Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 12.30
How to clean up a graphic, example 1 (alternate “after” view)
In addition, note the amount of white space being used in each of the two charts
shown in
Figures 12.29
and
12.30
. Removing grid lines, excessive axes, and the
visual noise within the chart allows clear contrast between the emphasis colors (the
green line charts) and the standard colors (the lighter gray of the BigBox stores).
When creating charts, it is best to draw most of the main visuals in standard colors,
light tones, or color shades so that stronger emphasis colors can highlight the
main points. In this case, the trend of BigBox stores in light gray fades into the
background but does not disappear, while making the SuperBox stores trend in a
darker gray (bright green in the online chart) makes it prominent to support the
message the author is making about the growth of the SuperBox stores.
An alternative to
Figure 12.29
is shown in
Figure 12.30
.
If the main message is
to show the difference in the growth of new stores,
Figure 12.30
can be created
to further simplify
Figure 12.28
and graph only the difference between SuperBox
stores compared to regular BigBox stores. Two examples are shown to illustrate
different ways to convey the message, depending on what it is the author of these
charts would like to emphasize.
How to Clean Up a Graphic, Second Example
Another example of cleaning up a chart is portrayed in
Figure 12.31
.
This vertical
bar chart suffers from more of the typical problems related to chart junk, including
misuse of color schemes and lack of context.
