Information design

Member lesson

Scales, axes and the lie in a truncated one

Lesson 4 of 12 in Information design.

Lesson

An axis is an argument. Starting a bar chart at ninety-five rather than zero turns a two per cent difference into a visual doubling, and the numbers on the page are all correct. This is the most common way a chart misleads without containing a false figure.

from zero0a 4% differencefrom 9595the same 4%every number on both charts is correct
The same two values drawn from zero and from a truncated baseline.
A wavy line on a wide low card beside a calm figure, and the same line on a tall narrow card beside a figure clutching its head, joined by dotted lines.
The same line drawn on a wide card and on a tall one. Squeeze it narrow and a gentle drift looks like a crisis, though every figure behind it is the same.
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Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    Which of these words means this? “One that does not start at zero. Exaggerates differences dramatically.”

    • Truncated axis
    • Composition
    • Error recovery
    • Diverging palette
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Two scales on one chart. Almost always a way to imply a relationship that is not there.”

    • Projection
    • Encoding
    • Dual axis
    • Legibility distance
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Equal distances mean equal multiples. Correct for growth, and it must be labelled.”

    • Dual axis
    • Log scale
    • Framing
    • Schematic

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