When you present information to others, it’s important that you don’t confuse or overwhelm them, rendering them unable to make a decision. But that’s exactly what you’ll end up doing if you present too much information, or you present it in a way that is difficult to understand or interpret. Common reasons for cognitive overload […]
Using indicator dots to highlight values
Indicator Dots are used to highlight a value in a spreadsheet cell that is over (or under) a specified value. This can be used to make it easier for the reader to identify values of interest quickly and clearly. Using standard icon sets The simplest option is to apply a standard set of icons in […]
The problem of poor chart and graph design
The design and presentation of your charts and graphs should clearly and effectively communicate the message you need to get across. But many visualisations produced in business and elsewhere actually do the opposite. They make it more difficult for the reader to understand what is being shown. Why do we have this problem? Unfortunately, in […]
Adding Data Bars to your tables
Data Bars can be used to compare numbers where you need to present information in a table, but a trend or pattern is more easily seen visually. They are a bit like a mini Bar Chart in a worksheet cell. Data Bars can be created from positive or negative numbers, you can specify the scale […]
Creating a Dot Plot in Excel
In the early 1980’s Cleveland and McGill showed that we are better at interpreting the relationship between points on a line better than any other method of representing numerical information – including line length, as used in the ever-popular Bar Chart. The result of their work was a new chart type, the Dot Plot, which […]
Creating a Slope Graph in Excel
A Slope Graph has a lot in common with a Line Graph as it plots change between points. But, unlike a Line Graph, a Slope Graph plots the change between two points only. Increases and decreases between the two points can be seen easily. In fact, you can see how one category increases as others […]
Creating Heatmaps using conditional formatting
In this context, a Heatmap is a spreadsheet table where the data are visualised using a range of colour. But you should take care. If you overdo it, this technique can increase clutter and reduce the readability of your table, not improve it. Note: This tutorial applies to Microsoft Excel 2016. But you should be […]
Evaluating your data
When you need to present numerical information, the answer to one question can help you get the right message across as effectively as possible. That question is: What story are you trying to tell? And this question not only lets you express the questions you want your readers to be able to answer through your […]