Remove 3-D depth cues for private inspection of the data

Remove 3-D depth cues when the graph is mainly for your own understanding of the data. For example, keep a 2-D area line or 2-D area bar for private inspection instead of a 3-D volume version meant to impress or stand out.

A self-use graph does not need presentation flourish, so redundant depth cues are less useful there.

Mechanism: Flat rendering keeps the display focused on the data itself, which better matches a chart used to understand what is going on for your own purposes.

Evidence: In the paper’s preference studies, 2-D graphs were preferred more for one’s own use than for showing others, and the forced-choice test favored the 2-D area graph over the 3-D volume graph for self-use (Levy et al., 1996).

• User Goal: Understand what is going on in the data yourself.
• Task: Inspect the data privately rather than present it.
• Data: 2-D quantitative data already planned as a line or bar graph.
• Chart Setting: A static graph where 3-D depth cues are optional.
• Audience: The analyst or chart maker.
• Success Criterion: The graph feels better suited to your own inspection than a more presentation-oriented alternative.

• Break it when: The chart is being prepared mainly for other people. Why: The preference for 2-D was tied to self-use and weakened outside that setting.
• Break it when: The chart must be memorable later without referring back to it. Why: Under memory-focused conditions, 3-D graphs were preferred more often.

Sacrifice: Some presentation flair. Risk: The chart may feel less striking if reused unchanged in a talk or slide. Mitigation: Reevaluate the depth treatment if the audience or purpose changes from self-use to presentation.

Mistake: Adding 3-D shading to the version you use to inspect the data yourself. Why it fails: The added depth is a presentation-oriented flourish that was less preferred for self-use.

Failure Sign: You are using a showier 3-D version even though the chart is staying private. Quick Check: Ask whether the current version is for your own reading or for other people; if it is for yourself, compare it against a flat version. Stronger Test: Choose between flat and 3-D versions by asking which one you would keep if no one else were going to see it.

• Remove depth shading from the chart you use for your own inspection.
• Redraw a 3-D volume line or bar as a 2-D area version for the private working copy.
• Reassess depth only if the same chart later becomes presentation material.