Show me the numbers : designing tables and graphs to enlighten

Most presentations of quantitative information are poorly designed—painfully so, often to the point of misinformation. This problem, however, is rarely noticed and even more rarely addressed. We use tables and graphs to communicate quantitative information: the critical numbers that measure the health, identify the opportunities, and forecast the future of our organizations. Even the best information is useless, however, if its story is poorly told. This problem exists because almost no one has ever been trained to design tables and graphs for effective and efficient communication. Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten is the most accessible, practical, and comprehensive guide to table and graph design available. The second edition of Show Me the Numbers improves on the first by polishing the content throughout (including updated figures) and adding 91 more pages of content, including: 1) A new preface; 2) A new chapter entitled "Silly Graphs That Are Best Forsaken," which alerts readers to some of the current misuses of graphs such as donut charts, circle charts, unit charts, and funnel charts; 3) A new chapter about quantitative narrative entitled "Telling Compelling Stories with Numbers"; and 4) New appendices entitled "Constructing Table Lens Displays in Excel," "Constructing Box Plots in Excel," FRONTPAGE CONTENTS PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION 1 INTRODUCTION Purpose Scope Intended Readers Content Preview Communication Style 2 SIMPLE STATISTICS TO GET YOU STARTED Quantitative Relationship Numbers that Summarize Measures of Money Summary at a Glance 3 DIFFRING ROLES OF TABLES AND GRAPHS Quantities and Categories Choosing the Best Medium of Communication Tables Defined When to Use Tables Graphs Defined A Brief History of Graphs When to Use Graphs Summary at a Glance 4 FUNDAMENTAL VARIATIONS OF TABLES Ralationships in Tables Variations in Table Design Table Design Solutions Summary at a Glance 5 VISUAL PERCEPTION AND GRAPHICAL COMMUNICATION Mechanics of Sight Attributes of Preattentive Processing Applying Visual Attributes to Design Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception Summary at a Glance 6 FUNDAMENTAL VARIATIONS OF GRAPHS Encoding Data in Graphs Relationships in Graphs Graph Design Solutions PRACTICE IN SELECTING TABLES AND GRAPHS 7 GENERAL DESIGN FOR COMMUNICATION Highlight Organize Integrate Tables, Graphs, and Text Summary at a Glance 8 TABLE DESIGN Structural Components of Tables Table Design Best Practices Summary at a Glance PRACTICE IN TABLE DESIGN 9 GENERAL GRAPH DESIGN Maintain Visual Correspondence to Quantity Avoid 3D Summary at a Glance 10 COMPONENT-LEVEL GRAPH DESIGN Primary Data Component Design Secondary Data Component Design Non-Data Component Design Summary at a Glance 11 DISPLAYING MANY VARIABLES AT ONCE Combining Multiple Units of Measure Combining Graphs in a Series of Small Multiples Other Arrangements of Multi-Graph Series Summary at a Glance 12 SILLY GRAPHS THAT ARE BEST FORSAKEN Donut Charts Radar Charts Stacked Area Graphs for Combining Part-to-Whole and Time Series Relationships Circle Charts Unit Charts Funnel Charts Waterfall Charts for Simple Part-to-Whole Relationships PRACTICE IN GRAPH DESIGN 13 TELLING COMPELLING STORIES WITH NUMBERS Characteristics of Well-Told Statistical Stories Stories in the Wings 14 THE INTERPLAY OF STADARDS AND INNOVATION APPENDICES Appendix A TABLE AND GRAPH DESIGN AT A GLANCE Appendix B RECOMMENDED READING Appendix C ADJUSTING FOR INFLATION Appendix D CONSTRUCTING TABLE LENS DISPLAYS IN EXCEL Appendix E CONSTRUCTING BOX PLOTS IN EXCEL Appendix F ANSWERS TO PRACTICE IN SELECTING TABLES AND GRAPHS Appendix G ANSWERS TO PRATICE IN TABLE DESIGN Appendix H ANSWERS TO PRACTICE IN GRAPH DESIGN Appendix I USEFUL COLOR PALETTES INDEX Information, No Matter How Important, Cannot Speak For Itself. To Tell Its Story, It Relies On Us To Give It A Clear Voice. No Information Is More Critical Than Quantitative Data ... Numbers That Reveal What's Happening, How Our Organizations Are Performing, And Opportunities To Do Better. Numbers Are Usually Presented In Tables And Graphs, But Few Are Properly Designed, Resulting Not Only In Poor Communication, But At Times In Miscommunication. This Is A Travesty, Because The Skills Needed To Present Quantitative Information Effectively Are Simple To Learn. Good Communication Doesn't Just Happen; It Is The Result Of Good Design. Introduction -- Simple Statistics To Get You Started -- Differing Roles Of Tables And Graphs -- Fundamental Variations Of Tables -- Visual Perception And Graphical Communication -- Fundamental Variations Of Graphs -- Practice In Selecting Tables And Graphs -- General Design For Communication -- Table Design -- Practice In Table Design -- General Graph Design -- Component-level Graph Design -- Displaying Many Variables At Once -- Silly Graphs That Are Best Forsaken -- Practice In Graph Design -- Telling Compelling Stories With Numbers -- The Interplay Of Standards And Innovation. Stephen Few. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Addressing the prevalent issue of poorly designed quantitative information presentations, this accessible, practical, and comprehensive guide teaches how to properly create tables and graphs for effective and efficient communication. The critical numbers that measure the health, identify the opportunities, and forecast the future of organizations are often misrepresented because few people are trained to design accurate, informative materials, but this manual helps put an end to misinformation. This revised edition of the highly successful book includes updated figures and 91 additional pages of content, including new chapters about quantitative narrative and current misuses of graphs-such as donut, circle, unit, and funnel charts-and new appendices that cover constructing table lens displays and box plots in Excel and useful color palettes for presentation materials