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- Tell the “why” and “how”
Use a descriptive chart title and annotation that not only describe what is being measured rather also why the reader should care and how to read the chart. This will avoid misinterpretations and save time for the chart viewers.
Example:
Original title: MSIS degree
Improved title with note: MSIS degree placement rate. Note: 86% of the MSIS graduates had job placements, which is the highest placement rate when compared to other programs.
- Highlight what’s important, tell one story
Although it is possible to tell 100 of story using a single line chart, it makes much sense to keep the focus on just one story.
Example: Consider this image, There are 5 products in the chart, and it is not clear what product is the story focusing on. Therefore we must highlight the line that we are focusing on to tell that particular story and keep the rest in context in the background.
- Do not use 3D charts
Studies show that 3D effect reduce comprehension. The extra dimension can hide the visibility of the data, and therefore unable to understand the pattern in data.
Example: consider this 3D effect image, as we see from the chart, most of the data are hidden, and hence are not easily understandable.
reference: http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/learn-more/chart-dos-and-donts#toc-0
