Your Writing Dept Blog Creating quality user documentation and putting the “M” in RTFM.

InfoPorn: Presenting raw data with visually stimulating graphs

When you have raw data to present in a document, you can do one of two things. Hide the information in a table and make the reader dig through it to find something useful, or you can create a visually interesting graph to draw the reader in to become a part of the data. Making useless data interesting and frighteningly captivating is what we like to call “InfoPorn.”

So what can you do with compelling graphs, you ask? You can explain complex flows of money such as the recent AIG bailout. Follow the money, as they say. In this case, where did the $173 billion go during a six-month period?

If you have bad news to deliver through a visual presentation, there are ways to soften or re-direct the data to make the bad news not quite so bad. Take Four Different Looks at Job Losses During Recessions for example. Wait, is this good news or bad news? You decide.

Wired Magazine devotes a double-page spread in each issue to present what would be overwhelmingly dull quantitative information in an interesting presentation. Yes, they are turning a bunch of raw numbers into visually stimulating infoporn. A recent presentation explores something you may have never considered: Playboy Playmate BMI and Average BMI, 1954-2008. Wired Magazine might be taking the presentation of information past what the average Excel user can do with even the most advanced graph functions, but with some imagination, Excel can be used to create some killer graphs.

Junk Charts has a good collection of visualizations and good critiques as to whether the charts present data accurately or serve to skew data for the benefit of the presenter.

One of our greatest sources for inspiration on how to present data has come from Edward Tufte. Through his books, papers and one-day courses, Tufte takes us through the history, uses and misuses of presenting quantitative information. Anyone who has attended one of his courses either drinks the Kool-Aid or not, but one has to admit that his books are a step above the average coffee table book.

So the next time you have to build a graph using Microsoft Excel, try to think outside the box and go beyond their default graph designs. Be daring. Be different. Create yourself some infoporn. Go ahead, we know you want to.

Your Writing Dept is a Sacramento-based writing firm that specializes in developing technical manuals and user guides. We’re the leaders in technical communications in Northern California. Email us for more information about our services at info@yourwritingdept.com.

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