Dress Up Your Data
If you’re like me, this Dilbert comic may give you a chuckle. I typically read Dilbert because there are some pretty funny strips and you need to laugh every once in a while, right? As of late, a little laughter might offset some of the crying from looking at investment or 401(k) returns [or lack of] from 2008 and year-to-date.
With the one below that was posted on March 9th, there is a message that I think is important to those folks that are creating charts and graphs and those that are viewing them. My rule of thumb is to question the data or designer when I see a lot of "dressed up" data. The more glitz and chart bling, the more it makes me question the data and creator. A good data visualization or data presentation will speak for itself and doesn’t need chartjunk or gaudy colors to send a message.
The old saying goes: "If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with buIIshit". Well, if you apply this saying to data, it might go: "If you can’t enlighten them with elegance, baffle them with bling".
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Updated per Jon’s link in the comments. This one never gets old…
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March 11th, 2009 at 7:42 am
This follows directly from Dilbert’s presentation slide:
I didn’t have anything useful to say, so I made this pie chart.