The document provides tips for creating effective quantitative visuals such as charts and graphs. It recommends conveying one clear message per visual, labeling all elements, using accurate comparisons, eliminating unnecessary details, limiting colors to a maximum of four, avoiding vibrating fill patterns, highlighting key points with color and call-outs, using title case for annotations, making bars and columns wider than spaces between them, and avoiding clutter in presentation software. The document also lists additional resources on using charts and working with quantitative visual evidence.

1. Quantitative Visual Evidence: Useful Charts and Graphs L.M. Freer February 17, 2010 (with inspiration from Strategic Communications)

3. 1. Make The Message The Heading

5. Convey one message per chart

6. 2. Make the chart easy to read

7. Label everything!

8. The largest text or darkest data is the most important

9. 3. Be accurate

10. Compare only like variables

11. 4. Eliminate all unnecessary details

12. Avoid unnecessary grid lines, data points, boxes, and other devices

13. 5. Use no more than four colors

15. 6. Avoid vibrating fill patterns

17. 7. use color and shading to highlight key words & concepts

18. You can also use call-outs or bubbles to annotate your chart

19. 8. Write in upper and lower caseWhile this PowerPoint style is in all caps, it is jarring to the Eye when a chart is annotated entirely in all caps

20. 9. Make bars and columns wider than the spaces between them

21. This bar graph is too cluttered to read

22. 10. Use presentation software sensibly

23. Avoid clutter or overdesign on all fronts

24. FOR MORE INFORMATION StratComm: “Using Charts” PowerPoint and Presentation Suggestions Working With Photographs and Qualitative Visual Evidence Working With Quantitative Visual Evidence lindsey.freer@gmail.com