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A NOTE ON THE EBOOK EDITION
This ebook edition of GOOD CHARTS WORKBOOK: TIPS, TOOLS, AND EXERCISES FOR MAKING BETTER DATA VISUALIZTIONS displays best on a color e-reader with “Original” or “Publisher Font” selected, using the “Scrolling View” option if it is available on your device. It will be helpful to have pens and paper available to complete the challenges.
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Harvard Business Review Press titles are available at significant quantity discounts when purchased in bulk for client gifts, sales promotions, and premiums. Special editions, including books with corporate logos, customized covers, and letters from the company or CEO printed in the front matter, as well as excerpts of existing books, can also be created in large quantities for special needs.
For details and discount information for both print and ebook formats, contact [email protected], tel. 800-988-0886, or www.hbr.org/bulksales. Copyright 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to [email protected], or mailed to Permissions, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02163. The web addresses referenced in this book were live and correct at the time of the book’s publication but may be subject to change.
ISBN: 978-1-63369-617-4
eISBN: 978-1-63369-618-1
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Contents
Introduction
How Do I Start?
What Do I Need?
How Is the Workbook Organized?
How Should I Use the Workbook?
On Data and Tools
Let’s Share
PART 1
BUILD SKILLS
Chapter 1
Controlling Color
Warm-up
The Rainbow Bars
The Simple Pie
The Tangled Lines
Chapter 2
Crafting for Clarity
Warm-up
The Simple, Unclear Bar Chart
The Overdone Line Chart
The Hot Mess of a Heat Map
Chapter 3
Choosing Chart Types
Warm-up
The Surprisingly Adaptable Line Chart
The Convoluted, Too Clever by Half Chart
The Great Whisky Challenge
Chapter 4
Practicing Persuasion
Warm-up
Giving Good Stock Advice
Persuading a Patient to Get Some Sleep
Making a Case to HR
Chapter 5
Capturing Concepts
Warm-up
Landscapes
Tiers and Timelines
Processes
PART 2
MAKE GOOD CHARTS
Chapter 6
Talk, Sketch, Prototype
Chapter 7
The Monthly Report
Chapter 8
The Plastic Problem Presentation
Appendix A
Glossary of Chart Types
Appendix B
Chart Type Guide
Appendix C
Keywords for Chart Types
Acknowledgments
About the Author
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Introduction
How Do I Start?
Hello.
You may have picked up this workbook after reading Good Charts: The HBR Guide to Making Smarter, More Persuasive Data Visualizations—my previous book, which offered a framework for understanding what makes good charts and laid out a process for creating them yourself. Or you may have picked it up in a shop just because dataviz intrigues you. You want to make good charts—or at least you think you should be able to. Maybe you got here through an online search. Or a colleague, a friend, or your boss handed you the book because he or she knows you like to think visually. In any case, you’re here. And you probably have the same question most people ask once they decide that data visualization is something they want to learn about: How do I start?
When I speak or lead a workshop on data visualization, audiences are easily inspired by the transformations I show, and they understand the core argument of Good Charts—that what makes a good chart is not how pretty it is or how well it follows some set of chart-making rules but how effectively it conveys ideas by adapting to the context in which it will be used. But inspiration can be short-lived. Many feel overwhelmed by the idea of doing it themselves. So they ask me, How do I start?
Start here.
An analogy: For years I wanted to learn to play the guitar. I was inspired when I watched a friend play or heard a song with a deft guitar line. But I never picked one up, because I felt that same dread: I didn’t know where or how to start. Finally, inspired by my daughter—who took up the guitar (and got good fast)—I decided to just start. With the help of a workbook, I learned notes, and then notes became chords. Eventually I added strumming patterns. Before long I could play a few simple songs, such as Bob Marley’s “Three Litt...
