1) Sort, Then Chart
A sorted table makes the chart inevitable. If your bars are jumbled, your point is too. Sort by the message you want to deliver and the design mostly designs itself.
2) Baseline on Purpose
Choose the baseline to tell the story… just be honest about it. Baseline choice is narration; clear disclosure keeps it trustworthy.
3) Percent When Denominators Differ
Comparing classes of different sizes? Percent beats count. If the denominator changes, let the metric change with it.
4) Long Labels? Flip It
If the category names are essays, rotate to horizontal bars. Legibility is a design choice.
5) Try a Dotplot First
For small samples, dotplots beat histograms. You see individuals, clumps, and gaps without guessing the bins.
6) Annotate the Takeaway
If a viewer can’t read your conclusion off the chart, the chart isn’t done. Add the sentence the data is trying to say.
7) Jitter with Intent
When points overlap, a hint of jitter or transparency reveals the crowd without inventing trends. Small tweak, honest picture.
8) One Chart, One Job
Don’t ask a chart to do two things. If you need rank and trend, make two charts. Clarity scales better than cleverness.