We are all familiar with Excel charting - perhaps too familiar with it. Consequently, like me, you may not give much thought to the choice of appropriate charts. After all, once we have chosen a specific chart that "works", we tend to stick to it.
Most people I know have a very good gut instinct about what sort of charts are most appropriate for their needs. This is often the result of practical experience, rather than any formal understanding of how to use charts. This book fills the gap in giving a formal understanding of visual charting
The book starts by giving a crude example of a presentation which clearly "does not work". But why doesn't it work? As I have said before, many people have an instinct for this, but could not articulate the reason. The book then analyses what charts are actually saying as a consequence of their layout and design.
Each chart type (Pie Chart, Bar Chart, Column Chart, Line Chart or Dot Chart) represents a different Comparison Form. As we understand each comparison form, we can more easily decide which types of chart are appropriate for each need.
Determine Your Message
The Key point which is driven home time and again is that you must determine the specific MESSAGE which you want each chart to represent. A simple trick here is to change the title of a chart from, say "Sales by Product this year", to "Product B is our best-selling line". Simple - it reinforces the whole purpose of the chart, and gives added punch to the presentation.
The effect of this is change a chart from a neutral purveyor of information, to a tool which helps you put across your message.
Hints and Tips
The book is full of simple hints and pointers, such as the one above. How to use highlight colours and arrows, to emphasise the main point. By showing the same data in different chart formats, and commenting on their effectiveness, the book builds on your existing knowledge and instincts.
One of the results of reading this book is that I tend to think more about using some of the advanced features of Excel charting, such as column width settings, custom colours, graphics highlighting etc. This is not in order to appear knowledgeable about the features of Excel, but rather to drive home the specific message I want to present
