Choosing the right chart
A chart isn't decoration. Choosing one starts from the question: what should the reader grasp in 5 seconds?
| Question | Best chart | Nakhla example |
|---|---|---|
| How did it change over time? | Line | Monthly sales |
| Which is biggest? Compare categories | Bar | Sales by region |
| What share of the whole? | Stacked bar, or a pie for 2–3 parts only | Online versus stores |
| Is there a relationship? | Scatter | Discount versus quantity sold |
| Needs the exact number | A table or a number card | Today's total sales |
Mistakes that mislead: a bar chart whose vertical axis doesn't start at zero (a 2% gap looks like double), a pie with 12 slices, 3D charts that distort sizes, and many colours with no meaning.
Watch outUse colour to focus, not to decorate: make every bar grey and colour only the one you're talking about.