Data Authors: Skilled Designers of Data Presentations - Data Fluency: Empowering Your Organization with Effective Data Communication - page 106

Each questions tells you both what data elements are important and what
you want to emphasize in your display of the data.

QueStion metric DimenSion chart c ategory

How do my sales break
down by customer type?

Sales Customer type Composition

What is the change in
visitors over the last
3 months?

Number of
visitors

Time Trend

Test scores,
change in test
scores

Individual
students

Comparison

Which students have the
best test scores and have
improved the most?

Among the basic chart types that you find in most data analysis tools such as
Excel, there are a limited number of categories of charts:

Distributions —How do elements in the data break out across one or
more dimensions? Examples: Bar chart and scatterplot.

⬛

Composition —How does the whole of something break into its con-
stituent pieces? Examples: pie chart, bar chart, and tree map.

⬛

Trends —How are values changing across time? Examples: line chart
and area chart.

⬛

Relationship or comparison —How do elements in my data compare
to each other? Examples: bubble chart and bullet chart.

⬛

Many years ago we gathered the charts associated with each of these catego-
ries into a free, simple online tool called Chart Chooser ( www.chartchooser.com ).
Chart Chooser enables you to select the category of chart that you need, and
then it displays the available chart choices, which you can download in an
attractive Excel or PowerPoint template, as shown in Figure 5-18.

Numerous books, blogs, and websites discuss the design of charts for effective
interpretation and deliver critiques of the many poorly designed charts and
infographics. For more depth on this subject, consult the works of Stephen
Few, a leader in this field with a passionate dedication to effective data
communications.