“That’s not the best graph for this data.”

“This is confusing.”

“I’d change the colors.”

“Toss it and start over!”

Have you ever found yourself reacting with any of the preceding or similar sentiments when faced with a graph or slide? Perhaps you’ve even thought to yourself, “I could do this better!” This month, I present you with exactly this opportunity.

Before sharing the example, there is one important point I would be remiss not to mention. When we critique and makeover graphs in the wild, we typically lack insight into the context and constraints faced by the original designer. For this exercise, I release you from these considerations—in fact, I welcome you to make assumptions liberally for the purpose of your makeover (please outline those you do make in your commentary). Outside of this exercise, however, please bear this facet of data visualization critique in mind and frame your approach accordingly (for more on this and related musings, have a listen to our very first podcast episode, the art of feedback).

The challenge

The remit this month is a simple one: consider the following data visualization and how you can make it better. Specifically, you might identify clutter to eliminate, reflect on an appropriate chart type, determine a specific takeaway to highlight, and perhaps even use this data as the basis of a more robust story. Show us all the magic of a great makeover!

Download the graph and data.

Share your creation in the SWD community by September 30th at 5PM ET. If there is specific feedback or input that you would find helpful, include that detail in your commentary. Please take some time also to browse others’ submissions, and share your input via comments and datapoints over the course of the month.

Related resources

Here are a few of our related resources. If you are aware of other great ones, please share in your submission commentary.

Watch SWD makeovers (YouTube playlist)
Read SWD makeovers (many more on our blog!)
Recognize this example? It’s a modified version of Let’s Practice! Exercise 8.6; you’ll find a plethora of makeover examples in the practice with cole sections of the book