Examples of Good and Bad Chart Design

Examples of Good and Bad Chart Design

Explore the main chart types in Excel and some examples of good and bad design. 

It's important to understand the difference between good design and bad design when formatting charts. If we understand the ingredients for a well-designed chart and what we shouldn't be doing, our charts and visualizations will be clean, easy to interpret, and engaging. 

Instructions

It's important to consider design when building an Excel Chart. 

Column Charts

Bad 

• Columns are too thin. 
• Data Labels are wider than the columns and floating in 'no man's land'. 
• Vertical axis repeats the data label information. 
• Non-descriptive title. 
• Boring. 

Good

• Wider columns. 
• Data Labels are displayed in the inside end making them feel more part of the chart. 
• Vertical axis and gridlines have been removed giving the chart a cleaner feel. 
• Descriptive title added. 

Pie Charts

Bad

• Too many data points. 
• Hard to get a good comparison between data points. 
• Inconsistent data labels - some inside the chart, some outside the chart. 
• Messy legend. 
• Non-descriptive title. 

Good

• Nice dark theme ensures the chart stands out. 
• Limited number of data points. 
• Data labels are consistent and easy to read. 
• Descriptive title. 

Bar Chart

Bad

• Bad contrast between the color of the bars and the background. 
• Accessibility issues. 
• Thin bars.
• Text is hard to read. 
• Non-descriptive title. 

Good

• High contrast bar vs background color.
• Axis labels are bold and easy to read. 
• Unnecessary elements have been removed like the horizontal axis. 
• Clear data labels. 
• Wider bars. 
• Descriptive title. 

Line Charts

Bad

• Low effort chart. Just the default chart with no formatting. 
• Very boring. 
• Non-descriptive title. 
• Uninspiring. 
• Axis labels on an angle. 

Good

• Descriptive title. 
• Minor gridlines added. 
• Smoothed line with varied colors. 
• Shortened month names so they sit neatly.

Consider these points when designing a chart in Excel.