Using Tufte’s Characteristics of Graphical Excellence

From “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information”, Edward R. Tufte, 2001:

Graphical displays should:

• Show the data
• Induce the viewer to think about the substance rather than about the methodology of graphic production
• Avoid distorting what the data says
• Present many numbers in a small space
• Make large data sets coherently
• Encourage inferential processes, such as comparing different pieces of data
• Give different perspectives on the data -from broad overview to the fine structure
• Serve reasonably clear purpose: description, exploration, tabulation, or decoration
• Be closely integrated with the statistical and verbal descriptions of a data set