Drawing live graphs with a data sheet in Vectornation
Vectornation by Zaweba makes nine kinds of live graph from a data sheet, and column and bar graphs can use pictures as their bars.
Infographics, annual reports, posters and presentations all want charts, and charts drawn in a spreadsheet rarely look like the rest of the design. Graphs in Vectornation by Zaweba are drawn in the app itself, from a data sheet, so they can be styled to match everything around them.
There are nine graph kinds. Graphs are live, so changing the numbers redraws the chart. Column and bar graphs can also use pictures as their bars, the classic infographic trick of stacking little icons to show quantities.
Starting a graph
Choose the graph kind that suits the data, then type or paste the numbers into the data sheet. The graph draws from those numbers. If you later find a figure was wrong, open the data sheet, correct it, and the graph follows.
Keep the data sheet tidy, with clear labels. Labels in the data become labels on the chart, so spelling and wording matter.
Choosing the right kind
Columns and bars compare amounts between categories, such as sales by region. For change over time, a chart that joins the values in order reads better than separate bars. Parts of a whole only make sense as slices when the parts really do add up and there are only a few of them. The fact that one of the nine kinds exists does not mean it suits your numbers. The simplest chart that shows the point is usually the best one.
Picture bars
In column and bar graphs, the bars can be pictures. A chart of coffee sold might use cups, a chart of trees planted might use little trees. Drawn well, it makes a chart friendly and memorable without losing the numbers.
Keep the picture simple and the same width as a bar would be. Busy pictures make a chart hard to read, and the reader should still be able to compare lengths at a glance.
Styling to match the design
Because the graph is made of vector shapes, you can change fills, strokes and type to match the rest of the work. Use brand colours, set labels in the same font as the body text, and remove anything that does not help the reader, such as heavy gridlines or an unnecessary border.
Keep it live as long as the numbers may change. Once the graph is final, styling choices can be applied freely.
Graphs and data merge
Graphs can also be tied to data in the Variables panel, which imports CSV or XML and ties text, images, codes or graphs to columns. That means a series of similar documents, such as a report card for each branch of a business, can each carry its own chart drawn from its own row of data.
Charts that mislead
Starting an axis somewhere other than zero on a bar or column chart makes small differences look large, and readers notice. Unless there is a good reason, start bars from zero.
Too many colours confuse. A single colour with one highlight for the point you are making reads better than a rainbow.
3D effects on charts look striking but distort the comparison. Flat charts are easier to read accurately.
And check the numbers against the source after any edit. A graph that looks right but carries a typing slip is worse than no graph at all.
