Chapter 2 · Practice 3 of 4
Remove 3D effects, heavy gridlines and decoration
From Encoding and clutter
Why it matters
The Analysis Function lists what to leave out: 3D shapes, shadows, patterns, shaded backgrounds, unnecessary borders, and thick or dark gridlines. Gridlines should be light grey, and it advises a maximum of about ten.
| Remove | Why |
|---|---|
| 3D bars and pies | Perspective distorts lengths and angles |
| Dark or dense gridlines | Compete with the data |
| Background fills and borders | Add ink without information |
| Redundant legend for a single series | The title already names it |
Use horizontal text only. If category labels do not fit under the bars, the guidance says to transpose the chart: horizontal bars give long labels room.
Avoid
- Rotated or vertical axis labels to squeeze in long category names