How to Be Awesome at Your Job

930: These Charting Mistakes Undermine Your Communication with Nick Desbarats

Jan 22, 2024

Nick Desbarats, data visualization educator and author, discusses the most common mistakes made when visualizing data, including choosing the wrong chart type, using misleading scales, and labeling problems. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication and using appropriate chart types. He also highlights the controversy surrounding pie charts and suggests starting chart scales at appropriate points.

44:15

Episode guests

Nick Desbarats

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Understanding the purpose of a chart is crucial for effective communication and design choices should align with the intended message.

Common mistakes in chart design include choosing the wrong chart type and inadequate labeling, which leads to confusion and misinterpretation of data.

Deep dives

Importance of Understanding Data Visualization

Understanding data visualization is crucial for effective communication. Charts are graphics for doing a job, not just visual representations of data. It is important to know the purpose of creating a chart and the question we are trying to answer or the message we are trying to convey. Without a clear understanding of the job of the chart, design choices can be random and may not effectively communicate the intended message.

Introduction

3min

Mastering Data Visualization: Importance and Common Mistakes

19min

Common Mistakes in Charting and their Impact on Communication

11min

Starting chart scales and the usefulness of Marameco charts

5min

The Importance of Understanding and Using Different Chart Types Effectively

4min

Closing Remarks on Data Visualization and Call to Action

3min

Nick Desbarats breaks down the surprisingly common mistakes we make when visualizing data–and shares basic principles for communicating data more effectively.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) Why most charts are confusing or ineffective

2) The top three mistakes people make with charts

3) Why a “neutral” chart is an ineffective chart

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep930 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT NICK —

As an independent educator and author, Nick Desbarats has taught data visualization and dashboard design to thousands of professionals in over a dozen countries at organizations like NASA, Visa, Bloomberg, Shopify, and the United Nations. He delivers main-stage talks at major data conferences and is a guest lecturer at Yale University, and his new book, Practical Charts, is an Amazon #1 Top New Release.

• Book: Practical Charts: The Essential Guide to Creating Clear, Compelling Charts for Reports and Presentations

• Website: PracticalReporting.com

• Article: "My favorite chart type"

• Article: "Connected Scatterplots Make Me Feel Dumb"

• Article: "I’ve Stopped Using Box Plots. Should You?"

• Article: "Why I Stopped Using Bullet Graphs (and What I Now Use Instead)"

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Chart type: Marimekko

• Chart type: Strip plot

• SlideShare: a16z - Adreessen Horowitz

• Book: The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., E.B. White, Test Editor, and Roger Angell

• Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman