Data Visualization

Data visualization that makes the point honestly

Every chart makes an argument, whether its maker meant it to or not. A truncated axis turns a 2% change into a cliff. A dual-axis chart invents a relationship between two lines. A rainbow palette hides the one category that matters.

This section covers the craft of data visualization: choosing the right chart for the comparison, scale and axis choices, color that encodes meaning, annotation that points at the finding, and accessible design for readers with low vision or color blindness. We use examples from BI tools and hand-built charts, and we explain the reasoning so you can apply it in whatever tool your team uses.

Coming up here: getting started with data visualization, and the handful of habits that fix most misleading charts.