Catalog

Guideline Catalog

Browse visualization guideline records with sections, labels, and references.

781 records

Page 12 of 33

  1. Keep oversized bars unwrapped when the maximum must be found quickly

    For maximum-value lookup in single-view categorical bar charts, prefer the standard unwrapped bar layout on bar charts with disproportionate values to improve readability and mitigate counting burden for readers scanning the tallest category.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • task:extreme
    • chart:bar
    • data:categorical
    • +3

  2. Keep side-by-side risk arrays static during comparison

    For compare tasks in multi-view risk displays, avoid animation on icon-array risk graphics to improve choice and gist accuracy and mitigate distraction for mixed-numeracy audiences.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • task:compare
    • structure:multi-view
    • quality:fidelity
    • +3

  3. Keep size-shape combinations large enough to distinguish shapes

    For multi-encoding marks, use a larger minimum mark size when size and shape are combined to improve readability and mitigate shape confusion in small marks for viewers reading encoded symbols.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • quality:readability:use
    • lever:encoding
    • channel:size
    • +2

  4. Keep staggered motion only when it reduces target crowding

    For visual tracking during ordered-time transitions, use target-crowding reduction as the decision rule for staggered motion on dense dot-based views to improve fidelity and mitigate ineffective pacing changes for analysts.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • task:relate
    • time:ordered-time
    • quality:fidelity:use
    • +3

  5. Keep temporal axes in chronological order

    For overview trend reading in ordered-time bar charts, use chronological scale order on the temporal axis to improve fidelity and mitigate false time-sequence and trend readings for general readers.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • task:trend
    • time:ordered-time
    • chart:bar
    • +3

  6. Keep the color key within immediate view

    For long printed or scrolling visualizations, use legend placement on color-encoded views to improve readability and mitigate long-distance legend lookups for readers repeatedly checking color meanings.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • quality:readability:use
    • lever:layout-structure
    • component:legend:use
    • +1

  7. Keep the footnote to essential interpretation details

    For explanatory reading of a chart based on a complex prediction, use the footnote on the chart for only the source and assumptions needed to understand the display to improve trust and mitigate overloaded notes for readers checking how to interpret the result.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • quality:trust
    • lever:text-annotation
    • component:caption:use
    • +1

  8. Keep the reference bar visible during exact comparison

    For exact comparison of bar values across separated views, use simultaneous visible references on bar charts to improve comparison fidelity and mitigate memory-driven position misestimation for viewers making precise readings.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • task:compare
    • chart:bar
    • structure:multi-view
    • +3

  9. Label axes clearly and mark any truncation

    For chart reading and interpretation, use clear axis labels and explicit truncation labels on charts with axes to improve accessibility and mitigate ambiguous or misleading scale reading for readers with cognitive accessibility needs.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:accessibility
    • quality:accessibility
    • lever:text-annotation
    • component:axis:use
    • +1

  10. Label categories directly beside the marks

    For quick category identification in charts with multiple visible categories, prefer direct labels on the data marks to improve readability and mitigate repeated eye travel for readers scanning between categories and values.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • data:categorical
    • quality:readability
    • lever:text-annotation
    • +2

  11. Label indexed axis baselines and tick meaning in words

    For explaining ordered-time values indexed to a reference timepoint, use verbal reference labels on the y-axis of an indexed chart to improve readability and mitigate confusion about the baseline and direction of change for general audiences.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • time:ordered-time
    • operator:difference
    • quality:readability
    • +3

  12. Label only distinct steps on dense quantitative color keys

    For overview and lookup in dense quantitative color keys, use a subset of labels on legends with many classes or highly interpolated colors to improve readability and mitigate overlap and false precision for readers scanning magnitudes.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • data:quantitative
    • quality:readability
    • lever:text-annotation
    • +3

  13. Label the extremes of a diverging color scale explicitly

    For explanation in charts that use a diverging color scale, use explicit legend, title, or annotation labels on the color encoding to improve readability and address confusion about which color means which extreme for readers decoding a non-intuitive scale.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • quality:readability
    • lever:text-annotation
    • component:legend:use
    • +3

  14. Leave reading time after a narrated label appears

    For ordered-time narrated visuals, avoid new motion or reveals during label-reading intervals on dynamic displays to improve readability and mitigate missed labels for viewers learning unfamiliar terms.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • time:ordered-time
    • temporal-pattern:dynamic
    • quality:readability:use
    • +2

  15. Left-align lengthy chart text

    For multi-line chart text longer than short labels, use left alignment on titles and annotations to improve readability and mitigate messy edges and slower line-to-line reading for readers scanning longer text.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • quality:readability
    • lever:text-annotation
    • aesthetic:composition:use

  16. Let users toggle chart textures

    For accessible viewing of charts that use texture on fills, use user-controlled texture toggles on chart encodings to improve accessibility and mitigate fixed-texture visual complexity for audiences with differing visual access needs.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:accessibility
    • quality:accessibility
    • lever:interaction-access
    • channel:texture:use
    • +1

  17. Light 3D surfaces to reveal local variation and global form

    For compare and overview tasks on 3D surface displays of one quantitative measure across two variables, use surface lighting on the mesh to improve insight and address flat-shaded views that hide local variation for readers inspecting both anomalies and overall shape.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • task:compare
    • data:quantitative
    • quality:insight
    • +3

  18. Limit hues in qualitative choropleth schemes

    For unordered categorical regions on a choropleth, use as few hues as possible in a qualitative color scheme to improve readability and mitigate repeated legend lookup for readers decoding categories.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • chart:choropleth
    • data:categorical
    • quality:readability
    • +3

  19. Limit mentally rotated feature bindings to one focal part

    For mental-rotation tasks on multi-part object diagrams, use a single focal feature binding on the rotated object to improve fidelity and mitigate loss of part identities for readers interpreting rotated structures.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • quality:fidelity
    • lever:encoding
    • reading-mode:exact
    • +1

  20. Limit risk displays to the options and outcomes relevant to the current decision

    For comparing treatment choices in a bounded decision, prefer a reduced choice set and essential outcomes on the display to improve insight and mitigate distraction from redundant statistics and irrelevant options for patient decision-makers.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • task:compare
    • quality:insight
    • lever:layout-structure
    • +3

  21. Limit same-hue category palettes to a few shades

    For comparison of a few unordered categories, prefer a same-hue lightness palette on category encodings to improve accessibility and address overly colorful or grayscale-ambiguous palettes for readers with color-vision differences.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • quality:accessibility
    • lever:encoding
    • channel:color-lightness:use
    • +3

  22. Limit small-multiple panels to message-relevant categories

    For story-focused trend displays with many categories, prefer selective panel inclusion on small-multiple line charts to improve insight and address overlong scanning and scrolling for readers navigating many panels.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:heuristic
    • structure:small-multiples
    • quality:insight
    • lever:layout-structure
    • +2

  23. Limit tab stops to meaningful interactive elements

    For keyboard navigation in interactive data views, prefer limiting tab stops to meaningful interactive elements on charts and interactive tables to improve accessibility and mitigate tedious or nonfunctional focus stops for keyboard-only users.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:accessibility
    • quality:accessibility
    • lever:interaction-access
    • needs:keyboard-only
    • +1

  24. Limit the number of categories shown at once when numerosity must be compared

    For overview quantity comparisons, use fewer visually distinct categories in a single display to improve fidelity and mitigate overloaded simultaneous numerosity estimation for viewers comparing several groups at once.

    • purpose:refine
    • basis:empirical
    • task:compare
    • quality:fidelity:use
    • lever:encoding
    • +2