Today I give you a composition rule which is often ignored in data viz — but at its peril. The rule is deploy contrast. It’s one of ten composition rules discussed in greater detail in this article from Canva. Read on for the 60-second version of this rule.
What Does “Boosting or Reducing Contrast” Mean?
Our brains are wired to perceive objects that differ significantly from their background. The objects that really pop out are those that contrast due to their color, size, orientation, or motion. So when designing charts, maps, and graphs, we should give some thought to contrast.
How Can I Apply This Rule to Data Viz?
Not only do we want our focal points to pop out, we also want some aspects of the composition, those lower in the hierarchy, to fade a bit by NOT contrasting as strongly with the background. By doing this, we not only help our main titles, captions, and data points to shine, we also provide more information for the interested viewer.
Let’s consider some examples of data viz that effectively use contrast.
Below is a series of visualizations related to the 2020 explosion in Beirut. It uses contrasting size and color to make some elements pop (the title, the KPIs, and the location of destruction and damage on the map) and other elements fade backward (the explanatory text and location of other ammonium nitrate disasters.)
Source: Soha Elghany on Tableau Public
Similarly these vizes, showing rat sightings in New York, effectively use shades of gray so that the viewer can easily pick out the locations where — and the years and months when — rats are most visible.
Source: Claire Kim on Tableau Public
In these vizes, red and white contrast with the black background. Red is used for key information about poverty. White is used for important contextual information. And gray is used for everything else.
Source: Ash Shih on Tableau Public
To see past data tips, including those about other composition rules, click HERE.
Let’s talk about YOUR data!
Got the feeling that you and your colleagues would use your data more effectively if you could see it better? Data Viz for Nonprofits (DVN) can help you get the ball rolling with an interactive data dashboard and beautiful charts, maps, and graphs for your next presentation, report, proposal, or webpage. Through a short-term consultation, we can help you to clarify the questions you want to answer and goals you want to track. DVN then visualizes your data to address those questions and track those goals.
