Telling the Story

Marimekko Chart Business Solutions

We'd like to introduce what we hope will be a useful tool for you!  Here's a presentation that provides working examples of different uses of Marimekko Charts. The charts were all built with Mekko Graphics software.  Feel free to let us know how you are using Marimekko charts with Mekko Graphics in your organization. We'd love to hear from you!

Click Here to Open the Presentation in PowerPoint

Using a Two-Chart Approach to Highlight Trends and Data Mixes within the Trend

Charts are a great way to show changes over time. Line charts are particularly effective in displaying and comparing trends (changes over time). Stacked Bar charts are most often used to demonstrate a mix within the data, i.e. the relationship of individual segments to each other and to the whole.  Combining the two charts side-by-side can together create a compelling message to the reader, more clearly than either chart in isolation.

A new report by McKinsey & Company utilizes this side-by-side chart approach in Exhibit 5. It shows two charts published by Martin Hilbert and Priscilla Lopez in Science measuring the rise of digitization.

As you can see, global storage capacity grew from 50 exabytes in 2000 to 290 exabytes in 2007 for both analog and digital media.  In 2000, the percentage of data stored in digital form was only 25 percent, but rose to 94% in 2007, through such media as hard drives, CDs and digital tapes.[1]  

 

 

Placing these charts side-by-side is a great way to demonstrate both the trend itself as well as the mix within the trend.  Line charts generally are best to show trends over time.  Stacked Bar charts are best at displaying relationships among data.  In the first chart, the line chart displays the positive trend of sheer data storage from 1986 to 2007.  In the second chart, a 100% stacked bar chart beautifully demonstrates the shift in the mix within the aggregate. Seeing these two charts side-by-side tells the story very effectively because the author used the best chart to tell each part of the message.  Trying to combine these two charts would not make the message as clearly visible.

Sometimes, using a two-chart comparison method is the best way to tell your story most effectively. When creating your charts, first think about what messages you want the chart to demonstrate.  Then choose the chart or charts that will maximize the clarity of that message.

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[1] http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/publications/big_data/pdfs/MGI_big_data_full_report.pdf, page 17

Mekko Graphics Charts as a Tool for Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a methodology and a business philosophy that is aimed at enhancing the efficiency and productivity of a business to increase turnover and profits. Introduced in 1986, Motorola initiated this effort as a strategy for businesses to try and improve manufacturing processes and reduce the number of production problems that were costing Motorola millions of dollars.  Since then, Six Sigma tools have amassed massive popularity among many corporate organizations because of their great economic effects on the bottom line. 

Commonly used Six Sigma tools include control charts, Histograms and Pareto charts. Control charts provide information and they are also used in monitoring and controlling process performance. Histograms and Pareto charts are used to summarize data. Histograms display frequency distribution. Pareto Charts generally display a rank order of categories to give the user a visual of the highest to lowest ranked items.  A Pareto chart will display differences between various groups of data and will also establish the relative importance (rank) of the different groups of data.

Mekko Graphics provides a wide range of chart types common to Six Sigma needs, including Bar Mekko or Stacked Bar Line (Pareto), Stacked Bar (Histogram), Line (Control Charts), and Scatter charts.

Below are some examples of Mekko Graphics charts used in Six Sigma applications.

 

 

 
 

 

Reference: http://www.sixsigmaonline.org

Should I use a scatter or a line chart?

Recently, during the Q&A portion of our Mekko Graphics webinar, I was asked how to know when to use a line chart versus when to use a scatter chart.   This is a great question, as scatter charts and line charts look very similar to each other, especially when a scatter chart is displayed with connecting lines.  But, there are specific uses for each, and there are easy questions to ask yourself to determine which chart will best portray the data you wish to present.

You will want to choose a scatter chart if you wish to show relationships among numeric values in several different series.  Each dot in a scatter chart represents a specific xy coordinate.  

 

Conversely, you might wish to use a line chart to show trends in data either at equal intervals or over a period of time.  Line charts present data against a common scale. The data is distributed evenly across the x axis.  If your x axis contains non-numeric values, such as months, it is generally better to use a line chart. For numeric x values, it is generally a better choice to use a scatter chart.

 
 

Other questions to consider are

1. The scale of the x axis. If, for example, you wish to use a logarithmic scale, you might choose a scatter chart as opposed to a line chart.
2. Do you wish to show patterns?  Scatter charts are most useful for illustrating patterns in data, like clusters of data, or outliers.
3. Do you wish to compare groups of data points without time as a factor?  Scatter charts show comparisons, and the more data you include in your scatter chart, the better the comparison.
4. Are you using an evenly spaced interval across the x axis?   Line charts are best when using evenly spaced numerical labels that represent a time interval, such as years.  On the other hand, a scatter chart always has two value axes to show one set of numerical data along a horizontal (value) axis and another set of numerical values along a vertical (value) axis. The chart displays points at the intersection of an x and y numerical value, combining these values into single data points. These data points may be distributed evenly or unevenly across the horizontal axis, depending on the data.
5. Does one series need to be plotted on a different scale? You can create 2Y Line charts, when one or more series are best displayed on a different scale.

Mekko Graphics 5 Preference Manager: Up Close and Personal

One of the huge enhancements to Mekko Graphics 5 is the new and improved Preference Manager. We’ve given the Preference Manager a face lift, and the result is that creating and customizing your Mekko Graphics charts is now even faster and simpler. The new Preference Manager puts you in the driver’s seat, allowing you to set your color and pattern style defaults and have more customization options in chart creation.

Let’s take a closer look.

Color Palette Flexibility
There are four tabs:  Colors, Settings, Regions, and Advanced. Within the Colors tab, there are now four subtabs: Multicolor, Black and White, No Shading, and Gantt Colors.

 

 

This means that Mekko Graphics 5 Preference Manager now includes the ability to set your color palette and draw order, not only for multi-color charts, but also for black and white charts and for single shaded charts (no shading), including the default color for the lines in your line charts.  And our default palette for Mekko Graphics 5 is much improved, offering more colors, including the ability to set highlight colors.

Default Flexibility
The Settings tab now allows you to select the Mekko Graphics default setting for chart style and pattern style, as well as your defaults for maximum, minimum, and minimum SmartPlace font size.  So, for example, if you never create single shade or black and white charts, you can set your default to multi-color and all your charts will automatically draw as multi-color. 

 
Patterns Flexibility
You also have a choice of pattern style now. You can define your pattern style for your charts as:  No Patterns, Extended Mekko Graphics or Mekko Graphics.  If you never want patterns to draw on your chart, select No Patterns. For the same functionality of Mekko Graphics 4, select Mekko Graphics.  We actually recommend our new pattern style called Extended Mekko Graphics. This pattern style uses a newer, smarter method to determine when patterns will appear on your charts. The advantages of this pattern style are most apparent when you have charts with a large number of series. Once patterns start to appear on charts, fewer series will contain patterns in your chart, and those patterns will be more evenly distributed than the Mekko Graphics pattern style.

 

Regional Flexibility
The Regions tab allows you to select the Mekko Graphics default setting that corresponds to your geographical area. Each region has a pre-defined setting for

Font typeface - for both Latin and Asian font
Negative number format
Decimal Separator
Thousand Separator
Y axis Title Orientation
Y axis Prefix/Suffix Value

You can choose the region from the pre-loaded drop-down list and Mekko Graphics will automatically reset your Preference Manager settings for that region. You may also overwrite those settings by choosing the Customized radio button and creating a custom definition for your region. Customized settings in this tab are saved for each region.

 

Chart Update Flexibility
Once you use the Preference Manager, those changes will affect future charts that you create or edit. It will not automatically change charts you have already created. For existing charts, you can apply our new Preference Manager settings by opening the chart and choosing

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This function allows you to take the active Preference Manager settings and apply them to your chart. To update an entire deck without opening each chart individually, simply click “Update All Charts” from your PowerPoint ribbon toolbar.

 

We’d love to hear your feedback on the new features.  Contact us at support@mekkographics.com with your comments. Or ask a question on our Mekko Graphics Forum . Thanks.

 

 

Mekko Graphics 5 is here!

We've taken Mekko Graphics to the next level. Mekko Graphics 5 is now available and includes new features in direct response to your requests. And we've added some surprises that we think you'll appreciate and enjoy. Fully compatible with MS Office 2010 (32-bit), with a new user interface, and enhanced data manipulation, Mekko Graphics 5 helps you deliver your message faster and more easily than ever before.

So you might be familiar with some of the major headliners:

• New User Interface
  Yup, it's new, and offers a ribbon toolbar both inside Mekko Graphics and for Mekko-related functions in PowerPoint for our Office 2007 and 2010 users.  The new User Interface will help you find what you need more quickly and efficiently, and has the look and feel of the latest in Office applications.

 

• Compatible with Office 2010 (32-bit)
  Probably the #1 request by our users, and yes, it is fully compatible with Office 2010.
• Improved Preference Manager with more control and customization options
  You asked for more control and we gave it to you.  You're going to love the new Preference Manager features. Now, you can set default color style (multi-color, no shading, or black and white) so all your charts will draw with that setting applied.  We also offer a new, smarter, alternative pattern option which displays more solids and fewer patterns on your charts, the ability to set default colors for your Gantt chart, and the option to set your "No Shading" color.

 
 

• Increased speed
  We've optimized some background processes to make opening, editing and saving charts faster, so you can create your decks even more quickly and efficiently.
• Improved label editing
  We've improved our inplace editing feature to allow for more extensive formatting choices, and the ability to see the entire label in the inplace editing screen.

 

But wait, there’s more!   Here’s even more features for you might not be aware of:

• Easier for Win 7 users
  Now that we've eliminated Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 as a requirement, Windows 7 users will experience a more seamless integration with our software.
• Ability to create custom colors that stay with your chart
  Now you can create custom colors for your chart on-the-fly right from the Mekko Graphics application. And they save to your chart, so even if you mail your chart to a colleague who has a different palette, the colors will retain.

 

• Elimination of Excel conflicts
  We've eliminated the occasional conflicts with third party Excel add-ins by the inclusion of a new spreadsheet control that allows you to launch Mekko Graphics charts faster and switch back and forth between Mekko Graphics and Microsoft Excel more seamlessly.
• Ability to customize Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)
  For those of you who take advantage of Microsoft's QAT and depend on it, we now offer QAT support from within the Mekko Graphics application 

• Edit in Excel
  This is a slick new button in the data view section of our application that allows you to take your existing Mekko Graphics data and edit that data in Excel right from within the Mekko Graphics application.  Simply click the button right from Mekko Graphics and all your data automatically copies to an Excel spreadsheet, allowing you to do any editing. When you are finished, simply close the window and the data gets automatically inserted back into your Mekko Graphics data view. 

 

• Are you an IPhone or Blackberry User?
  Mekko Graphics charts are now viewable on your mobile devices. You can paste a chart object right into your email for easy viewing!

We're excited about all the new features and want to know what you think. We'd love to hear your thoughts about the new features. Comment or email us support@mekkographics.com.