A New York Times Chart.

I was surfing the web and came across this chart from the New York Times. My attention was totally captivated by this intricate chart. It says that healthy food are getting more expensive while junk foods are getting cheaper! What’s noteworthy about this chart is that the designer didn’t simply just plot the line charts. That’s way too easy and lazy.

Instead, he added detailed titles, notes and foot notes around the chart. He used great colour combinations to make the individual line charts appear calm & coordinated. He highlighted the individual data series to add clarity. And he did all this within a few inches of space! The result is a compact chart that tells a reader so much an entire article was brought to life by this tiny picture.

I wondered how many of us out there pay so much attention and effort to our charts? You probably say “I don’t do this because its not worth the trouble”. Well, you missed out a perfect chance to be remarkable to your colleagues and management. You say “Its impossible to do this chart.” Here’s one I did in Excel 2003:

You say “I don’t know how”. We’ll teach you here.

Any more excuses not to be great?

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