06 Visualizing Information

Transcription

1 Professor Shoemaker 06-VisualizingInformation.xlsx 1

2 It can be sometimes difficult to uncover meaning in data that s presented in a table or list Especially if the table has many rows and/or columns But even tables that are small enough to see in a glance can be hard to understand Which model of widget experienced the largest growth in sales in the years of the table? Over all the years, what portion of total sales did the Large model have? 2

3 People have a hard time inferring two important properties of sets of numbers Trends the change in a value over time Is some value (sales, costs, etc.) trending up, down, or staying flat? People have a hard time inferring two important properties of sets of numbers Trends Proportions Anytime you re faced with trying to understand Trends or Proportion, think charts. 3

4 A trend shows the change in a value across time The chart makes it easy to see what s trending up and what s trending down A Proportion shows the share of something at a single point in time. It s a snapshot of a moment. 4

5 Every chart you create tells a story Every element of a chart should support the story - eliminate everything else Your charts should have the least information that tells the story Keep it simple Subdued colors Uncluttered Simplify, simplify, simplify Excel provides a large and flexible library of chart types 5

6 A tiny chart that lives in a cell Create a Sparkline chart in L5 for all the years and copy down the column Makes it easy to see at a glance how the three models trended. You can change the design on the Sparkline Tools tab. 6

7 Unlike Sparklines, normal charts do not live in a cell, instead they sit on the surface of the spreadsheet above the cells and can be moved around. Basic process to create a chart 1. Select the range of data to chart 2. Insert the chart Vertical columns side by side Shows change across time Useful for Showing trends Comparing trends 7

8 Select the range to chart Include the years, model names and the cell in the upper left (C4 in this case) Select the chart type Include the years, model names and the cell in the upper left 8

9 You can drag the chart around the page. 9

10 Plot Area Chart Area Y Axis Legend X Axis You can set each area s format independently Just right click on it A chart requires at least one numeric data series and one label series How can this chart be simplified? How can you create a chart like this for the just the Medium model? 10

11 How to tell the user of the chart that the Y Axis is millions of dollars? Small what? Before After Hold down the Ctrl key as you select noncontiguous ranges of cells 11

12 What stories do these two charts tell? Stacked Column 100% Stacked Column What story does this chart tell? 12

13 Bar chart a column chart with the axes rotated. What story does this tell? Line chart What story does this tell? 13

14 Area chart What story does this tell? Where the other charts show trends over time, pie charts show proportions at a point in time 14

15 Emphasize one slice of a pie chart by exploding it 15

16 Change the plot area background and make it a gradient, lighter on top. 16

17 Right click on the Chart Area and select Format Chart Area Scale the Y axis, add a title. 17

18 Select Shapes then select a Call Out Keep it simple, don t over do it. Enhance, don t detract from the story you re telling. Keep your charts consistent in their look Stick to the same color palate and fonts. 18