Avoid silly Excel visuals
January 16th, 2006 by jiri
“Edward Tufte’s fundamental rule of efficient graphical design is to minimize the ratio of ink-to-data. …
The primary source of extraneous lines in charting graphics today are the 3-D options offered by conventional spreadsheet graphics. …
Pie charts should rarely be used. It is more difficult for the eye to discern the relative size of pie slices than it is to assess relative bar length. …
Pies are even less effective when an additional variable is added and comparisons between pies are required (sometimes by adjusting the relative size of the pies). …
Two common charts easily produced by spreadsheet programs that should almost always be avoided are the stacked bar chart and the pie chart.” -Gary Klass: How to Construct Bad Charts and Graphs
The bottom line is to use tables or bar charts and avoid using 3-D effects.