how to create persuasive charts, diagrams, and data visualizations

hello#GoodCharts @ScottBerinato

WHY VIZ?

SCOTTBERINATO

GOODCHARTS

SXSW AUSTIN 03.13.16HBS BOSTON 04.01.16 GENNARI | ARONSON WELLESLEY 05.05.16WORKBAR CAMBRIDGE 05.17.16MICROSOFT SEATTLE 05.24.16TABLEAU SEATTLE 05.24.16THREAD@YALE NEW HAVEN 06.05.16BABYCENTER SKYPE 08.26.16 ACCENTURE BOSTON 09.07.16

HBR@WORKLONDON

09.26.16 NORTH HIGHLANDLONDON 09.26.16 CIPD LONDON 09.27.16IRISH MBAS DUBLIN 09.28.16BLACKWELL OXFORD 09.29.16CWT PARIS 10.03.16HEC PARIS 10.03.16HBR PARIS 10.04.16INSEAD PARIS 10.04.16

Good viz works.

My hotel room is on fire!

Exit this room. Turn right and walk 10 feet to the end of the hallway, where you’ll be facing a large conference room. Turn left and walk another 12 feet until you come to the end of that hallway. To your left is a fire alarm, near the elevator. To your right at the end of the hall is a stairwell. Do not go to the elevator. Turn right and walk another 12 feet to the end of the hall, turn left and enter the stairwell. Go down two flights of stairs and exit the building at the door at the bottom of the stairs.

FIRE ESCAPE PLAN

The census counted more than 20 million households as being located outside any metropolitan area—that is, in rural America. And it found that these households saw their incomes drop by 2 percent between 2014 and 2015: from $45,534 to $44,657.

There were 63 million households inside metropolitan areas but outside the area’s principal city—that is, in the suburbs. These households enjoyed healthy income growth of 4 percent, from an already high $61,671 to $64,144.

But the biggest gains accrued to the 41 million households located in the principal city of a metropolitan area. They saw their incomes grow an impressive 7.3 percent. Their incomes went from $47,095 to $51,378.

—Vox

AVERAGEHOUSEHOLD

INCOME

-2%

+7.3%

+4%

MEDIAN

SOURCE: VOX [http://www.vox.com/2016/9/13/12903236/census-data-richer-cities]

WHOSE FORTUNES IMPROVED LAST YEAR?

RURAL HOUSEHOLDS SUBURBAN HOUSEHOLDS URBAN HOUSEHOLDS

20152014

$30,000

$15,000

$60,000

$75,000

$45,000

20M

41M

63M

Good viz matters.

A REP’S PAST PERFORMANCEDOESN’T PREDICT FUTURE PROFITS

A REP’S PAST PERFORMANCEDOESN’T PREDICT FUTURE PROFITS

Decile ofsales force

2ND1ST 4TH3RD 6TH5TH 8TH 9TH 10TH7TH

<<< Revenueundervalues reps’

future profitability

Revenue >>>overvalues reps’ future profitability

ANNUALAVERAGES(THOUSANDS)

Salesperson future value Salesperson revenue

SOURCE: V. KUMAR, SARANG SUNDER, AND ROBERT P. LEONE

$100

SALES REPS’ AVERAGE ANNUAL REVENUE (IN THOUSANDS)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th

50

0

*CALCULATED USING A PROPRIETARY FORMULA.

SOURCE: RESULTS FROM A STUDY OF ONE B2B COMPANYBY V. KUMAR, SARANG SUNDER, AND ROBERT P. LEONE

CurrentFuture potential*

Costlyreps

Valuablereps

REPS’ DECILE RANKING WITHIN SALES FORCE

By looking not just at the revenue reps have generated but at their future profitability, you may find that your top performers are even more valuable than you thought—and your low performers even more costly.

$100,000

$80,000

$60,000

$40,000

$20,000

$00,000

For both high—and low—performing sales repsin a B2B company, revenue generated was nota good indicator of expected future profitability, calculated using a special formula.

0

2

4

6

8

10%

9.0

9.5

10.0

10.5

11.0

11.5

GLOBAL LIGHT VEHICLE PENETRATION—ONE SCENARIOLIGHT VEHICLE SALES TESLA SHARE

GLOBAL PROJECTIONS

LIGHT VEHICLE SALESIN MILLIONS

2017

SOURCE: GOLDMAN SACHS GLOBAL INVESTMENT RESEARCH

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

GLOBAL LIGHT VEHICLE PENETRATION—ONE SCENARIOLIGHT VEHICLE SALESIN MILLIONS

All otherlight vehicles

Tesla

SOURCE: GOLDMAN SACHS GLOBAL INVESTMENT RESEARCH

GLOBAL PROJECTIONS2017 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

GOOD MATTERSTO BUSINESS

“Everyone in our business knows they need to visualize data, but it’s easy to do poorly. We invest in it. We’re excited if we can use it right while they use it wrong.”—Daryl Morey, GM, Houston Rockets

TRAVEL FREQUENCY (TRIPS PER YEAR)

TRAVEL STRESS INDEX

WHO SUFFERS MOST FROM TRAVEL STRESS?

5 10 15 20 25 300

10

0

20

30

40

50

60

70%

SOURCE: CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL (CWT) SOLUTIONS GROUP, TRAVEL STRESS INDEX RESEARCH (2013)

GOOD MATTERSTO CAREERS

“Right now, I’m special because so many people are intimidated by dataviz. But that’s changing. I’m working on getting to the next level.” —India Swearingen, United Way of the Bay Area

WHAT IS A GOODCHART?

SCOTTBERINATO

GOODCHARTS

SXSW AUSTIN 03.13.16HBS BOSTON 04.01.16 GENNARI | ARONSON WELLESLEY 05.05.16WORKBAR CAMBRIDGE 05.17.16MICROSOFT SEATTLE 05.24.16TABLEAU SEATTLE 05.24.16THREAD@YALE NEW HAVEN 06.05.16BABYCENTER SKYPE 08.26.16 ACCENTURE BOSTON 09.07.16

HBR@WORK LONDON 09.26.16 NORTH HIGHLAND LONDON 09.26.16 CIPD LONDON 09.27.16IRISH MBAS DUBLIN 09.28.16BLACKWELL OXFORD 09.29.16CWT PARIS 10.03.16HEC PARIS 10.03.16HBR PARIS 10.04.16INSEAD PARIS 10.04.16

GOOD?VINYL SALES SINCE 1993

8

10

6

4

2

1993

SOURCE: RIAA

96 99 02 05 08 11 14

MILLIONS OF UNITS

VINYL SALES SINCE 1993

8

10

6

4

2

1993

SOURCE: RIAA

96 99 02 05 08 11 14

MILLIONS OF UNITS

ARE THESE GOOD?

A GOOD CHART, RIGHT?

IS THIS GOOD?OR IS IT GREAT?

How do we judge charts?

IS THIS A GOOD CHART?

THOSE BARS ARE TOO THIN.

THE LABELS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE.

WHY IS THE Y AXIS ON THE RIGHT?

THE COLORS DON’T MAKE SENSE.

THERE AREN’T ENOUGH TICK MARKS.

IS THIS THE RIGHT KIND OF CHART?

“Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.” —Churchill (supposedly)

OOOOH!

“I would be remiss if, at this moment, I didn’t pause to cogitate on two important matters related to the discussion at hand.”—Anonymous

VISUAL GRAMMAR COLOR MATTERS

WHEN DO PEOPLE BUY ON OUR WEBSITE?

PERCENTAGE OF SALES

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

TIME OF DAY

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12am

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12am

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12am

WHEN DO PEOPLE BUY ON OUR WEBSITE?

PERCENTAGE OF SALES

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

TIME OF DAY

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12am

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12am

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12amWHEN DO PEOPLE BUY ON OUR WEBSITE?

PERCENTAGE OF SALES

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

TIME OF DAY

Men’s apparel

Women’s apparel

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12am

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12am

12–6am 6am–12pm 12–6pm 6pm–12am

VISUAL GRAMMAR THE GRID MATTERS

GOLD PRICE PER OUNCE IN $US

1,200

1,100

1,300

1,250

1,125

1,225

1,275

1,325

1,375

1,1501,175

1,350

$1,400

6/1/2014

8/2/2014

9/1/2014

10/1/20

1411/2/20

1412/2/20

141/1/20

152/2/20

153/2/20

154/1/20

155/1/20

155/15/20

15

7/1/2014

GOLD PRICE PER OUNCE IN $U

1,100

$1,GOLD PRICE PER OUNCE IN $US

1,200

1,100

1,300

$1,400

May 2014

Sept. 2014

Jan. 2015

May2015

VISUAL GRAMMAR USAGE MATTERS

Executives

TRAVEL EXPENSES BY DEPARTMENT

Marketing IT Sales Finance HR

$2,000IN THOUSANDS

1,500

1,000

500

SOURCE: COMPANY RESEARCH

Executives

TRAVEL EXPENSES BY DEPARTMENT

Marketing IT Sales Finance HR

$2,000IN THOUSANDS

1,500

1,000

500


Something else matters more.

context

contextwhat am I trying to say, to whom, and where?

Let’s imagine that St. Benedict chapel in Sumvitg, Graubünden, Switzerland, is our dataset. And the following photographs are our charts.

context: field of view

context: angle

context: point of view

context: what am I trying to say, to whom, and where?

CONTEXTFIELD OF VIEW


8

10

6

4

2

1993

SOURCE: RIAA

96 99 02 05 08 11 14

MILLIONS OF UNITS


8

10

6

4

2

1993

SOURCE: RIAA

96 99 02 05 08 11 14

MILLIONS OF UNITS

CONTEXTFIELD OF VIEW


SOURCE: RIAA

MILLIONS OF UNITS

1973

600

450

300

150

Vinyl single (45)Vinyl LP/EP

8178 8784 90 93 96 99 0502 08 11 14


SOURCE: RIAA

MILLIONS OF UNITS

1973

600

450

300

150

Vinyl single (45)Vinyl LP/EP

8178 8784 90 93 96 99 0502 08 11 14

CONTEXTANGLE

GOLD PER OUNCE SILVER PER OUNCE

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

15161718192021$22

1,100

1,150

1,200

1,250

1,300

$1,350

SOURCE: BULLIONVAULT.COM

PRICE PER OUNCE

Silver

Gold

300

600

900

1,200

$1,500


PERCENT CHANGE IN PRICE FROM 5/14

PRICE OF GOLD AND SILVER


PRICE CHANGE: GOLD AND SILVER

SilverGold

-10

0

10

20%



5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

15161718192021$22

1,100

1,150

1,200

1,250

1,300

$1,350


PRICE PER OUNCE

Silver

Gold

300

600

900

1,200

$1,500






SilverGold

-10

0

10

20%



5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

15161718192021$22

1,100

1,150

1,200

1,250

1,300

$1,350


PRICE PER OUNCE

Silver

Gold

300

600

900

1,200

$1,500






SilverGold

-10

0

10

20%


CONTEXTANGLE


5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

15161718192021$22

1,100

1,150

1,200

1,250

1,300

$1,350


PRICE PER OUNCE

Silver

Gold

300

600

900

1,200

$1,500






Silver

Gold

-20

-10

0

10%



5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

15161718192021$22

1,100

1,150

1,200

1,250

1,300

$1,350


PRICE PER OUNCE

Silver

Gold

300

600

900

1,200

$1,500






Silver

Gold

-20

-10

0

10%



5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

5/14 8/14 11/14 2/15 5/15

15161718192021$22

1,100

1,150

1,200

1,250

1,300

$1,350


PRICE PER OUNCE

Silver

Gold

300

600

900

1,200

$1,500






SilverGold

-10

0

10

20%


CONTEXTPOINT OF VIEW

CUSTOMER PURCHASE ACTIVITY BY TIME OF DAYSALES DOLLARS, IN THOUSANDS$800

600

400

200

0:0

0

2:0

0

4:0

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6:0

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8:0

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10:0

0

12:0

0

14:0

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16:0

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18:0

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20:0

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22:0

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600

400

200

0:0

0

2:0

0

4:0

0

6:0

0

8:0

0

10:0

0

12:0

0

14:0

0

16:0

0

18:0

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20:0

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22:0

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600

400

200

0

0:0

0

2:0

0

4:0

0

6:0

0

8:0

0

10:0

0

12:0

0

14:0

0

16:0

0

18:0

0

20:0

0

22:0

0



600

400

200

0

0:0

0

2:0

0

4:0

0

6:0

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8:0

0

10:0

0

12:0

0

14:0

0

16:0

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18:0

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20:0

0

22:0

0


***

rules context

contextrules


HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE?

WHAT DO THEY ALREADY KNOW?

HOW WILL IT BE DISPLAYED?

WHAT AM I TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH?

HOW BIG IS THE ROOM?

WHAT DO I WANT THEM TO DO ABOUT IT?

HAVE THEY EVER SEEN THIS KIND OF CHART BEFORE?

WHO ELSE MIGHT SEE IT?


HOW WILL IT BE DISPLAYED?

HOW BIG IS THE ROOM?

DON’T BETHIS GUY

So. What’s good?

THE GOOD CHARTS MATRIX

WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY, TO WHOM, AND WHERE?

CONTEXTUAL AWARENESSLOW HIGH

EXCELLENT

POOR

DESI

GN EX

ECUT

ION


HOW WELL IS THIS CHART CONSTRUCTED?

EXCELLENT

POOR

LOW HIGH

DESIGN EXECUTIONHOW WELL IS THIS CHART CONSTRUCTED?


CONTEXTUAL AWARENESSWHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY, TO WHOM, AND WHERE?

EXCELLENT

POOR

LOW HIGHCONTEXTUAL AWARENESSWHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY, TO WHOM, AND WHERE?

DESIGN EXECUTIONHOW WELL IS THIS CHART CONSTRUCTED?


GOOD CHARTS

GOOD?8

10

6

4

2

1993

SOURCE: RIAA

96 99 02 05 08 11 14

MILLIONS OF UNITS


$125 GOOD

FOR EXAMPLE

FOR EXAMPLE

REVENUE AND MARGIN GROWTH SCENARIOS Assuming 9% membership growth.


STATUS QUO

2015 2016 2017 2018

Revenue

Margin100

200

300

$400 million

100

200

300

$400 million

2015 2016 2017 2018

SCENARIO 1

100

200

300

$400 million

2015 2016 2017 2018

SCENARIO 2

100

200

300

$400 million

2015 2016 2017 2018

SCENARIO 3

REVENUE AND MARGIN GROWTH SCENARIOS Assuming 9% membership growth.


STATUS QUO

2015 2016 2017 2018

Revenue

Margin100

200

300

$400 million

100

200

300

$400 million

2015 2016 2017 2018

SCENARIO 1

100

200

300

$400 million

2015 2016 2017 2018

SCENARIO 2

100

200

300

$400 million

2015 2016 2017 2018

SCENARIO 3

A CHART...

A GOOD CHART.

A CHART...

$8

6

4

2

Red

Sox

Cub

sPh

illie

sTw

ins

Bra

ves

Gia

nts

Blu

e Ja

ysO

riole

sN

atio

nals

Roya

lsW

hite

Sox

Dod

gers

Mar

iner

sYa

nkee

sM

arlin

sB

rew

ers

Rock

ies

Met

sPi

rate

sRe

dsRa

ysC

ardi

nals A’s

Tige

rsPa

dres

Astr

osR

ange

rsA

ngel

sIn

dian

sD

iam

ondb

acks

COST OF ONE SMALL BEER AT EVERY MLB STADIUMMLB Average: $5.98

SOURCE: TEAM MARKETING REPORT INC. SOURCE: TEAM MARKETING REPORT INC.

TEAM

Unconscionable$186/caseRed Sox

Outrageous$138–$144/caseGiantsMarinersYankeesMarlinsBlue JaysCubsMets

Exorbitant$103–$131/caseBravesRedsOriolesRaysCardinalsA’sTigersNationalsRoyalsWhite SoxTwinsBrewersRockiesPhilliesPadresAstros

Expensive$81–$99/casePiratesIndiansDodgersRangersAngelsDiamondbacks

Liquor store case: $20 Ballpark average: $115

$0 $150

Fans know they’re getting robbed, but converting the cost of beer at all the MLB parks into a measure they can easily relate to shows just how bad it is.

IF YOU BOUGHT A CASE OF BEER AT A BALLPARK

A GOOD CHART.

$8

6

4

2

Red

Sox

Cub

sPh

illie

sTw

ins

Bra

ves

Gia

nts

Blu

e Ja

ysO

riole

sN

atio

nals

Roya

lsW

hite

Sox

Dod

gers

Mar

iner

sYa

nkee

sM

arlin

sB

rew

ers

Rock

ies

Met

sPi

rate

sRe

dsRa

ysC

ardi

nals A’s

Tige

rsPa

dres

Astr

osR

ange

rsA

ngel

sIn

dian

sD

iam

ondb

acks

COST OF ONE SMALL BEER AT EVERY MLB STADIUMMLB Average: $5.98

SOURCE: TEAM MARKETING REPORT INC. SOURCE: TEAM MARKETING REPORT INC.

TEAM

Unconscionable$186/caseRed Sox

Outrageous$138–$144/caseGiantsMarinersYankeesMarlinsBlue JaysCubsMets

Exorbitant$103–$131/caseBravesRedsOriolesRaysCardinalsA’sTigersNationalsRoyalsWhite SoxTwinsBrewersRockiesPhilliesPadresAstros

Expensive$81–$99/casePiratesIndiansDodgersRangersAngelsDiamondbacks

Liquor store case: $20 Ballpark average: $115

$0 $150

Fans know they’re getting robbed, but converting the cost of beer at all the MLB parks into a measure they can easily relate to shows just how bad it is.

IF YOU BOUGHT A CASE OF BEER AT A BALLPARK

By 2010-06-05-lueneburg-by-RalfR-10.jpg: Ralf Roletschek

WHAT’S FEARED

Unicorns don’t exist(mostly)

EXCEL | 1912

DATAVIZ | 1969

BUT THEN | 1990S

DATAVIZ | 2016

DATAVIZ | 2016

SMEme

DESIGNERmarta

DEVELOPERtyler

+

+

UNDERSTANDHISTORYSCIENCE

CREATETYPESMETHODS

REFINEIMPRESSPERSUADEDON’T LIE!

PRESENT AND PRACTICECAPTIVATECRIT

GOOD CHARTS

thankyou#GoodCharts @ScottBerinato

how to create persuasive charts, diagrams, and data visualizations

Data & Analytics