Steadfast Rules for Data Visualization

In general, the very reason to give a presentation is to teach the audience something. Whether an introduction to something new, an update on progress, or a revolutionary process, your audience should be learning. Often, data visualization is key to illustrating portions of information. Edward Tufte, a data visualization legend, once said, “if the statistics are boring, then you’ve got the wrong numbers.” Not only that, but if your numbers are displayed poorly, then you run the risk of falling into the “Chartjunk” category. There are two important guidelines through which you should check all of your charts, graphs and infographics. To begin, ask yourself these questions: “Is the information clear?” and, “Is the information true?”

Is the Information Clear?

When multimedia is clear from extraneous information, the ability of the learner to absorb what’s being said increases. Edward Tufte coined the term “Chartjunk” to refer to all of the visual elements that aren’t necessary to comprehend the information. Worse, these elements could distract the viewer. Be sure to remove all elements of visual data that do not contribute to your message. This could be objects, pictures, logos, animations, and the like. Here are two direct ways you can clean up your visual data:
1.) Lose the Legend– Pie charts with legends, while cleaner, take longer for the learner to comprehend. When the slices are labeled clearly, the brain is able to understand much more quickly.
2.) Clear the Clutter– for charts, try using either a label or an axis, not both. Having only one gives you the ability to clean up lines, text and objects within the chart.

Is the Information True?

In the “fake news” era, the last thing an audience member is looking for is false or misleading data. Be sure to take into account all of the outliers, inconsistencies, and bias before building your visual data. Furthermore, tell your audience that you have done so. Building trust with your audience is paramount and letting them know you’ve done your due diligence to represent accurate data will speak volumes.

Remember, the point of an infographic is not to gain understanding at-a-glance, it is to learn something. If done correctly, a clean and accurate depiction of your information will teach your audience for you. Need someone to build out beautiful charts or graphs for you? Our design team at Ethos3 is obsessed with presentation design. Top-notch data visualization is just a click away!

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