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,"
Author(s): Stephen Few
Edition: 2
Publisher: Analytics Press
Year: 2012
Language: English
Pages: 373
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
