Telling the Story

Great new book!

“The ability to communicate clearly through effective charts and graphs is as indispensable a skill as good writing.”  So says, Dona Wong, author of The Wall  Street Journal Guide to Information Graphics: The Dos and Don'ts of Presenting Data, Facts, and Figures.  Only released a month ago, and already touted as the ‘Strunk & White of graphics’, this book focuses on how to convey your message in a data-driven world, using effective charting techniques.

This book appeared on my desk about two weeks ago (a gift from my boss), and I have to say, I have never read a more practical, well-layed out, easy-to-understand book on business charting.  Her guidelines are both perceptive and clear, not buried under six feet of abstractions.

The meat of the book, which comprises chapter 2, contrasts effective and poor graphics on side-by-side pages. This useful design complements her key points, and while many books give rules, few go beyond the simply stating the rule, and further show us why the rule makes sense.  Some examples include when and how to set scales to make meaningful comparisons, rules for bar order and the exceptions to those rules, when to plot absolute values versus percentage changes, when horizontal charts are best used, etc.

There is also a strong chapter on color and lines – what colors to use in combination, palettes, color order, line style and thickness, number of lines on a chart, and the use of labels with data points.

Wong’s methods are not as much geared toward creating an aesthetically pleasing chart (although they do), but focus on the ability to convey the intended message well and with clarity. She is a no-nonsense writer and a no-nonsense thinker.  The book in and of itself does what it teaches - communicates without excess while delivering a message effectively.  Dona Wong, a Tufte protégé , has created an essential reference work for everyone from the average PowerPoint user to the sophisticated business and strategic professional.

Interestingly, there is no discussion of what tools were used to use to make the graphics or how the graphics in this book were rendered.  I have a suggestion…

10 Tips of the Trade: Some pointers for creating bar charts in Mekko Graphics

Mekko Graphics doesn’t have a little animated paper clip to give you your daily tips, so I decided to share 10 basic tips to think about when creating your bar charts. Hopefully, this method will prove to be less intrusive.

1.   Decide whether you want a chart or a table. Do you want to communicate a message, display a trend or show a relationship or comparison? Or do you just want to show data?  If you just want to show data, sometimes a table is a better bet. If you want to drive home a message, a chart is generally better. If there is no benefit to seeing your data as a chart, then it’s better to present it in a table.

2. Choose the right chart for the job. Many experts prefer a bar chart instead of a pie chart because it is sometimes easier to compare bar heights to pie slices, but a pie chart gives you the perception of a whole that is absent in a bar chart. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the different charts. Mekko Graphics gives a good overview of each type of chart in Chart Properties. Make sure you are creating the best chart for the message you really want to communicate.
3. KISS – Keep it Simple and Stupid. There should be 1-2  primary messages in each chart. The message(s) of your chart should be apparent. If people have to hunt for the message, they’re going to miss it, or lose interest. If you have more things to say, maybe more charts are the way to go.
4. Don’t Overcrowd Your Chart.  Even if there are only one to two messages, an overcrowded chart can still cause your message to get lost. One way to avoid overcrowding is to use an Other Series to combine your less relevant or insignificant data into one series. Another way is to use Data Rows. The use of data rows can allow the user to see the detailed information in your charts without overcrowding the chart itself.
5. Think about Color. Mekko Graphics give you full control over your color palette and draw order. Take advantage and use colors in a way that makes sense. Sometimes that means tailoring your chart colors to a company’s corporate scheme. Other times it means using color to communicate a message or to make your important information get noticed. You should be aware of how your audience views your colors. This is especially important if you are targeting an audience of a different culture than your own (or a global audience). The cultural basis for color symbolism can be very powerful, and if you don't understand what you're saying with your colors, you can make big mistakes.
6. Think about Labels. Color can tell a story but labels are important too. And there are still many black and white printers in the world, so be sure your message does not disappear when printed in black and white. You not only need to have the labels, they need to be readable. $2,123,234 might be accurate, but $2M might be a better label. The accuracy doesn’t help if the audience can’t read it.
7. Sorting. Generally, it’s good practice to sort your data in Ascending or Descending order. The exception is if there’s an obvious natural order, like chronological order. Sort your data in a way that reinforces your message.  You may want to change your sort to better communicate your message, and feel free to play with the different sort options before deciding on a final sort. 
8. Use horizontal bar charts when x labels are too large to be correctly displayed.
9. The y axis scale generally starts at zero.This is particularly important if you are using bar charts; make sure you have a (very) good reason to break this rule.  For some examples where a non-zero value does help, see my previous blog entry “It’s OK to Look at the Scale.”
10. Use a Legend only when needed. Let’s face it. To read a legend, you have look away from the rest of the chart. This may be necessary to keep the chart from being overcrowded or to get necessary information, but if you can put the information in the chart effectively, then it’s much more intuitive to the reader. I’ve seen many charts (particularly cluster bar charts), where the series labels display on the chart, but the chart includes a legend with the same information.

In subsequent blog entries, I plan to elaborate more on some of these points, and I’d love to hear if you have ideas as well. What are your tips of the trade?