Conveying a
complicated idea

Charts & graphs and technical illustration are similar skills.

The point of both is to simplify something complicated so that the viewer can easily understand.

Charts and graphs are not quantum physics
Charts and graphs make statistics visible. They show trends – what happened in the past and what might happen in the future. It’s best to keep them simple. Attract attention and deliver information quickly and clearly. They help readers to understand numbers and data.

WHAT NOT TO DO:

DON’T OVERDO IT – Forget the 3-D effects, fancy backgrounds, and the dog’s breakfast of typestyles and icons. The point is to make charts easy to understand.

DON’T USE BUSY BACKGROUNDS OR PHOTOS to indicate what the subject of the chart is. Plain backgrounds allow the information to be seen, and read.

DON’T OVERDO THE COLORS to dress up a chart. Too many colors distract the eye, and confuse the meaning.

DON’T GO NUTS WITH THE TYPE – Ornate, decorative fonts have no place in charts, and the text has to be sized properly, neither too big nor too small.

If somebody ever presents you with an informational chart that looks like the picture above, fire them. That’s only an attention getter up there, it’s not meant to convey any actual information (but it does convey the notion of complexity – the whole idea of this little essay).

MAKE THE POINT:

INFORMATION FIRST, “LOOK” LATER – Decide what the important point to be made is, and what has to be shown to make the point. When the intention of the chart is understood, the visual solution is often self-evident.

THE IMPACT OF A CHART IS IMPORTANT – Using white or a pale color background is usually best, but if a chart needs punch, black or a rich deep color might be better. The point is not to let aesthetics interfere with comprehension.

USE COLOR TO CONVEY INFORMATION Add color when it helps to make information clear. (For example, in some of the NOAA charts shown on this site, warm colors represent man made pollutants, while cool colors represent naturally occurring atmospheric chemicals.) A coherent color strategy through multiple charts can help make information more understandable.

BREAK THESE RULES OCCASIONALLY Sometimes you just need to bring boring-looking data to life. One of the best ways is to use symbolic drawings in place of plain bars in charts. Tiny oil barrels, cars, people, dollar signs and telephones can help get the point across, be more interesting and not interfere with the actual data. It’s very simple, and fun, too.

The same principles apply to technical illustration
Usually, but . . . Often there’s a commercial consideration to the illustration. It may need to serve a dual purpose, convey information AND get attention. Oh, and be dramatic. And convince the public that your company is full of high-tech wizards. It just depends, so the rules are a lot looser when illustrating as opposed to building informational graphics.