Blog post

Table or bar chart?

September 24, 2015 · by Jan Schultink
← all posts

Back in the good old days at McKinsey, we tend to put any range of data in a column or bar chart, even if that meant a chart with just one column, or one chart.

A nice clean bar/column chart works beautifully to visualise a data range. Especially if there are big differences between the values of the chart. If the differences between the numbers is not that big (I do not like broken axes), or you have lots and lots of data to present (the data labels just become too small), I resort back to a simple table.

Stick all the data in, round things up nicely, and use accent/shading background colour to make your messages pop.

I must admit, I start using tables more and more. (And that is why they are so easy to make in SlideMagic)

Art: Louis-Philippe opening the Galerie des Batailles, 10 June 1837 (painted by François-Joseph Heim)

Data visualization

About this blog

Notes on all things presentations — design, storytelling, and AI workflows.

Subscribe now to never miss a post.

RSS

About SlideMagic

A platform for business presentations.

A free student plan is available.