Bella consults

Even the German Constitution is concerned with charts. Human beings must not be shrunk. See Article 1. This also applies to politicians. And the German newspaper Handelsblatt.

Source: Handelsblatt, no. 186, 2010–09–27, page 6/7. Who would be the best Social Democrat Chancellor candidate?

Who is not bothered: Volumes are scaled proportionally to their volume, areas to their area. And columns to their height. Who insists to diminish politicians has to make them thinner and smaller.

Here, it almost worked. Dirk actually is tall. Michael is actually not. Too bad that Per puts his shoulder to the ball. Therefore he was moved to the front. And again, it doesn’t match.

Source: forgotten. Long time ago, in 2005. Size comparison of Per Mertesacker.

All school children learn: Go with green. Stop at red. Green is good. Red is bad. Stick to this and you’re less likely to be run over. Traffic lights are simple. Prices are not. For some it’s good if soybeans and wheat, coffee beans and cattle, stocks and money become more expensive. Others prefer it if things get cheaper.

Source: Wall Street Journal, 2010–09–27, page 26.

The Wall Street Journal used to see it that way, too. For resources, indices, and stocks, the price went down in dark gray and up in light gray. It was easy to differentiate and read. You could form an opinion on your own. Now resources and indices are green if they become more expensive. And red if they become cheaper.

Dear schoolchildren, sadly the adult world is more difficult than traffic lights. Look left and right before you cross the street. Even if the traffic lights are green. Dear chart designers, use more gray.

Source: Wall Street Journal, 2010–09–27, page 25.

Drawing charts is geometry. Like in school. In a coordinate system. With zero in the center. Negative values to the left. Or at the bottom. Positive values to the right. Or at the top. Negative values at the bottom are more dramatic than negative values to the left. Negative to the right is forbidden. Not even if all values are negative.

It´s odd if geometry is turned upside down. And it´s hard to understand, too. You might disagree with costs and expenses. But not with weightings.

Source: FAZ, No 288, 11 December 2009, page 11. Weighting in percent of the ten largest stocks in Athex (Greek stock index)

More is more in time series. The longer, the more we can see. And learn. For example: The States has never bought as many houses as in 2005. And since 1964 not as few as today.

Source: Financial Times, 2010–08–23, page 20.

Less is less in time series. The shorter, the less we can see. And learn. For example: If shares are better than houses.

Source: FAZ, no. 198, 2010–08–27, page 24 and 21.

Many is more in time series. The Dax series above and the one below were published in the same FAZ newspaper. I learn: At the stock exchange one often arrives at the same place.

Source: FAZ, no. 198, 2010–08–27, page 21.

Many, different, long is the most in time series. Aha: People smoke less, but don’t pay less.

Source: FAZ, no. 198, 2010–08–27, page 19.

Time: the longer the better, the more the better.

In many charts you see changing backgrounds, colors, contrasts. They should separate what is side-by-side. But they connect what is separated. The eye looks out for meaning.

The Wall Street Journal wants to point out: Which quarters are a year. This works and is stylish. But: It connects 2006 with 2008 and 2010. And 2007 with 2009.

Source: Wall Street Journal, 2010–05–07, page 9.

The WAMS doesn´t point out anything. Background bars as stripes are CI. Because: Everything gets striped. Sometimes that replaces a scale. In the picture on the right every stripe is five wide. Bars and stripes build checks. That is not stylish. In other pictures every stripe is CI. They unite what does not belong together.

Source: Welt am Sonntag,2010–02–21, page 25. From left to right: Compensation for electricity fed into the grid for renewable energy in Bn Euro, Compensation for electricity fed into the grid for solar electricity in Cent/KWh, Electricity Generation 2009 in Terawatt hours (TWh)

Diagrams and CI don´t get along well.

Bernhard commented on my book. He says: I look exquisitely beautiful. And he says: My book does not remain open. That is true. It is really stubborn. One has to bend it to remain open.

Paper is flatland. Houses are 3D land. To see 3D land on paper, perspective has been invented. Not easy to deal with. Otherwise houses are leaning. And sometimes not even doors fit.

Photos by Hannes and Bimpfi.

In the doorway on the left even a Lego nan cannot stand. Because the perspective is wrong. On the right we see how it really is.

Figures are from flatland. And they better stay there. They are bigger and smaller, earlier or later, but not in front or in the back.

Source: Witt, Frank-Jürgen, Witt, Kerin, Controller’s Competition part 2,
Controller Magazin 35 (2010) 2, page 19–25, here page 25.

If figures are in the front and in the back, smaller and bigger cannot be seen. As we see here.

Sometimes we´ve got little data. Which can be counted with just four paws. It´s good to show that. As in the Wall Street Journal. 52 economists were ask where they expect the next bubble to emerge in financial markets. Every opinion is one cube. He also liked it.

Source: Wall Street Journal, 2009–11–13, page 9.

It is bad, when things get dashed, where there´s nothing to count. As here.

Source: Handelsblatt, No. 240, 2009–12–11, p. 17.

Now it’s the World Cup. Germany was against England. And won. 4 : 1. Without extra time, without penalty shootout. The English don´t like penalties. This has been discussed a lot. Where to shoot? Top, bottom, middle, right, left?

Results of a survey on 626 penalty shootouts.
Figure top: hit rate. Figure bottom: number of shots.
Source: Die Welt, 2010–06–26, p. 25.

The goal of a chart: lead the eye. The chart in the newspaper Welt doesn´t work. Because the hit rate is hidden in the areas. They are hard to compare. Pie charts in bright and dark colors are better.

Here, especially good. Look: The pieces of the pies do complement. White to white, dark to dark. We see zones. Where we should shoot. Ideally: under the crossbar. Secondbest: to the right of the keeper. Thirdbest: to the left of the keeper.

Our eyes read lines like this: flat line = little change. Inclined line = more change. Steeply inclined line = a lot more change.

It’s all wrong here. You believe right increases more than left. Wrong.

Scales are at random. And don’t go together. Like in many newspapers, everyday. For example in the FTD.

Here it is ok:

Why? Because both scales show the same relative change:

(12–8)/8 = 0,5. And (120–80)/80 = 0,5.

Because scales are at random. And don’t go together. Like in many newspapers, everyday. For example in the FTD. And the SZ. And. And. And.

Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), No. 137, 2010–06–18, page 22.

I was tough on red. It’s a signal for bad. What do we use for good? Green? Possible. Blue? Possible, too. I am generous with colors for good. Thus, this chart is okay. (Not the numbers: aggregated without weights.)

Source: FAZ, No. 288, 2009–11–12, page 11. Revenue margins in the metal and electronic industry after taxes in percent (31 H-DAX companies).

I am careful with green. Just because something is above zero it’s not always good. That’s what you think with green. Mostly.

Source: DeltaMaster

Say it like that: A company is in the black. Or in the red. E.ON colors all numbers in red. Also columns, bars, lines.

Investments. Prices. Dividends. Increase in capacity. Decrease in capacity. Norway. Germany. Internal numbers. External numbers. Positive changes. Negative changes.

Source(both): E.ON AG (Ed.), Performance and streamlining, April 2010; PDF.

Why? Because of Corporate Identity. And the companies CI says red. I’m very strict because red is a special color. A signal for bad. Everybody understands. At once. Signals for good are more difficult. What is good, what is normal?

The ones from marketing should do promotions. But no controlling.

To make eye-catchers: ok. To make diagrams from data: always. To make eye-catchers from data: know-how needed. Taste helps. And respect.

The five most frequent causes of death within a year, in countries with lower and higher incomes. Source: Die Zeit, no. 45, 2009–09–29, page 34. Click to enlarge.

The text for the graphic wants us to care about the sick. Also in poor countries. Illness becomes clipart. Ill persons become swollen and shrunken figurines. Red and glittering. Crosses as shadows.

I like simple. But not more simple. Some road signs in Germany are renewed. And more modern. And more illogical. Because details are missing. It´s like with fonts. It´s good for reading when letters differ in many details.

The deer is ok. It just has a little more weight. I like more weight. It still jumps as nice as before. And as high as before. Zack! Into the front window. Watch out!

Crossing is difficult in traffic. The train at the old railroad crossing is old fashioned. As old fashioned as the disc symbol for saving data. The train became more modern. But it’s headed directly towards you. At an angle from the front. Will high speed trains now regularly jump out of rail tracks? Mainly at railroad crossings? Help!

Crossing bikers are difficult, too. In the past. Today bicycles are dangerous. Because they come without lights. Without pedals. Alone. The biker already fell of.

In the past we were warned of traffic jams. Many cars brake. Suddenly it becomes tight. Today we are warned of convoys. All close one after another. Nobody brakes.

That´s not too bad. We will learn the new symbols. But they are not a good example for clever design. By the way: he found good design for road signs in New Zealand.

The Financial Times folded flags. To little houses. Cut apart. And distorted. Totally. 11 is hardly as large as 22. With the flags it’s mean. The scaling is even meaner. The chart is bad und nothing fits. Even good newspapers have to be read critically. Don’t trust blindly. Not one source. Regardless, how famous it is. Not even me.

Source: Financial Times, 2009–11–12, page 17.