Free E-Book
By
Vivek Singh
Founder, Jazz Factory – A Presentation Design Firm
www.jazzfactory.in

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I hereby give you every right to distribute this e-book. If you are
reproducing or quoting any part of this e-book you must mention my
name and link to the blog (www.jazzfactory.in)

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What is this E-Book about?
This e-book will help you make awesome charts in 14 simple steps. You will be
able to create charts that are effective and smart looking. These tips were first
published as a series of 14 posts on the blog http://www.blog.jazzfactory.in/.
This is a revised and concise version of the entire series. You can read all the
posts online here.
Who will benefit from this e-book?
If you make charts and present it to others (through reports, presentations or
any other medium) this e-book is for you.
This e-book focuses more on presenting charts and not on creating them. Hence
it does not cover the basic steps of entering data and creating a chart from
scratch. It assumes you know how to make a simple chart (in MS Excel and/or
MS PowerPoint).
However, in case of advanced usage (like adding a secondary axis to your chart)
each and every step is explained in detail.
Please Note:
1. All the tips on creating charts are based on MS PowerPoint 2007.
However, people using older version should not find any problem is using
the tips contained in the e-book.
2. This e-book uses the words ‘charts’ and ‘graphs’ interchangeably.

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Contents
Tip #1: The Bigger Picture .........................................................................5
Tip #2: Do you really need a chart?..........................................................8
Tip #3: Which chart type should you use?.............................................11
Tip #4: What is your key message? ........................................................17
Tip #5: Chart Title .....................................................................................19
Tip #6: Number of Data Points...............................................................21
Tip #7: Data Labels...................................................................................23
Tip #8: Chart Legend................................................................................25
Tip #9: Chart Axis......................................................................................28
Tip #10: Data Source................................................................................32
Tip #11: Chart Colours.............................................................................34
Tip #12: Chart Animation ........................................................................37
Tip #13: Highlighting ................................................................................40
Tip #14: Chart Aesthetics.........................................................................43

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Tip #1: The Bigger Picture
When you create a chart you make a series of decisions (consciously or
otherwise). You decide on the chart type, chart colour, etc. What is the starting
point of it all?
It all starts from what is the point you are trying to make. You create a chart from
raw data with a purpose. Your purpose can be the following:
 To share information, or
 To prove or disprove something
You might be trying to prove that sale in your area is growing very fast. If you
just say this, not many might believe. Hence, you support it with data. But, how
do you present this data which will prove your point (that sale is indeed growing
well)? You can do the following:
 Create a chart (the most obvious choice, but not necessarily the best one)
 Create a table
 Make an infographic (more on it in Tip #2)
 Simply type out the data on the slide
Making a Chart: A 4 Step Process
1. What is your key message?
2. Do you really need a chart to support your key message?
3. Which chart type should you use?
4. How should you design your chart?

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After deciding to make a chart, there are two broad areas which you need to
consider.
 Chart Core, and
 Chart Design
Your key message, the need for a chart and the right chart type form the
chart core. They come first and have to be answered. Chart design includes the
other ten areas;
 Chart title, data points and data labels
 Legend, chart axis, source, colours
 Animation, highlight and aesthetics
Chart Core or Chart Design: Which is more important?
Many people worry only about the chart core. These people spend more time on
the first three areas of making a chart: key message, need for a chart and chart
type. They totally neglect chart design. This neglect might come from ignorance
or lack of care. I call them North Pole Presenters.

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Then there are presenters who get lost in small details and forget the overall
picture. They spend more time on chart design. They try various kinds of line
colours, markers, shadow and gradients. You can throw them off balance if you
ask, "What is the point you are making?" Amidst all this design they forgot the
key message. These are South Pole Presenters.
Where do you find yourself in this
world?
The best place to be is in the middle.
Give equal importance to Chart Core
and Chart Design. It is very important
to crunch data, choose the right chart
type and know what you are presenting.
But if you are unable to get it across
(which is the role played by chart
design) then all this preparation falls flat.
Chart core has more to do with what you are presenting and chart design has
everything to do with how you are presenting it. A healthy mix of both is the
recipe for an awesome chart.

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Tip #2: Do you really need a chart?
You have by now understood that your key message is the point you are trying
to make and chart is just one of the mediums to do that. We will now answer the
following questions:
 What is a Chart?
 When should you use a chart?
 What are the alternatives to a chart?
What is a Chart?
Chart (or Graph) is a visual representation of raw data serving many purposes:
1. It makes data easy to understand
2. It reveals relationships between data
3. It amplifies the impact of data
4. It converts raw data into useful information for managerial decision
making
When should you use a chart?
You have some raw data which will support the point you are trying to make.
Before making the chart, ask yourself this question. “What value do I add when I
present this raw data in the form of a chart?” What happens if you just
presented the raw data in the form of a table?
If your chart does not add any value and does not fulfil any of the four objectives
above, do not make it.
Example 2.1: Your organization has grown leaps and bounds in the last 30 years.
This is your key message. To prove this to the new recruits you have this raw
data.

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If you present this raw data in the
form of a table, do you think you
will be able to impress the new
recruits? The impact of this table
is nil. How about presenting it like
the bar graph below.
These New York Skyscrapers will nail
the point in the minds of the
audience very well. This visual
representation meets objectives 1
(easy to understand) and 3 (amplifies
the impact).
Use charts only when you have more than one data point
Never make a chart with one data point. A chart which has one bar or a pie
which has one number does not make much sense. In these cases, try some
other option.
Example 2.2: You conducted a market research and found that your product’s
market share is 5%. This is very low and you want the management to take
strong cognizance. Here are
two ways of presenting this
information:
It is much better to put the
number in limelight and initiate
a discussion rather than putting
just another pie and diluting the

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power of this information.
What are the alternatives to a chart?
You have decided that chart is not a good medium to deliver your key message.
In that case you have the following options.
1. Create a table
2. Simply type out the data on the slide
3. Make an infographic
Point 1 and 2 are simple to understand. In example 2.1 we saw a table and in
example 2.2 we saw how to type out the data on the slide.
Infographic: This is a very unique and interesting way of presenting
information. Look at the following example:
Example 2.3: 16.7% of the world population lives is India. How do you present
this information? Because you have one data point, you should not use a chart.
How about this?
This is a much more evolved way of presenting
information. If you are comparing the sales of
three countries, instead of making a table, you can
try plotting the numbers on a map.
Make charts which add some value to the information and enhance audience
understanding. Keep your options open. Be ready to look beyond charts.

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Tip #3: Which chart type should you use?
After you have decided to go for a chart, the first decision you have to make is
about the chart type. How do you decide which chart to choose?
Do yourself a favour by not going to ‘Insert Chart’ in MS PowerPoint. PowerPoint
gives you 74 types of charts under 11 varieties. There are pies, donuts and even
spiders up for grabs.
Which chart type to use depends on what you are doing with your data. So
instead of worrying about 74 chart types, answer the following question:
What are you doing with your raw data?
You can do the following:
1. Compare data
2. Break data into smaller parts to see what it is composed of
3. See data over time
4. Discover correlation between two sets of data
Because correlation is an advanced usage and is used very rarely, we will keep it
aside. We now have three main usages of data. Look at the following image.
This is the framework
which will help you choose
the right chart type. Look
at the image carefully. We
are going to study 6 types
of uses a data can be put
to. We already covered 3
above.
A. Compare data
B. Break up data into parts
C. See data over time
From the interplay between A, B and C we get 3 more cases.

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D. Break data into parts and compare the sub-parts (D=A+B)
E. Comparing data over time (E=A+C)
F. Break down parts of data and see over time (F=B+C)
We shall deal with each one of them with simple examples from real life.
A. Compare data
When you are comparing data you are pitting them against each other. What’s
the best way to compare your height with your sister’s height? Make both of you
stand near each other. Rings a bell?
When you are comparing data, use a bar graph. Bar graphs are of two kinds;
column (vertical) and horizontal. Though both the graphs serve the same
purpose and can be used interchangeably you should prefer vertical graphs
because it is easier for the eyes to compare vertical distances.
Example A: Per Capita Consumption of Shampoo in India in USD
The chart on the left has been
taken from Hindustan
Unilever’s investor
presentation. The presentation
is comparing per capita
consumption of shampoo in
India to other countries. I have
recreated the same in
horizontal bar as well (right). The vertical one looks better.
B. Break data into parts
When you break down data to analyze what it is comprised of then you can
use pie charts, stacked bar graphs and normal bar graphs. However a pie
chart is the most preferred choice. Some examples of what it means to break
data into parts are as follows:
i. How much sales of your brand comes from North, South, East & West
India?
ii. What is the market share of various soap brands in the US?
Example B: Shareholding Pattern as of June 30, 2009 of Infosys.

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Here you are breaking down the equity share holding of various entities and
hence you should use pie charts. This data can be presented in three ways.
The chart in the middle is a normal bar whereas the one on the extreme right is
a stacked bar graph. I advise you to stick to pie charts when breaking down data
into parts.
C. See data over time
For presenting data over time, you can use line graphs, area graphs and
bar charts. Examples where you compare data over time are:
i. Stock price for last 12 months
ii. Sales & profits of a company over time
iii. Number of employees in an organization over time
Example C: You want to invest in the shares of Reliance Industries so you want
to see its stock price over the last three months. Here are two ways you can
present this chart.
The area chart and the line
chart serve the same purpose
here. The area graph actually
accentuates the movements
of the stock price. The same
data can actually be
presented as a bar graph.
However, bar graph will make
the chart cluttered because the number of data points is very large.

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D. Break data into parts and compare the sub-parts
(Compare + Break data into parts)
Example D: In Example B we saw how to break down the shareholding pattern of
Infosys into its sub-parts. I now ask you to compare the shareholding patterns of
Infosys with Wipro & Polaris (as of June 30, 2009). How would you present this
chart?
Because we are breaking down shareholding into its sub-divisions, we should
use pie charts. Going by the old logic our slide looks like this:
Suddenly, the pie is complicating things. First we need more space for 3 charts
and second, it is tougher to understand and compare while looking at 3 charts.
Look now at the right way of
presenting.
This Stacked Bar Chart looks better.
Remember you have done two things
here. One, you broke up each
company's shareholding pattern.
Second, you compared the smaller
chunks with each other. The analysis
here could be that Wipro is far more
closely held (high promoter holding) than Polaris and Wipro. To do any
meaningful analysis you need to understand data first. Stacked Bar Chart helps
you do that much better than a pie chart.

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E. Comparing data over time (Compare + See data over time)
When we compare two or more pieces of data across many time periods we can
use Bar Graph or Line Graph.
Example E: You have sales and profits data of your company for the past 17
years. How do you present this data?
The line graph and bar graph
both can be used. However, as
the number of data points
keep going up, you should
prefer line over bar. Having
15-20 vertical bars make a
slide cluttered.
Avoid bars as soon as the
number of data points crosses
15.
F. Breaking data into parts and seeing it over time
When you have to break down data into parts and then see how the parts shape
up over a period of time what should you use? You can use both these charts;
stacked bar graph and stacked area graphs.
Example F: You are studying world's consumption of cooking oil over time. This
is the data you have (it is a hypothetical data).
If you look closely, we have broken down
world consumption into four oil sub-
types. Then we are looking at how the
sub-types change over time. You should
present this data using either a stacked

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bar chart (right) or a stacked area graph (left).
Summary
You should remember these six cases or six treatments which your data can go
through. Here is a ready reckoner to remind you of which chart to use when.
I have not discussed
about special charts
like bubbles, radars
and donuts because
they are complex. They
tend to confuse the
audience and don’t add
much value.
Avoid.

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Tip #4: What is your key message?
The process of making a chart starts from the key message. Every presentation
has an objective. You are making an argument in the presentation. Each chart
adds to that argument in a small way.
How you arrive at the key message is beyond the scope of this e-book. You
should know what you want to talk about. We are concerned only with how to
present it in the form of a chart.
How should you present your charts’ key message?
To make an awesome chart, you need to know the following:
1. Know what your key message is. Know what point you are trying to
make/prove/disprove with the help of your chart.
2. Do not have more than one key message for every chart. Two is just too
many.
3. Write down the key message on the slide in one complete sentence. Don't
eat words and make it small. Don't be verbose and make it too long.
4. You should write down the key message on your slide header. You can
also write it in a box near the chart. Make sure it is clearly visible and
readable.
Example 4.1: Look at this chart from the investor presentation of Hindustan
Unilever (HUL).
HUL's spend on advertising and
promotion (A&P) has gone down in this
quarter. Being the biggest spender in
India on advertising, their investors
might be worried seeing this chart. So
they have added a key message below
the chart. They say, even though they
are spending less yet they remain
competitive in spends on brand
building. Investors have nothing to worry.

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Exception to the Rule:
When you are just sharing information and there is nothing ‘key’ to share with
the audience, the chart need not have a key message. Look at the chart from
Starbucks below:
Example 4.2: Starbucks performance in its Annual
Report, 2008
This chart merely tells you that the number of
stores is on the rise. There is nothing more that
they want to communicate. Hence, no key
messages here.
This marks the end of our topics on Chart Core.
We now move on to Chart Design.

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Tip #5: Chart Title
Purpose of having a Chart Title
A chart title tells the audience what the chart is for. It helps the audience read
and understand the chart faster. Try removing the title from a chart you would
have presented recently. The audience will take more time to grasp it. Remember
that the audience gets only a few seconds to see the chart and make sense of it while
you are presenting.
What should a Chart Title be like?
The title tells the reader what the data on display is and helps him/her
understanding it faster and better.
1. Chart title should be descriptive and not too short.
2. Chart title should also have the time period mentioned. The year should
be written in full. 2008-09 is better than 08-09.
Example 5.1: Take a look at this chart from an investor presentation by
Hindustan Unilever (HUL).
What is the pie chart
showing? Break up of sales
(turnover) or profits (EBIT)?
Obviously sales? You know
this but the investors do not.
How does an investor figure
this out? You are
(subconsciously) assuming
your audience knows what
you know. Hence you omit
some information by mistake.
Having a proper title will
eliminate such confusion.

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Summary
Understand who your audience is. Realize they have limited exposure time to
see and understand the chart. Admit that it is they who will decide whether your
charts are good or bad.
A simple solution to all your problem is this: Put chart title in every chart you
make.

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Tip #6: Number of Data Points
After choosing the chart type and giving a chart a proper title, you now need to
consider how many data points to display on the chart.
What is a Data Point?
If your pie chart has 10 parts then it has 10 data points. If the bar chart has 4
vertical bars, there is 1 bar for each of the 4 data points. If you are making a one
year chart of the stock price of Infosys, then you will need 365 data points
(actually you would need somewhere around 310 because there are 52 Sundays
plus some holidays when the share market is closed).
How do you decide on the correct number of data points?
As you know, a chart is used to prove or disprove a point to the audience. In
order to do the analysis, you might need 20 data points but to prove the point in
the presentation you might only need 10. So when you 'present' your chart you
must have only 10 data points.
What to remember while choosing the number of data points?
1. The more the data points, the more complex the chart becomes.
Audience understanding is inversely proportional to the no. of data points your
chart has. The more data points your chart has, the lesser the audience will
understand in a given time.
2. When presenting data over time, choose data points at equal time gaps.
Example 6.1: KK Consultants (name
changed) are making a presentation to
the new employees of their
organization. They are sharing how
their organisation has grown leaps and
bounds in the last three decades. This
is how the chart looks. We have seen
this chart already in Example 2.1 (Tip
#2)

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Good. But think of the new employee looking through this and trying to read 14
data points. The key message here is 'that our organization has grown leaps and
bounds over the last three decades’. To make this argument, you might need to
analyze 14 data points, but to present you can manage with only 4. Take a look
at this new chart.
Great! An audience to understand 14
data points will take time and does not
add much value. By reading 14 data
points, it is tough to draw this
conclusion (added 2 employees per
day!). Humans cannot mentally analyze
so many data points. But with 4 data
points, the audience gets the key
message far more easily and far more
powerfully.
Example 6.2: Look at this chart from the American Heart Association. It talks
about the heart disease mortality rates (deaths in thousands for males and
females).
Look closely at the chosen data points;
1979, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and
2005. While 1980 to 2005 are at 5 year
gaps, there is also an unwanted 1979.
Visually all data points look equally far
away from each other in time. But they
are not. This situation should be avoided.
Choose equidistant data points.

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Tip #7: Data Labels
After you have chosen the number of data points and created the chart, you
now need to label your data. We discussed in the last post that you might
require 30 data points to do your analysis but you can present it with only 10. Do
you still need to label all 10 data points? Need not.
You are showing the share price of Reliance Industries from April to June 2009.
Will you label all the data points? No. Because that will make the chart cluttered
and will serve no purpose. You can just label a few data points which help you
convey the key message.
What you must remember about labelling your data?
1. All relevant data points should be labelled. There is no compulsion to label
every data point. It depends on what point you are trying to prove with the chart
(key message).
2. The labels should not clutter the chart and hurt audience understanding.
Space them out and make them legible (greater than 18 font size).
3. Position the label properly on the chart. Labels on a pie chart can be inside
the pie or outside. The objective that drives this choice is how easily readable
and understandable the label is.
Example 7.1: Take a quick look at this chart from ACC and answer this question.
What is the capacity utilization (%) for the 5 years (see the line graph)?
86, 93, 18.7, 19.9, 20.8. Right?
Wrong! Take a look again. For
the first two data points, the
label for the line graph was
above the line. For the next
three, it went below the line
and changed its colour from
black to white.
The solution: If you put a %
after the numbers it will be far
simpler to read the chart.

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Also, be consistent with colour coding of data labels and don’t mess with their
positions.
Use different colours for labelling different graphs (in this case, use different
label colours for bar and line graph). Use this colour coding when the labels
appear so close to each other. When the labels are far away, colour coding is
not needed.

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Tip #8: Chart Legend
What is a legend?
A legend, as you know, is a guide that helps the audience read your chart. If you
are comparing the share prices of Microsoft and Yahoo and your chart has two
line graphs, then your legend tells the audience which line denotes which
company. The legend is a 'visual' symbol of the data series that has been plotted
on the chart.
When you don't need a legend?
By definition, a legend tells you which bar or line chart is for which data series.
Hence, you need a legend only if you have more than one data series on your
chart. You don't need it if you are showing the growth of sales over time and
have just one line graph (or a series of bar graphs). Most of the graphs you
would have seen in your life will have a legend even when there is only one data
series. Why?
Reason 1: Because the legend comes by default in the software.
Reason 2: Because of your ignorance.
Where do you place the legend?
The legend by default is always placed to the right. But there are in total 5 places
where you can place it. Top, Right, Left, Bottom and Inside the Plot Area (along
with the data points). Where you place it has a huge impact on the usefulness of
the legend. Remember the objective of a legend is to make the chart easy to
read.
Few examples of legends

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Lesson (pie charts above): Placing the labels outside the pie chart (without
having a legend) is much better. Pie chart on the right looks much smarter and
friendly.
Lesson (bar charts below): The legend should be in sync with the bar graphs. If
your bar goes from left to right then you legend should be read from left to
right.
Lesson (line graphs above): Labelling the lines on the right is better than a
legend.

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To Summarize:
1. Do not use a legend when you have only one data series (example, sales over
time).
2. When making pie charts, put the series name with the data labels outside the
pie itself. Do not create a legend.
3. Place the legend where it is logical. Make it sync with the way data has been
presented.
4. When using line graphs, label the line graphs instead of putting a legend.

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Tip #9: Chart Axis
1. What is an axis?
An axis in a chart or graph is the line along which we measure our variables. It is
nothing but a scale (or a ruler). The x-axis and y-axis tells you what are being
measured and lets you read the measurements.
2. What should you know about an axis?
First, you should know the purpose of an axis. An axis tells you what is being
measured and also lets you read the values. As an audience, you should always
check out the axis before looking at the bar or line graph.
Second, because the axis tells you how to read the chart, you have to label the
axis with what is being measured and the units of measurement. This is however
theory. It is better, at times, to write down the chart title as ‘Sales (in $mn)’ than
to say just ‘Sales’ in chart title and put ‘in $mn’ in axis title.
3. Playing with the axis?
Left click to select the axis and then right click to choose Format Axis.
3a. Line Colour & Styles
Choose vertical y-axis -> Format Axis -> Line
Colour. Solid Black. Then Line Style -> Width
4. Again, choose horizontal x-axis -> Format
Axis -> Line Color. Solid Black. Line Style ->
Width 4. You chart will look better with a
thicker axis.
3b. Axis Options

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Choose the vertical y-axis -> Format Axis -> Axis Options -> Change the
'Minimum' from Auto to Fixed and enter 80. See what happens.
The y-axis now starts counting from 80. The growth in sales now looks far better
than it looked when the axis started from zero. Which one is better? What
should you do?
Companies in their annual reports do play this trick very often. You should as a
rule, always start you axis from zero. In case you are not doing so, for some
justified reason, then you must inform the audience of this aberration.
4. When and how should you use secondary axis?
Let us take an example. You have to make a chart to show the financial
highlights of SpaceTel (a hypothetical company). Here is the raw data.
Using our framework from Tip #3, you can create a bar graph or a line graph
(because you are comparing data over time). You create a bar graph. Here is
how your chart looks like:
What is wrong with the graph on the
left?
The software looks at all the values
and tries to fix a scale (axis) which
includes the maximum value of 500.
Hence, it has taken the scale up to
600. By doing this, the profit
percentage data which is maximum
35% (=0.35) becomes invisible. How
do you solve this problem?

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You need a different axis in the same chart. That 'other' axis is called 'secondary
axis'. On this we measure the profit percentage.
Adding a secondary axis
Step-1 Choose the data series 'profit
percentage' by clicking next to the profit bar in
red.
Step-2 Right click -> Format Data Series
Step-3 Series Options -> Choose Secondary Axis
-> Close
Are you in deeper trouble now?
No. Click on the data series again (one click on any green bar will select all bars).
Right click and select 'Change Series Chart Type'. Choose a Line Graph. Click Ok.
Your chart is ready.

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Summary of what you learnt about Axis:
1. Axis is a scale which tells you what is being measured and its unit of
measurement.
2. These two pieces of information have to be present in every chart. You need
not label them near the axis. You can mention it with the chart title.
3. Your axis should start from zero. In case it does not, inform the audience
about it.
4. When you are measuring variables (like sales, profits) whose values are
different from each other or the gap between maximum and minimum value is
too big, then add a secondary axis.

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Tip #10: Data Source
Your chart is made from raw data. But this raw data is not a fiction of your
imagination. It has a source. A place from where you culled out the data for
analysis and representation.
Why you need to worry about the source?
You are in-charge of new product launches in your company. You have studied
the fairness soap market for men in India and in your presentation to the CEO
you are recommending to launch a new soap brand. In the process of research
you would have come across lots of data. During your presentation, your CEO
might ask; "Where did you get this data from?" All that he is asking for is; tell me
the source of data.
For the audience to accept your charts' key message (the point you are trying to
make), they need to know if the chart is credible. They might not ask for the
source always, but having it on the chart enhances the credibility of your
argument.
When should you mention the source and when you should not?
Though every chart has a source, you need not mention it all the time. It is
required when there is a need to boost credibility. Talking about credibility, there
are two situations you need to consider:
i. Internal Credibility - Source of data is optional
ii. External Credibility - Source of data is necessary
When you are presenting something from your area of expertise (domain), you
do not need to compulsorily mention a source. The credibility comes from you
(the presenter) and your audience knows about your expertise. They trust you.
But, it is possible that you are presenting something outside your domain. In
which case, the audience would like to know the source of your data.
Remember, the taller your claim, the more credibility you require to support it.
You can't get away by simply making bold claims and recommendations and not
backing it up.
How and where to mention the source?

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The source is generally mentioned below the chart in a font size that is easy to
read. But in how much detail you should mention the source?
Ask yourself this question and you will know in how much detail you should
write the source: "If your audience wanted to check your data with the source,
can they do that easily." If no, then re-write the source to make it easier to verify.
Remember, you trust yourself more than others trust you. You are honest does
not mean you will not furnish the source of your data.

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Tip #11: Chart Colours
While we are talking about chart colours, I can see many eyebrows rising. "We
make formal presentations and all this colouring has no place in our company.
Let's talk data."
This post is not about how to make your chart colourful and get noticed. This
post is about how to balance the colours on a slide so that chart colours become
invisible.
The way I look at colours is:
"Colour is that ingredient of your dish (chart) which does not have a taste of its
own. It enhances the taste of the dish without getting noticed. If the colour of
your chart is getting noticed, you have failed."
The role of colour is thus two-fold:
1. It has to make the job of audience easy to read the chart
2. It should not distract and draw attention towards itself
Example 11.1: Look at this chart from
the presentation of the FMCG major,
Emami Limited. Do you even feel like
reading the chart? Would you be proud
of presenting this chart?
How many colours should your chart have?
To colour a chart you need to take care of many things. It is not only the colour
of the bar or line graph. You need to consider the following four:
1. Colour of the bar/line graph

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2. Colour of the plot area
3. Colour of the chart area, and
4. Colour of the slide.
Look at this image.
When I talk about chart colour I am
talking about the colour of these 4
elements (slide, plot area, chart
area and bar/line). The colour of
your bar cannot be seen in isolation
from the colours around it.
Steps in colouring a chart
Step – 1: You start by taking the slide background colour as given. You do not
decide the slide background colour after creating the chart. Hence, if your
background colour is white then you have to start from that point. It is always
better to have a white slide background colour.
Step – 2: Merge the Chart Area, Plot Area and the Slide Background. If the slide
background is white, make the other two white as well. To change the colour of
the chart area, click on the chart area and choose white colour from ‘Format ->
Shape Fill’.
Step – 3: You now have to choose the colour of bar/line graphs from the five
types on the left (see image below).

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It is better to use solid colours for the bar graph which provides good contrast
with the background colour. Using gradients and images will reduce visibility.
If your chart has more than one data series (sales & profit) then you have to
differentiate between the bar graphs representing these data series. You can
use shades of the same colour (light and dark blue) if there are two data series.
If you have more than two data series use multi-colour bar graphs.
Summary
1. The fewer the number of colours you use, the better your chart becomes.
2. Do not do anything that draws attention of your audience towards the colour
of the chart.
3. Stay away from gradients, flashy colours and using images in your bars. They
reduce the visibility of your chart.

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Tip #12: Chart Animation
By animating a chart we mean animating that line graphs or bar graphs of the
chart. Animation would make each data point or series of data points come one
after the other, with a clear purpose.
When to use animation and why?
Animation is a powerful tool. It brings your presentation to life. When slides after
slides are static, animation comes in to break the monotony. It draws the
attention of the audience and gets your point across very effectively. You should
use animation when:
1. You want to draw the audience attention to an important point
2. You want to share information in a phased manner
3. When you have too much information to present in a chart, it is better to
animate and present in a sequence.
How to animate a chart?
We will understand chart animation with the help of an example.
Example 12.1: You, the CEO of Red Soaps, is presenting at a press conference
ahead of your IPO (new share issue to public). Because your soap brand (Red
No. 1) is not advertised it is not popular in the media. Your charts' key message
is that your brand is much bigger than the 4 more popular soap brands in the
market. These four brands regularly advertise and are more popular than Red
No. 1. How do you draw the attention of the public who are going to give you
$100mn if your presentation impresses them? Here is your chart.
You can present this chart at once
and make the point; "You know
these big brands. But did you know
we are bigger than them?"
A better approach: Create a story.
Animate the five bar graphs
(animation effect: wipe from
bottom) and ask the audience to
guess the turnover of each brand.

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After they guess for one brand, you animate and show whether they were right.
At the last, when your brand's bar goes past all these popular brands, your
audience will get the message loud and clear. They will remember this animation
and will also remember the message.
Step 1: Right click on your chart -> Edit Data -> Arrange the series in ascending
order of sales. (Your source data has to be in the ascending order)
Step 2: Click on the chart to select it -> Animations Tab (in version 2007) ->
Custom Animation -> Add Effect -> Entrance -> Wipe
Step 3: In Custom Animation -> Make Direction from Bottom -> Speed Fast ->
Start On Click
Step 4: Drop down menu -> Effect Options -> Chart Animation Tab -> Group
Chart By Category -> Do not Start animation by drawing the background
The result: In slide show mode, the axes and title would be present. Your bar
graphs will come one by one mouse click.
How to avoid animation misuse?
Animation is a 'special' effect which works when used very few times. Then only
it breaks the monotony and draws audience attention. Do not do the following:
i. Do not animate every possible chart in your presentation
ii. Do not use wrong effects (line graph coming as 'wipe from bottom', horizontal
bar coming as 'wipe from left')

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iii. Do not use wild & weird effects. Use simple effects like fade, zoom, wipe,
ascend, descend, expand, compress, etc.
iv. Do not use more than 1 type of effect in a chart. Every sub-part of pie should
come as fade in. Do not make one part zoom in, another zoom out and the third
fade.
If used prudently, animation can become the secret weapon that will give your
presentation an undue advantage over others.

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Tip #13: Highlighting
To highlight (verb) means to make something more prominent. It is different
from the noun highlight which means the most important part. We are
concerned with the verb form here.
What do you highlight?
You highlight a data point or a data series or a relation between two data points
(or series).
When do you highlight something important?
By definition, you highlight something that you want to make prominent. It is not
already conspicuous (obvious to the eye). Some instances when you highlight
are:
i. You highlight to point out the change in values of a variable (a growth in sales
over time). By looking at the graph, the growth is obvious but the percentage is
not.
ii. You highlight to give a reason for change in values of a variable (a sudden fall
in sales, a dip in share prices). The reason is not captured in the graph and
hence needs to be separately mentioned.
iii. You highlight to make something stand out. Something that is already there
but as part of a crowd. Like your company's sales graph when compared to 9
other companies.
iv. You highlight to bring out the relationship between two variables. You
have plotted sales & profit bar graphs but profit percentage is not
captured in the graph. You can highlight that.

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Examples Illustrating Instance 1 & 2:
Chart #1 shows the sales
growth of ACC over time.
They have highlighted the
number 5% which is the
change in sales. It is
possible that industry was
in a bad phase and 5% is
something to take
consolation from.
Remember:
Never highlight what
puts you in a bad light
unnecessarily.
Chart #2 has been taken from FMCG major Dabur. They are showing quarterly
revenue growth over the last 8 quarters. They are giving a reason (a clarification)
that the good growth of 22.1% is not coming majorly from acquisition of another
company Fem. The growth is mainly organic (which is a good sign).
Examples Illustrating Instance 3 & 4
Chart #3 is from the
website of Reliance
Industries. Talking
about world's largest
refining companies
they highlight their
own place among 16
other companies by
giving their bar a red
colour. This is a good
way to stand out. In
the same chart, they

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have also marked state-owned companies and made them stand out by giving it
another shade of blue. But it does not stand out. They should have used another
colour.
Chart #4 presents the sales and profits of a hypothetical organization. Profit as
a percentage of sales is important to know and has not been captured in the
graph. To bring out this relationship between sales and profits they add a text;
'46% is the 3 year average profitability'.
How do you highlight something important?
If you have carefully observed you will notice that colour and shapes are used to
highlight. Merely text is not sufficient. In Chart 3, if the RIL bar was given a
gradient, the effect will not be as great. Using colour is better and using red even
better as it attracts our eyes the most.
You can highlight by:
1. Using shapes and colours along with text, and
2. Using animation
Animation is a medium you should use to highlight something important. In
Chart #2, after having presented and discussed the growth rates in sales, the
presenter can, on mouse click, circle the 22% and make the attached text
appear. Read more on animation in Tip #12.
Highlights & Key Message
Chart highlight is not the same as key message. While talking about key message
we discussed that key message is the point you are trying to prove with your
chart (to read about key message click here). Highlighting can be a good way of
supporting your key message.
The key message for Dabur in Chart 2 above could be; "We have grown very well
over the years purely due to the efforts that have been put by the company.
Contrary to popular belief it has not come from acquisitions like Fem in 2009-
10." The highlight in this case supports the key message.

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Tip #14: Chart Aesthetics
Aesthetics deals with beauty and taste. In our context, chart aesthetics would
mean the overall look and feel of a chart. For an audience to understand and
read a chart, they need to like it first. It does not mean that a chart has to be a
piece of art. It simply means the chart has to 'fit' in the slide and should not look
out of place. It has to be such that your audience can easily read and remember
the chart.
Why bother about chart aesthetics?
After all you are a serious presenter. It is a presentation in your college or office.
And here I am teaching you aesthetics. So why should you bother? Let me show
you two formal charts. Assume that you made these charts. Would you be happy
showing these to your boss?
Chart #1 (Left – Dabur): Do you think your boss would even like to read this
chart?
Chart #2 (Right – BILT): Will you ever be able to prove your point when you
present a chart like this? (Notice that each bar has numbers written inside it. A
data label which your boss can never read)
Go back to Tip #11 on colour and check out the chart by Emami Limited. Do you
think people would even like to read such a chart? What will they think about
you after you have presented this chart?

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How to enhance the appeal of your chart in 10 easy steps?
Aesthetics is a vast subject and leaving it at a theoretical level will not be good.
Here is a technique you can use to dramatically enhance the aesthetic appeal of
your chart in 60 seconds.
Technique: After you have made your chart, go through these 10 steps (in any
order). Follow all the steps and within 60 seconds you will have a dramatically
improved chart.
Step 1: Remove all the grid lines (major and minor).
Step 2: Adjust the size of your chart to balance it with other elements on the
slide.
Step 3: Check for the font size and font colour of axis, chart title and data labels.
If you have re-sized your chart, you must re-adjust the font size.
Step 4: Merge the colours of the slide, chart area and the plot area. Ensure good
contrast between colours of the bars/lines with the background colours. Aim for
better visibility.
Step 5: Make the line graph thicker to enhance visibility and appeal. See Tip #9
to know how.
Step 6: Change the location of your legend. This will free a lot of space.
Step 7: Delete some data labels which you don't need, without causing a loss of
information. This reduces a lot of clutter.
Step 8: Club your axis title with your chart title. Instead of writing In '000 tons
above y-axis you can always make the title as; Sales (in '000 tons). This will free
some more (valuable) real estate.
Step 9: Make the axis lines thicker. This gives a good frame of reference to the
eyes to view the chart.
Step 10: Convert your three dimensional chart to a two dimensional one (3D to
2D). Why? Because the extra 'D' spells disaster.
If we use these 10 steps on the 1st chart we can get a dramatically better chart.
Here is the old chart and the new and improved chart.

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If you find any problem in applying these ten steps you can check out the
detailed step-by-step explanation on the blog here.
Remember
Your chart will be read only if it appeals to the eye. You don't need a piece of art.
But that does not mean that your chart totally ignores basic design principles.
Every presenter is a designer and it's time you stood up and took notice.
[Click here to read the detailed post which will explain the entire ten steps]

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What Next?
To continue to learn more about presenting charts, you can do four things.
1. Extra Effort: The next time you are going to make a chart, spend some extra
time thinking about the four areas (key message, chart need, chart type and
chart design).
2. Develop Basic Charting Skills: Develop your basics through practice. Know
how to play with excel charts. If you get stuck refrain from calling your colleague.
Solve it with help from your inbuilt software and from Google search.
3. Learn from Others: Download and watch investor presentations of large
multinational companies from their website. Visit slideshare and check out the
most voted presentations in your area of interest. Every time you see a chart,
stop and ask why you like or hate it?
Seek help and feedback from others. After a presentation, you can always ask
your colleagues on how they liked the charts. Were they able to understand it
easily or was something missing? People will always share candidly. You just
need to ask.
4. Take Interest and Discuss: Follow a presentation blog (like Jazz Factory)
which writes about charts regularly. Start a conversation to try and understand
what is being said and why.
Best of luck on your journey to make better charts. Be rest assured that that you
are not alone. You will always find a co-traveller in me. Ask your friends and
colleagues to also join in the fun. See you on the blog!
www.jazzfactory.in

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Disclaimer:
All the charts that have been taken from corporate websites and
investor presentations have been used for purely academic
purposes. The e-book does not intend to comment, in any which
way, on the style of working of any organization.