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We’ve been lulled to sleep with how easy it is to build charts in Excel and Powerpoint. But rarely are their results excellent. In fact, default settings and lazy chart creation make for poor and misleading visual stories.

Making data easy-to-understand can be the difference between a good - and a great business.

Let's get into it.

Comment below and let me know if we’re on the right track.

Table of Contents

• Pull to Eject

  • Historical Charts

• Modern Tools

• Old School Wisdom

• Free Knowledge

• Recommendations

• Visual Crapshoot

Pull to Eject

Data visualizations have become such a part of our world that we take them for granted.

“Data visualization isn’t just about making reports look good—it’s about making complex information understandable at a glance. Studies indicate that data presented visually is processed 60,000 times faster than text, making it a critical tool for decision-making in any industry.”

We see them on business news, print, social media and in corporate presentations every single day. And we then quote those charts as gospel. When in fact, we should dissect the way they were presented before we jump to conclusions.

There’s a sizeable following on X of people who write about better charts. And some simple guidelines to help you choose the best type for your data storytelling.

But those charts cut both ways.

Darrell Huff’s How to Lie with Statistics has aged like Blanton's 30th Anniversary Single Barrel Bourbon. With the explosion of data, Huff’s insights are even more valuable today.

Historical Charts

Line, bar and pie charts were first invented by a man who himself saw the world differently than the 18th century academics of his era. We owe William Playfair a debt of gratitude for bucking the system and making information more understandable.

Think Different indeed.

Launch Key subscriber Steven Shorkey reminded me recently about perhaps the best ever infographic: the hand-drawn map by Charles Joseph Minard portraying the losses suffered by Napoleon’s army in the Russian campaign of 1812.

Minard’s graphic is unique because of its multi-variate depictions: loss of life, time and location, temperature, geography, direction, historical context – all into one single graphic. And he shows these various details without label distractions. Napoleon left France with 422,000 soldiers and returned with 10,000. The carnage is understandable at a glance.

I first experienced this graphic in an Edwared Tufte course. I had the poster framed in my office for years. It was a reminder to simplify our clients complicated information and make their story easy-to-understand.

Simplifying your story works in almost every instance. From your initial pitch to case studies, marketing copy, sales information or typical web site copy - potential customers should grasp your unique offering instantly.

All of those things might be better served with a custom infographic:

• Improves decision-making by 70% when data is presented visually

• Enhances audience retention by 82% in reports and presentations

• Boosts operational efficiency by 30%, reducing errors and improving strategic planning

From marketing analytics to financial forecasting, using the right chart can separate your business from the market.

Will your infographic be remembered in 150 years like Minards? Probably not, but it can help you today.

Try out modern tools like Canva, Piktochart or Infogram. Need a recommendation for creative talent? Send me a note and I’ll reach out to my network.

But stop taking the defaults.

Now go launch something 🚀 

Modern Tools

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• Attracting global talent

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• Processing international payroll on time

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With 150+ countries right at your fingertips, growing your team with Deel is easier than ever.

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Old School Wisdom

First published in 1954, the book remains relevant as a wake-up call for people unaccustomed to examining the endless flow of numbers pouring in from Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and everywhere else someone has an axe to grind, a point to prove, or a product to sell. "The secret language of statistics, so appealing in a fact-minded culture, is employed to sensationalize, inflate, confuse, and oversimplify," warns Huff.

Free Knowledge

Does your web site need more than infographics? Nielsen Norman Group offers evidence-based user experience (UX) research, training, and consulting. The company was founded by Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman.

Their YouTube channel gives away free information to improve your own user interface experience.

Recommendations

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🗃️ Dealroom Business Success Uncovered : Learn directly from billionaire entrepreneurs on how to grow a business. Join a community of 2,000+ innovators.

🧠 The Cautionary: Join 30,000 newsletter subscribers to discover the patterns that lead to failure and learn how to avoid them.

Visual Crapshoot