Different chart types emphasize different aspects of the data. Three figures show the same data but have different messages. Think about the story you want to tell before picking a chart type.
Different chart types emphasize different aspects of the data. Three figures show the same data but have different messages. Think about the story you want to tell before picking a chart type.
This post cautions about blindly applying style guides without thinking. The preferred way to delineate rows or columns in tables is with white space. However, there may be times when the available space does not allow for sufficient white space. In those cases, shading can be useful. The style guides of some companies call for shading. Think to apply these guides sensibly.
Arrow charts and slope charts are alternatives to multiple pie charts when the data consist of the values or the percentage breakdown of several categories for two time periods.
One of my earliest posts was Thinking Outside the Chart Menu. In it I mentioned that while menus and chart-choosers might be very useful to novices at graphing data, there were three things worth keeping in mind: They discourage “thinking outside the menu.” They may include chart types that should never be used. They don’t [...]
Writers offer conflicting advice on data visualization in blogs and books. I present an example where an alternative figure has at least as many problems as the figure being criticized.
Graph designers often try to put too much information in one plot resulting in confusing plots that are difficult to read. Trellis plots often provide the solution to displaying the data clearly.
The finalists and the winner of the bad graph contest are announced. All of the entries had serious problems so choosing a winner was difficult.
Linked micromaps are collections of small maps linked to corresponding plots. They were developed by Dan Carr and are an extremely useful tool that belongs in the toolbox of anyone who plots geographically referenced data. Linked micromaps make it possible to identify specific geographic patterns in the data that are often lost with other types [...]
A staggering number of really bad graphs are drawn daily. Some are the fault of the designers but often the software used to produce the graph is to blame. Use the comment area or email me at naomi at nbr-graphs.com with your nomination for the worst graph produced by a commercial software program. Thanks to [...]
