Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten First Edition

First a disclaimer: I have not read Edward Tufte's "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information." I have looked through "Envisioning Information" however, and I found this book by Stephen Few to be more helpful to me. While I love the infographics that can be seen in publications like Wired Magazine an the New York Times (and Envisioning Information), I am an analyst, not a designer. My tools are Excel and Powerpoint, not Adobe Illustrator and Flash.As an analyst I am comfortable with numbers, but I also want others to see what I see, and I want them to be able to see it quickly instead of getting lost in table after table. This is where Show Me The Numbers fits in. It is a book designed to help you communicate with others.Here's a quick walk through Show Me The Numbers:Ch 1 - IntroductionSince the advent of spreadsheet software tables and graphs have become increasingly popular and easy to make. Unfortunately those easy to make tables and graphs are not always made to be easy to read and interpret. The purpose of Stephen Few's book is to help you decide when to use tables, when to use graphs, and how to create them in a manner that will most effectively show the message you are trying to present.Ch 2 - Numbers Worth KnowingThis chapter is fundamental for readers without a basic understanding of statistics, and a refresher for the rest of us. For example, an 'average' refers to a measure of central tendency. But depending on the numbers you may want to use the mean, the median, the even the mode.In addition to introducing these concepts, the author shows a few ways that this information can be shown in tables and graphs.Ch 3 - Fundamental Concepts of Tables and GraphsIn this chapter Stephen Few starts to give you some ideas on how to present information, including when to use tables versus when to use graphs and how to properly lay them out depending on whether you are showing quantitative information or qualitative information.Ch 4 - Fundamental Variations of TablesAfter you've figured out to use a table from chapter 3, this chapter will be next on the reading list. Here you will learn more about showing quantitive and categorical data, and options for grouping data.Ch 5 - Fundamental Variations of GraphsJust like the tables section, this chapter gives you the basics of various graphs that you can use, including nominal comparisons, time series, ranking, correlation, and a few others. There are a few design characteristics in here, including how to use fill patterns, line styles, and colors to distinguish between various groups of data. Once you see the bad examples you will instantly realize how common bad design is among business users.At the end of the chapter is a section designed to test your understanding with different scenarios. You get to choose whether you would use a table or a graph, what kind of table or graph, and anything else you might do. At the end of the book is an appendix with the authors suggestions to compare your choices.Ch 6 - Visual Perception and Quantitative CommunicationIn this chapter the author breaks away from table and graph design for a briefing on how humans see, interpret, and remember data. Humans have quirks in the way they pull information in, and this chapter will begin to give you some ideas on how you can use that to your advantage (and what things you should try to avoid).Ch 7 - General Design for CommunicationThis chapter follows on the knowledge gained in chapter 6 and shows how it can be applied to tables and graphs. The author emphasizes Edward Tufte's principle of the data-ink ratio. If the ink doesn't help to show the data, it should be removed. A few of the other techniques are grouping data, proper sequencing, and adding text to explain what is being shown.I especially think the point on describing the who, what, when, and where of the data in your presentation is important. This type of metadata is almost always unnoticed by the user, but it adds greatly to the presentation when completed properly.Ch 8 - Table DesignThis chapter continues to build on chapter 4, adding in the principles learned in chapters 6 and 7. If you've ever used dark black fill lines to separate every cell of a table you need to read this chapter. Twice. Please.The end of the chapter has a few exercises for you to practice what you just learned, and of course there are answers in the back of the book.Ch 9 - General Graph DesignJust as chapter 8 builds on chapter 4, this chapter builds on chapter 5 while adding in ideas from 6 and 7. The author shows why it's important to carefully consider the scales used in a graph, and how different scales can be used, accidentally or not, to misrepresent the information being considered. He then shows why you should use 2D graphs versus the horrendous 3D graphs that Excel lets you use.Ch 10 - Component Level Graph DesignAny time you decide to use a graph, you also need to decide what type of graph you want to use. Certain relationships may lend themselves better to scatter plots, while others may work better as a bar chart for instance. This chapter will help you decide which type of chart to use and help you to properly format it for maximum clarity.Ch 11 - Design Solutions for Multiple VariablesMany of the times you are analyzing data you will be looking at separate groups that must be compared against each other. This chapter will get you started showing complex relationships.Ch 12 - The Interplay of Standards and InnovationThe final chapter simply tells you to start thinking for yourself about design choices in tables and graphs. Every business is different, and everyone will have their own needs. Pay attention to what works and what doesn't. Be consistent in your design, and everyone can benefit.RecommendationThis is one of those books where after reading it I felt like saying 'no duh.' But it's information that's so simple that no one bothers to implement it. After reading this book I feel much more conscience of the choices I make in my tables, and I feel like they are already starting to improve. I think this book is well worth picking up and keeping as a handy reference for making tables and graphs.

Show me the numbers is everything the cover promises - and more. Rather than the old fashioned systems approach or - worse still - the (software) engineer running wild, this book puts the user in the central spot. What will the user do with the graphs, how will he see them, what information will he receive from them? And is this what he really needs?Seen from this unusual (!) angle, many tables and graphs that are on the market today are hopelessly inadequate. Many examples are given of software makers who only concentrate on the razzle and dazzle and not on the information needs of the user, with clear lessons how to make better dashboards.One of the best books on the subject . I recommend it.

If you wish to know the foundation of Data Visualization best practices through the perspective of a pro: this is definitely it!The book is very well-written and just focus on the utter most important concepts you need to be aware in order to actually know what you should and shouldn't do while communicating your message through data!Although this book had not been designed as a reference guide, I find myself looking back to catch some advice on how to design tables and graphs quite often...IMHO, the best book to start studying in order to cut the bulls*** of current fancy but poorly-designed reports and dashboards we see in organizations everyday!

If I could ask for my money back, I would. Don't be fooled by the substantial number of positive reviews. The book is very basic and contains little substantial information. The author allocates a lot of space to elementary material (distinction between median, mean, mode, etc.) and most of the tables and graphs presented are also very basic. On occasion, I felt treated like a five-year old (don't use blue lettering on black background - duh). I don't see how any of the tables and graphs are really particularly enlightening (which is what Few states as a goal on the cover). For that, the data presented in the tables and graphs is much too simple. Compared to the books by Tufte, there's really nothing substantial or new in this book. My recommendation is that you don't buy the book and spend your money instead on one or more of the books by Tufte. They may be more challenging to read, but much more rewarding (not to mention extraordinarily beautiful and outstanding value for money). Contrary to what the first blurb on the back of this book says, the books by Tufte contain plenty of practical advice.

- after Tufte. Tufte writes about brilliant, eloquent graphic design. Few writes about competent, legible business presentation. Tufte writes about good art, Few writes about servicable craft. If you've ever seen data presented in Excel, Word, or (god forbid) PowerPoint, you know how much we need competent craft.The book is gently paced. It's for people who need to present numbers, but may not be wholly comfortable with numbers. It takes the reader by the hand, and walks through a series of very basic steps in reasoning about how a chart communicates, or fails to.The book is very much oriented towards the chart and graph types that Excel can produce. Like it or not, that makes sense. Excel is what most readers have most acess to, and is what causes some of the ugliest problems. This book addresses those problems.Few illustrates his points with a number of examples, both good and bad ones. He presents problems to solve, and presents answers to many of them. It's a textbook, and a good one. Its main message is, "Less is better."This is for anyone who presents information, and for anyone who creates presentation software. I recommend this one.//wiredweird

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My personal preference in reports that I write is for pictures and graphs - and what this book does is give you a step by step breakdown on how to present data logically and in a way that people can absorb the dataWhat it draws the disticntion between prety pictures and diagrams that draw you attention to the point of the data.When presenting to senior managers this is essential and an often missed skill - they have very little time to absorb detail and so a way of portraying the data in a way that emphasised the point and makes it simple is to be welcomedThe book is a step by step approach to to presenting various types of data in the most effective way and I think it will be a guide for me for years to come - if you present data or reports then you should read thisPerhaps I should not say this this bit but I was recommended this book by a colleague at the Office of National Statistics when I was looking for guidance in this area and if they use it ...

Tenía muchas disciciones con mi equipo por la forma de realizar gráficos y mostrar datos... fue llegar el libro y acabar las opináticas... como mínimo argumentábamos que el libro tenía razón y dejábamos de discutir sobre como mostrar la información.

beautifully printed and bound - too good to write notes in as the author encourages so mine is filching with post-it notes instead. This stuff feels like I should remember it from way back when in school, it all makes so much sense. only 1/5 of the way through and already im looking at most of my existing work and flinching.