

1977 549,636 1,987,800 185,041 218,626

1978 513,995 2,183,800 199,097 246,487

1979 491,775 2,018,000 198,512 271,938

1980 548,875 1,564,400 219,580 313,457

1981 578,600 1,467,200 233,161 304,228

Emphasis

Emphasis in charts

SATURATION COLORSIZEPOSITION/PROXIMITY

SHAPE

Background and foreground

5

100

15 20 25 30 35 40 45 5010

200

300

400

500

600

700

5

100

15 20 25 30 35 40 45 5010

200

300

400

500

600

700

Background

Foreground

When everything is bold, nothing is bold

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Percent positive for salmonella

Ground chicken Young chicken Target Target

When everything is bold, nothing is bold

Ground chicken

Young chicken

Target

Target0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

CY06Q1 CY07Q1 CY08Q1 CY09Q1 CY10Q1 CY11Q1 CY12Q1 CY13Q1

Color choices make a difference

Stephen Few, Perceptual Edge 2008

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

France UnitedKingdom

Denmark Australia Egypt

0

2

4

6

8

10

12



Color choices make a difference


0

2

4

6

8

10

12



0

2

4

6

8

10

12



0

2

4

6

8

10

12




Using too much color undermines its power

Chart junk

Any element of a visualization that is purely decorative, redundant, or unnecessary for understanding the data.

Extreme examples of chart junk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZaGNPiZXhE

Not-so-extreme examples of chart junk


$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

$3,500,000

$4,000,000

$4,500,000

$5,000,000

January February March April May June July

Ave

rage

Inco

me

Months

Average Income Per Month

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Remove chart junk

$0K

$1M

$2M

$3M

$4M

$5M


Average income per month


Removechart junk

$4.3M

$2.5M

$3.2M

$4.5M

$2.7M

$1.7M

$3.8M




$0K

$1M

$2M

$3M

$4M

$5M



24

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

$3,500,000

$4,000,000

$4,500,000

$5,000,000


Ave

rage

Inco

me

Months

Average Income Per Month

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Labeling and titling

Legends vs direct labeling

Widgets

Spinners

Geegaws

Thingies

Sprockets


54%

21%

9%

8%

8%

Widgets Spinners Geegaws Thingies Sprockets

Widgets54%

Spinners21%

Geegaws9%

Thingies8%

Sprockets8%


Widgets54%

Spinners21%

Geegaws9%

Thingies8%

Sprockets8%

Widgets54%

Spinners21%

Geegaws9%

Thingies8%

Sprockets8%


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

JAN FEB MAR APR

Gizmo Sales (millions)

Widgets Sprockets Gizmos

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

JAN FEB MAR APR


Widgets

Sprockets

Gizmos


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

JAN FEB MAR APR


Widgets Sprockets Gizmos

Widgets 4.5M

Sprockets 2.8M

Gizmos 5.0M

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

JAN FEB MAR APR

Gizmo Sales

Use McKinsey-style titles

Widgets 4.5M

Sprockets 2.8M

Gizmos 5.0M

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

JAN FEB MAR APR

Gizmo sales are rising

Widgets 4.5M

Sprockets 2.8M

Gizmos 5.0M

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

JAN FEB MAR APR

Gizmo Sales

Annual sales

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Sorting adds meaning and clarity


Alphabetical orderTOTALLANDAREA

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

CaliforniaColorado

ConnecticutDelaware

FloridaGeorgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

IndianaIowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

MarylandMassachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

NebraskaNevada

NewHampshire

NewJersey

NewMexicoNewYork

NorthCarolinaNorthDakota

OhioOklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

RhodeIsland

SouthCarolinaSouthDakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

VirginiaWashington

WestVirginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

POPULATION

What kind of chart?

Bars and lines tell time differently

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2007 Dropouts

Actual Forecast

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000


2007 Dropouts

Actual Forecast



0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000


2007 Dropouts

Actual Forecast

Stephen Few, Perceptual Edge 2008 37


0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000


2007 Dropouts

Actual Forecast

Stephen Few, Perceptual Edge 2008 38

Just because it equals 100% doesn’t mean it has to be a pie

Freshwater fish142

Cats88.3

Dogs74.8

Small animals24.3

Birds16

Horses13.8

Reptiles13.4

Saltwater fish9.6

https://www.stevedalepetworld.com/blog/world-pet-population-data-mixed-bag/


142

88.3

74.8

24.3

16 13.8 13.49.6

Freshwaterfish

Cats Dogs Small animals Birds Horses Reptiles Saltwater fish



142 Freshwater fish 88.3 Cats 74.8 Dogs 24.3 Small animals

16.0 Birds

13.8 Horses

13.4Reptiles

9.6 Saltwater fish



Freshwater fish 142

Cats 88.3

Dogs 74.8Small animals 24.3

Birds 16.0Horses 13.8Reptiles 13.4Saltwater fish 9.6


Ann K. Emery’s rules for using pie charts

1. Are well-formatted

2. Display nominal variables

3. Add to 100%

4. Contain positive numbers

5. Display a single point in time

6. Only have two or three slices

7. Are displayed individually

44https://depictdatastudio.com/when-pie-charts-are-okay-seriously-guidelines-for-using-pie-and-donut-charts/

No exploding pies

https://flowingdata.com/2012/04/25/world-happiness-report-makes-statisticians-unhappy/

Freshwater fish

Cats

Dogs

Small animals

Birds

Horses

Reptiles

Saltwater fish

Must add to 100%

https://flowingdata.com/2012/10/11/not-enough-donut/

Strongly Agree20%

Agree40%

Disagree30%

Strongly Disagree

10%

No sequential data

Ordinal / sequential data Ranges and other groupings

https://depictdatastudio.com/when-pie-charts-are-okay-seriously-guidelines-for-using-pie-and-donut-charts/

20% 40% 30% 10%

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly

Disagree

0-920%

10-1940%

20-2930%

30-3910%

20%

40%

30%

10%

0-9 10-19 20-29 30-39

No multiple pies

https://depictdatastudio.com/when-pie-charts-are-okay-seriously-guidelines-for-using-pie-and-donut-charts/

Women20%

Men80%

Company A

Women40%

Men60%

Company B

Women60%

Men40%

Company C

Women80%

Men20%

Company D

20% 80%Company A

40% 60%Company B

60% 40%Company C

80% 20%Company D

Women Men

Slope charts are often a good alternative to pies

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-21/hong-kong-s-lost-decade-as-shown-by-these-12-global-surveys

Slopes vs pies

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2012/07/03/bank-profits-head-east

peltiertech.com/slope-graphs-in-excel/

Slopes vs pies

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2012/07/03/bank-profits-head-eastpeltiertech.com/slope-graphs-in-excel/

Pre-Tax profits of the 1000 largest banks (% of total)

Try a bullet chart instead of a column

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000


2007 Dropouts

Actual Forecast

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000


2007 Dropouts

Forecast Actual

Keys to creating effective charts

Leverage gestalt & pre-attentive attributes

Strip chart junk Simplify colors

Use direct labelingInclude the takeaway

in the titleChoose the right chart

creating more effective charts · 2019. 7. 31. · poultry production is rising in australia...

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