Table of contents

  1. Charts, tables and colours
  2. Keep it simple (KISS)
  3. Line styles
  4. Interactive charts
  5. Choosing the correct chart
  6. Axis labels and tick marks
  7. Dataset titles and summaries
  8. Number of lines per chart
  9. Introduction to colour
  10. Using diagrams
  11. Chart size
  12. Introduction
  13. Interactive maps
  14. Location of y-axis
  15. Using colour in bar charts
  16. Legends or keys
  17. Choice of data
  18. Data order in tables
  19. Identifying user needs
  20. Important notes and usage information
  21. Animations
  22. Hierarchy and grouping
  23. Gridlines and unit intervals
  24. Using colour in line charts
  25. Long category names
  26. Comparing data sets – shared horizons
  27. Design principles for diagrams
  28. Formatting a dataset
  29. Column spacing
  30. Using colour in pie charts
  31. Comparisons of magnitude (size)
  32. Dashboards
  33. Process for publishing diagrams
  34. Gaps between bars
  35. Subcategories
  36. Fonts
  37. Borders and backgrounds
  38. Using colour to connect information
  39. Chart titles
  40. Time series
  41. Choosing the right colours
  42. Bar charts for time series
  43. Bold text in tables
  44. Chart labels
  45. 3D and other chart effects
  46. Line charts for time series
  47. Tools
  48. Number alignment
  49. Labelling values in a chart
  50. Annotation and footnotes
  51. Number rounding
  52. Colour association
  53. Dot plot with line for time series
  54. Effective rounding
  55. Multiple time series
  56. Branding with colour
  57. Small changes over time, not starting the y-axis at zero
  58. Accessibility and colours
  59. Totals
  60. Ranking
  61. Colour combinations
  62. Measures
  63. Using red and green
  64. Shading, gridlines and other lines
  65. Part-to-whole
  66. Deviation
  67. Units
  68. Further information about colour theory
  69. Distribution
  70. Titles and subtitles
  71. Correlation
  72. Annotations
  73. Source

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Charts, tables and colours

This guide will advise on best practice and house style for three areas of data visualisation:

  • tables
  • charts
  • colour

Use this guidance to decide when and where to use these to produce quality content, tailored to your audience.

This guidance covers the basics of chart and table design. Additional considerations may be needed in some situations, for example, responsive design.