10 chart and slide design tips for better reports

10 Chart and Slide Design Tips
for better Reports and
Data Presentations
Juice, Inc. copyright 2016

1. Understand how people interpret radials.

copyright Juice, Inc 2015http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/optimal-number-categories-pie-chart/
2. When to use a Pie Chart. (Hardly ever)

http://www.fusion41.com/visuals/
3. Rarely use 3D charts.
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/design-principles/rarely-use-3d
Does 3D add or take-away
From the information being
shared?

Images courtesy ofTim Bray: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/03/13/Data-Ink
4. Reduce Chart Junk.
remove
chart
elements
that
are
decora/ve
or
ornamental

4. Reduce Chart Junk.

5. Increase Data to Ink Ratio.
(make every pixel tell a story about your data)

5. Increase Data to Ink Ratio.

Help your audience focus on the most important items.
Edward Tufte introduced the concept of data-ink in his 1983 classic The Visual Display of
Quantitative Information. Tufte asserts that in displaying data we should remove all non-data-ink
and redundant data-ink, within reason, to increase the data-ink-ratio and create a sound
graphical design. Only have items on your charts that add to your audience’s understanding.

Chart Junk and Data to Ink apply to tables as well.

Remove the ornamental elements.

Make horizontal tracking easier by breaking up data.

Display the fewest amount of numbers needed

Serif
Sans-serif
Georgia
Arial / Helvetica
hh
Serif
Verdana / Tahoma
Times New Roman
Palatino
Trebuchet
6. Spend time on Typeface

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nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui oﬃcia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
History of Medicine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
Simple Font Framework
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/writing/simple-font-framework

History of Medicine
Body Text
Clean readable text,
50-80% of your text
will look like this.
• 10-16pt
• Arial or Georgia

History of Medicine
Header
Use to separate and
name sections
• 150%-200% of body

History of Medicine
Notes
Additional things a
user should be
aware of
• 85% of body
• Lower contrast

History of Medicine
Emphasis
Draw the eye
to key points
• Same size as body
• High-impact color/bold/italic

History of Medicine

Categorical
Lots of contrast between each
adjacent color
Sequential
Colors can be ordered from low to
high
Diverging
Two sequential schemes extended
out from a critical midpoint value
http://colorbrewer2.org/
Low
Low
High
High
7. Color has Meaning
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/design-principles/limit-colors/

Sequential
Colors can be ordered from low to high

Diverging
Two sequential schemes extended out from a critical midpoint value

Categorical
Lots of contrast between each adjacent color

7a. Use Contrast
Note the focused color (orange) vs. the unselected

8. Avoid Using Dual Axes Charts
A more detailed explanation
http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/visual_business_intelligence/dual-scaled_axes.pdf
if it is your only choice,
nothing but lines should be
used to display values in
graphs with dual-scaled
axes, because only lines
focus attention on the overall
pattern formed by the values
and comparisons of those
patterns. S. Few

9. Consider Slope Graphs as Chart Option
This is an example of Edward Tufte’s
use of a slope graph with disease data.
More detailed explanation of
Slopegraphs
http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/
visual_business_intelligence/
displaying_change_between_two_points
_in_time.pdf

9. Consider Slope Graphs as Chart Option
Slopegraphs in Excel - http://peltiertech.com/slope-graphs-in-excel/

10. Use Common Language
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/design-principles/use-common-language/

Here are some additional resources for chart templates and chart design tips.
http://peltiertech.com/ - A good source of chart templates and Excel chart tips.
www.excelcharts.com - a good source of Excel tips.
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/design-principles/ - a list of design principles to consider
when sharing information.
Data Fluency Book - http://www.juiceanalytics.com/data-fluency/
http://lifehacker.com/5909501/how-to-choose-the-best-chart-for your-data - Some more
details on how to select the optimal chart.
A quick test on how well you create charts.
http://www.perceptualedge.com/files/GraphDesignIQ.html
Additional Charting and Presentation Resources

Thank you!
juiceanalytics.com
@juiceanalytics
info@juiceanalytics.com
Juice, Inc. copyright 2016

10 chart and slide design tips for better reports

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