Quote by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

““When you have just a number or two that you want to communicate: use the numbers directly.””

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More by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

“My base color is grey, not black, to allow for greater contrast since color stands out more against grey than black. For my attention-grabbing color, I often use blue for a number of reasons: (1) I like it, (2) you avoid issues of colorblindness that we’ll discuss momentarily, and (3) it prints well in black-and-white. That said, blue is certainly…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

“What do you need your audience to know or do? This is the point where you think through how to make what you communicate…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

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“The biggest shift was from a bar graph to a line graph. As we’ve discussed, line graphs typically make it easier to see trends over time. This shift also has the effect of visually reducing discrete elements, because the data that was previously five bars has been reduced to a single line with the end points highlighted. When we consider…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

“Concentrate on the pearls, the information your audience needs to know.”

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

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“Will you be encountering each other for the first time through this communication, or do you have an established relationship? Do they already trust you as an expert, or do you need to work to establish credibility? These are important considerations when it comes to determining how to structure your communication and whether and when to use data, and may…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

“Never again will you simply show data. Rather, you will create visualizations that are thoughtfully designed to impart information and incite action.”

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

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“Don’t show the second y-axis. Instead, label the data points that belong on this axis directly. Pull the graphs apart vertically and have a…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

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“Figure 5.10 Add action title and annotation In Figure 5.10, thoughtful use of text makes the design accessible. It’s clear to the audience what…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

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“Affordances In the field of design, experts speak of objects having “affordances.” These are aspects inherent to the design that make it obvious how the product is to be used. For example, a knob affords turning, a button affords pushing, and a cord affords pulling. These characteristics suggest how the object is to be interacted with or operated. When sufficient…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

“Horizontal bar chart If I had to pick a single go-to graph for categorical data, it would be the horizontal bar chart, which flips the vertical version on its side. Why? Because it is extremely easy to read. The horizontal bar chart is especially useful if your category names are long, as the text is written from left to right,…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

“Alignment The single change having the biggest impact in the preceding before-and-after example was the shift from center-aligned to left-justified text. In the original version, each block of text on the page is center-aligned. This does not create clean lines either on the left or on the right, which can make even a thoughtful layout appear sloppy. I tend to…

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic