A few basic ideas on how to improve data communication in charts and slides.

1. 10 Chart and Slide Design Tips
for better Reports and
Data Presentations
Juice, Inc. copyright 2016

3. 1. Understand how people interpret radials.

4. 1. Understand how people interpret radials.

7. copyright Juice, Inc 2015http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/optimal-number-categories-pie-chart/
2. When to use a Pie Chart. (Hardly ever)

10. http://www.fusion41.com/visuals/
3. Rarely use 3D charts.
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/design-principles/rarely-use-3d
Does 3D add or take-away
From the information being
shared?

11. Images courtesy ofTim Bray: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/03/13/Data-Ink
4. Reduce Chart Junk.
remove
chart
elements
that
are
decora/ve
or
ornamental

12. Images courtesy ofTim Bray: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/03/13/Data-Ink
4. Reduce Chart Junk.

13. Images courtesy ofTim Bray: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/03/13/Data-Ink
5. Increase Data to Ink Ratio.
(make every pixel tell a story about your data)

14. Images courtesy ofTim Bray: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/03/13/Data-Ink
5. Increase Data to Ink Ratio.

15. Images courtesy ofTim Bray: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/03/13/Data-Ink
5. Increase Data to Ink Ratio.

16. Images courtesy ofTim Bray: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2003/03/13/Data-Ink
Help your audience focus on the most important items.
Edward Tufte introduced the concept of data-ink in his 1983 classic The Visual Display of
Quantitative Information. Tufte asserts that in displaying data we should remove all non-data-ink
and redundant data-ink, within reason, to increase the data-ink-ratio and create a sound
graphical design. Only have items on your charts that add to your audience’s understanding.

17. Chart Junk and Data to Ink apply to tables as well.

18. Remove the ornamental elements.

19. Make horizontal tracking easier by breaking up data.

20. Display the fewest amount of numbers needed

21. Serif
Sans-serif
Georgia
Arial / Helvetica
hh
Serif
Verdana / Tahoma
Times New Roman
Palatino
Trebuchet
6. Spend time on Typeface

22. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
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nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
History of Medicine
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adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
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aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
Simple Font Framework
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/writing/simple-font-framework

23. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
History of Medicine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
Body Text
Clean readable text,
50-80% of your text
will look like this.
• 10-16pt
• Arial or Georgia

24. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
History of Medicine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
Header
Use to separate and
name sections
• 150%-200% of body

25. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
History of Medicine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
Notes
Additional things a
user should be
aware of
• 85% of body
• Lower contrast

26. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
History of Medicine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
Emphasis
Draw the eye
to key points
• Same size as body
• High-impact color/bold/italic

27. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
History of Medicine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
Emphasis
Draw the eye
to key points
• Same size as body
• High-impact color/bold/italic

28. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris
nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in
culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
History of Medicine
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur
adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,

29. Categorical
Lots of contrast between each
adjacent color
Sequential
Colors can be ordered from low to
high
Diverging
Two sequential schemes extended
out from a critical midpoint value
http://colorbrewer2.org/
Low
Low
High
High
7. Color has Meaning
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/design-principles/limit-colors/

30. Sequential
Colors can be ordered from low to high

31. Diverging
Two sequential schemes extended out from a critical midpoint value

32. Categorical
Lots of contrast between each adjacent color

33. 7a. Use Contrast
Note the focused color (orange) vs. the unselected

34. copyright Juice, Inc 2015
8. Avoid Using Dual Axes Charts

35. copyright Juice, Inc 2015
8. Avoid Using Dual Axes Charts
A more detailed explanation
http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/visual_business_intelligence/dual-scaled_axes.pdf
if it is your only choice,
nothing but lines should be
used to display values in
graphs with dual-scaled
axes, because only lines
focus attention on the overall
pattern formed by the values
and comparisons of those
patterns. S. Few

36. copyright Juice, Inc 2015
9. Consider Slope Graphs as Chart Option
This is an example of Edward Tufte’s
use of a slope graph with disease data.
More detailed explanation of
Slopegraphs
http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/
visual_business_intelligence/
displaying_change_between_two_points
_in_time.pdf

37. copyright Juice, Inc 2015
9. Consider Slope Graphs as Chart Option
Slopegraphs in Excel - http://peltiertech.com/slope-graphs-in-excel/

38. copyright Juice, Inc 2015
10. Use Common Language
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/design-principles/use-common-language/

39. copyright Juice, Inc 2015
Here are some additional resources for chart templates and chart design tips.
http://peltiertech.com/ - A good source of chart templates and Excel chart tips.
www.excelcharts.com - a good source of Excel tips.
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/design-principles/ - a list of design principles to consider
when sharing information.
Data Fluency Book - http://www.juiceanalytics.com/data-fluency/
http://lifehacker.com/5909501/how-to-choose-the-best-chart-for your-data - Some more
details on how to select the optimal chart.
A quick test on how well you create charts.
http://www.perceptualedge.com/files/GraphDesignIQ.html
Additional Charting and Presentation Resources

40. Thank you!
juiceanalytics.com
@juiceanalytics
info@juiceanalytics.com
Juice, Inc. copyright 2016