charting best practices
TRANSCRIPT
Charting Best PracticesDave Fowler
CEO @ Chartio
Physics at Gustavus
MS EE at U of MN
IBM Rochester
Y Combinator
Chartio
Stephen FewEdward Tufte
AcademicArtistic
High Level
Business FocusedPragmaticSpecific
Chart Monster
Chart Monster Data Hero
TypeTextures
GridColorsLabelsScales
Dimensions
“Does this look impressive enough?”
“Does this show the data clearly?”
Chart Types
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
0
5
10
15
20
0 5 10 15 20
Total Profit
$11,689
Gauge Charts
Bullet Graph
Toy Charts
Pie Charts
0
20
40
60
80
2007 2009 2011
2007 2008 20092010 2011 2012
r 4r
16x larger
Chart “Attributes” to Avoid
Gradients
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 20100
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
“Does this add an extra dimension?”
Textures
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 20100
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Extra Colors
0
25
50
75
100
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 20102007 2008 2009 2010
Dimensions
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Dimensions
0
25
50
75
100
20072008
20092010
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Backgrounds
#F0EFE9
Color Palette
•Vastly different Hues
•Similar Intensity
•Contrast from background
•Avoid Red and Green Combo
Color Palette
High Focus
Medium Focus
Low Focus
Focus
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Total Sales
$51,689Total Profit
$11,689Region 1
Region 2
Focus
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Total Sales
$51,689Total Profit
$11,689Region 1
Region 2
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Focus
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Total Sales
$51,689Total Profit
$11,689Region 1
Region 2
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Focus
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Total Sales
$51,689Total Profit
$11,689Region 1
Region 2
0
25
50
75
100
2007 2008 2009 2010
Year Profit Growth
2007 17 20%
2008 26 52%
2009 53 104%
2010 96 81.1%
Thanks!Dave Fowler
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