7. Chart Junk

  2. Order
  3. Academic program
  4. Becoming Visual
  5. Chart Junk

Chart junk refers to the non-data elements on a chart, such as the borders, shadows, 3-D versions of 2-D charts, grid lines, and tick marks4. These non-data elements are usually extraneous, distract the reader, and can emphasize the wrong information in a chart. Keep your charts simple and avoid unnecessary bolding and decoration.

For example, in Figure 7.1, the chart is decorated with several non-data elements. However, the embellishment adds no additional information; therefore, it can be considered chart junk.

Figure 7.1: A chart that contains chart junk and extraneous information

Figure 7.2 highlights all of the elements that are omitted. This includes:

  • deleting the x-axis and y-axis titles;
  • un-bolding the data labels, x-axis labels, and the legend text;
  • arranging the labels to fit over bars without filling the background with white;
  • omitting the y-axis, including the tick marks and labels; and
  • removing the gridlines.

Figure 7.2: Chart junk highlighted in red

Simply omitting these non-data elements makes the chart easier to read and allows the data to be the focus. See Figure 7.3.

Figure 7.3: A revised chart with the chart junk removed

  1. There are times when the gridlines and tick marks can be helpful, but it is essential not to overuse them.↩︎

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