Comparison
Which is bigger or smaller?
Examples: Revenue by region, performance vs targets, product rankings
Best charts:
Bar Chart,
Column Chart
Pick the Right Visual. Tell the Right Story.
Transform complex data into compelling insights that drive decisions. Learn which visualizations work best for your message and how to design reports that engage your audience in 10 seconds or less.
The 10-Second Rule: Your audience should grasp your message within the first 10 seconds, otherwise you'll lose their attention.
6 Insight Types
Find the perfect chart for your question - comparison, trend, correlation, distribution, composition, or ranking.
Chart Selector
Interactive tool to help you choose the right visualization based on your data and message.
Chart Type Quiz
Fun personality quiz! Answer 7 questions to discover which chart type matches your data style.
Color Palettes
Professional color schemes for accessible, beautiful visualizations. Copy hex codes with one click.
Case Studies
Real-world examples showing how to transform data into actionable insights.
Free Resources
Download cheat sheets, checklists, and reference guides. No email required.
Common Mistakes
Gallery of visualization mistakes to avoid. Learn what not to do with before/after examples.
Best Practices
Learn the four core principles: clarity, simplicity, accuracy, and relevance.
Real-World Case Studies
See how effective visualization transforms business outcomes
📊 Sales
Dashboard Cuts Reporting Time by 94%
From 4 hours of manual spreadsheet work to 15 minutes of automated insights. See how a B2B company transformed their sales reporting.
4h → 15min
Reporting Time
+30%
More Deals Closed
Read Case Study →
🏭 Logistics
Clear Visuals Save 2 Hours Daily
Warehouse dashboard redesign reduced meeting time from 45 minutes to 10 minutes while improving decision quality.
45min → 10min
Meeting Duration
2 hours
Saved Daily
Read Case Study →
📈 Marketing
Campaign Analysis Time Reduced 75%
SaaS company transformed marketing analytics from 6-hour weekly reports to 90 minutes with clear funnel visualization and attribution tracking.
6h → 1.5h
Weekly Reporting
+32%
Marketing ROI
Read Case Study →
💰 Finance
Month-End Close Cut from 10 Days to 3
Manufacturing company automated variance analysis and used waterfall charts to transform financial reporting, cutting close time by 70% and board meetings by 83%.
10d → 3d
Close Time
2h → 20min
Board Review
Read Case Study →
👥 HR
Time-to-Hire Reduced by 40%
Tech company built hiring pipeline dashboard that revealed bottlenecks. Funnel visualization cut time-to-hire from 60 to 36 days while reducing recruiting costs by 25%.
60d → 36d
Time-to-Hire
-25%
Recruiting Costs
Read Case Study →
Find the Right Visualization
Search for chart types, use cases, or data questions
Popular Visualizations
Most commonly used charts for data storytelling
Popular
Bar / Column Chart
A bar chart compares categories such as routes, carriers, or depots side by side. It’s the simplest and most honest way ...
Popular
Line Chart
Line charts show how logistics metrics change through time — transit durations, order volume, fuel cost, or on-time rate...
Popular
Pie / Donut Chart
Pie charts show how a few categories contribute to a whole. Use them when audiences want a quick, high-level sense of sh...
Popular
Scatter Plot
Scatter plots reveal how two supply-chain measures move together — such as freight cost versus on-time delivery rate.
What People Say
Real feedback from data professionals using these principles
“This guide completely changed how I approach dashboards. The 10-second rule alone saved our team countless hours in meetings. Our executives actually understand the data now!”
“I was creating pie charts for everything. Now I understand when to use bar charts, when to use trends, and why it matters. My reports are clearer and decisions happen faster.”
“Finally, a visualization guide that explains the 'why' not just the 'how'. The case studies are gold – I showed our warehouse example to my team and it clicked immediately.”
What Are You Trying to Show?
All visualisations serve a purpose. Every chart answers one of six questions - pick yours:
Trend
How is this changing over time?
Examples: Monthly sales, website traffic growth, seasonal patterns
Best charts:
Line Chart,
Area Chart
Correlation
Are these two things related?
Examples: Price vs demand, marketing spend vs sales, temperature vs energy use
Best charts:
Scatter Plot
Distribution
How is data spread out?
Examples: Customer age ranges, order values, response times
Best charts:
Histogram
Composition
What makes up the whole?
Examples: Market share, budget breakdown, category mix
Best charts:
Pie Chart,
Donut Chart
Ranking
What's the order from best to worst?
Examples: Top salespeople, product performance, league tables
Best charts:
Ordered Bar,
Funnel Chart
Four Core Principles
Follow these principles when building reports to deliver quality insights and ensure engagement.
Clarity
Well-designed visuals help your audience understand the data story. Avoid ambiguity and unnecessary complexity that will confuse and turn off the audience.
Keep consistency in your layouts and formatting. Have design best practices and stick to them. Consider your audience location - North America represents dates differently than the rest of the world.
Simplicity
Keep the report simple and clean. Everything you visualise should be relative to the data story and serve a purpose. Overcrowding with too many visuals and data points makes reports difficult to digest.
Use consistent design choices - colours, fonts, sizes. The right visual will allow viewers to prioritise what they're looking at.
Accuracy
Represent data truthfully and avoid misleading scales or omitting context. Your organisation relies upon your reports for decision intelligence to support faster decision making.
Remember: your audience needs to make decisions from the insights you're telling them.
Relevance
Every element should serve a purpose aligned with business objectives. Data analysts are an investment - creating value from your data products delivers value to your organisation and adds credibility to your professional standing.
Good vs Bad Examples
✅ Good Practice: Keep It Simple
What makes this work:
- Clear visual hierarchy - eyes know where to look first
- Limited colour palette - not overwhelming
- Purposeful use of space - easy to scan
- One clear message per section
❌ Too Much Noise
Problems to avoid:
- Too many colours distract from the message
- Shadows and effects add unnecessary noise
- No clear focal point - where should I look?
- Audience loses engagement quickly
Know Your Audience
Different stakeholders have different needs requiring different insights to support them.
Executives
Strategic Insights
What they care about:
Big picture trends, growth opportunities, risks and customer satisfaction. They make decisions that impact long-term strategy and resource allocation.
How to deliver:
Use high-level summaries with clear KPIs. Focus on implications and recommendations, not granular details. Use scorecards, simple trend lines, and forecasts.
Key question: "What decision does this enable?"
Operators
Tactical Details
What they care about:
Day-to-day performance, process efficiency, bottlenecks and visibility. They need metrics that help them act immediately.
How to deliver:
Provide detailed breakdowns and actionable alerts. Use real-time or near-real-time data. Use tables, heatmaps, and detailed charts for drill-through analysis.
Key question: "What needs fixing today?"
Customers
Simplified Summaries
What they care about:
Clear, easy-to-understand information about their service or product. Transparency without overwhelming technical jargon.
How to deliver:
Use plain language and simple visuals. Highlight benefits, timelines, and outcomes. Progress bars, simple cards, and status indicators work well.
Key question: "How does this affect them?"
Storytelling with Data
You are the bridge between information and insights. Your goal is to translate complex data into an intuitive narrative that makes it easy for your organisation to make faster and better decisions.
Decision-based design: Ask yourself what can be learned from the visuals you're building. Your goal is to captivate, inform, and advise your audience. The right visualisation technique will do all three.
Effective visuals spark curiosity: "Why do we have lower productivity in this warehouse?"
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Learn from common visualization mistakes.
| ❌ Don't | Why It's a Problem | ✅ Do Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Use 3D charts | Distorts perception of values and makes comparisons difficult | Use 2D charts for clarity |
| Too many colours | Creates confusion and visual fatigue | Limit to 3–5 colours with consistent palette |
| Truncate axes | Misleading unless justified | Start axes at zero or clearly justify truncation |
| Overload with data | Audience can't find the key message | Highlight key metrics and use filters |
| No context or labels | Leaves interpretation open | Always include titles, legends, and units |
| Decorative elements | Adds unnecessary noise without value | Remove unnecessary graphics - every pixel has purpose |
| Data tables instead of visuals | Too much information - asking audience to make their own insights | Use appropriate visualizations to tell the story |