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Because your audience wants to understand your graphic quickly, you should include only those data and design elements that help convey and emphasize your primary point. For instance, if you want to compare the image resolution of an Olympus digital camera to that of a Kodak digital camera, do not include data for Canon and Sony cameras as well.
A graphic should be simple and uncluttered. The first graphic below introduces three flaws:
- Three-dimensional graphs are harder to understand than two-dimensional ones.
- The graph tries to include too many design elements, making the data difficult to understand. Rather than help readers understand the information presented, the indiscriminate use of gridlines and data labels creates visual clutter.
- Extraneous data are included. Because the graph compares the running speed of common farm animals, including the data on the speed of elephants and cheetahs will distract readers.
The second graph corrects these flaws.
Cluttered
Figure 6. Running Speed of Common Farm Animals
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Revised
Figure 6. Running Speed of Common Farm Animals
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