Let's Fix 5 Shocking Excel Pie Charts (SAVE A FRIEND!)
Let's Fix 5 Shocking Excel Pie Charts (SAVE A FRIEND!)
How to create the perfect Excel pie chart?
Let's start by looking at 5 'sub-optimal' Excel pie charts, and let's try to fix them!
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1) Overexplosion of Segments In Excel Pie Charts ► 00:00
Some separation between pie chart segments can add clarity, but when the segments are so far apart they are not part of the same visualisation, something has gone wrong! I recommend a maximum explosion of 5%.
Chart titles can eat up space and lead to poor exploitation of the available area for an Excel chart. Do you need one in the chart? Probably not. Why not use the row above the chart for this purpose?
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2) Do You Need A Key / Legend? ► 02:40
It's time to ditch those keys! Nobody wishes to match colours from a key to an Excel pie chart, it just takes too long and charts should HELP data interpretation rather than hinder it. Data labels that can be positioned over the pie segments are a great alternative. See how to create them in the video.
3) Too Many Segments ► 04:20
We've all seen a pie chart with too many segments. For me, 6-7 segments is quite enough and anything more requires a different type of Excel chart such as a column chart. A 'catch-all' category or two makes a pie chart possible, however. Download the Excel file to see how we have used FREQUENCY and uneven categories to create a workable data layout for an Excel pie chart.
4) 3D? ► 05:50
For me, three dimensions more often hinders than supports interpretation of the chart. Yes, the sense of depth can look cool but, as we'll see, we can create that in other ways. Use very sparingly or, make your life easy and stick to 2D charts ... with some cool formatting effects demonstrated in the video to add the 'wow' factor.
5) Overformatted Do you ever check out Excel's recommended chart formats? ► 07:18
For me, most of them are too 'busy'; however, they are a great source of ideas and help remind us of the elements that we CAN integrate into a chart, though it's rarely helpful to integrate them all. 08:01 Excel Pie Chart Build Demonstration Watch me apply the principles and techniques discussed above to my own Excel pie chart.
Download Your Excel Free Cheatsheet
Is this the perfect Excel chart? Let me know in the comments and see you in the next video.
Chart titles can eat up space and lead to poor exploitation of the available area for an Excel chart. Do you need one in the chart? Probably not. Why not use the row above the chart for this purpose?
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FILE
2) Do You Need A Key / Legend? ► 02:40
It's time to ditch those keys! Nobody wishes to match colours from a key to an Excel pie chart, it just takes too long and charts should HELP data interpretation rather than hinder it. Data labels that can be positioned over the pie segments are a great alternative. See how to create them in the video.
3) Too Many Segments ► 04:20
We've all seen a pie chart with too many segments. For me, 6-7 segments is quite enough and anything more requires a different type of Excel chart such as a column chart. A 'catch-all' category or two makes a pie chart possible, however. Download the Excel file to see how we have used FREQUENCY and uneven categories to create a workable data layout for an Excel pie chart.
4) 3D? ► 05:50
For me, three dimensions more often hinders than supports interpretation of the chart. Yes, the sense of depth can look cool but, as we'll see, we can create that in other ways. Use very sparingly or, make your life easy and stick to 2D charts ... with some cool formatting effects demonstrated in the video to add the 'wow' factor.
5) Overformatted Do you ever check out Excel's recommended chart formats? ► 07:18
For me, most of them are too 'busy'; however, they are a great source of ideas and help remind us of the elements that we CAN integrate into a chart, though it's rarely helpful to integrate them all. 08:01 Excel Pie Chart Build Demonstration Watch me apply the principles and techniques discussed above to my own Excel pie chart.
Download Your Excel Free Cheatsheet
Is this the perfect Excel chart? Let me know in the comments and see you in the next video.