Updated Note from Stephanie: This blog post generated a lot of discussion. Some of that is in the comments here, some of that has been deleted, some of it came from Twitter and via my inbox. Be sure to read the comments to get a sense of the critique. At…
When we debuted our Qualitative Chart Chooser, we promised to dive into detail on specific visualizations, so let’s kick it off by discussing how and when to use one of the most derided charts of all: the gauge diagram. I know, I know… I am sure you are…
If I could, I’d ban pie charts. Not because they are inherently bad, but because most people don’t know the pie chart’s tiny range of acceptability. Here it is: Pie charts are ok if you don’t need the numbers on the wedges to get the story. That usually means you’ll…
Last week a friend told me the story of a well-intentioned nonprofit that designed teaching materials for Native American populations, in which they unintentionally perpetuated inequality. He described one piece that included a picture of the scales of justice. I didn’t get the significance, so he explained that while most white…
Every year I say this has been the best year ever and every year it is true. Daily, I’m grateful for work I love with amazing people. Thanks for being a part of this with me! Since 2011, I’ve been creating a personal annual report. It’s a dashboard of sorts…
Almost as often as I see a pie chart with a hundred tiny slivers, I see line graphs using two y-axes. And it is just as bad. Graphs like this appear in every industry, everywhere I consult all around the globe. Using two y-axes is not a great idea…
One of the smartest branding moves is to keep yourself top-of-mind with clients when you aren’t in the throes of discussing contract details. The new year is a perfect opportunity to remind your clients that you are both fun AND serious about data. I send a holiday card to my…
Since none of us can escape election coverage, no doubt you’ve seen voter and poll data displayed on some unusual maps. 538 is showing electoral votes as a hex map (made up of hexagons) and the Wall Street Journal did the same as a tile map (made up…
Update: After a successful Kickstarter campaign where we raised over 1,000% of our goal, the cards are in production and you can now order a deck, an infographic, and our templates from our permanent website. Thanks for your support, lovely people. Chart Chooser cards are simple and easy…
If you do nothing else to improve a weak visualization, you’ll still seriously improve its interpretability by giving it an awesome title. Generally we use weak titles that don’t really tell us the point of the visualization: I think this is because we make our graphs in Excel,…
