Excel Chart Brief: Choose the Chart and Format It for the Message
Pick the right chart and format it so the message is clear.
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[VERIFY] is an editorial flag, not a blank to fill. Wherever the prompt shows [VERIFY], check that item against a reliable source before you use it.
Help me build a chart in Excel. The message I want the reader to take away: [MESSAGE]. The data (columns and a few sample rows): [DATA_SAMPLE]. Audience and where it will be shown: [AUDIENCE_AND_PLACE]. Recommend the chart type and why, and name one or two types to avoid for this message. Give numbered build steps: arrange the data, insert the chart, set axis scales, add data labels only where they help, order the categories, use one highlight colour with greys, and write a title that states the message. Provide three title options as sentences using my data only (for example 'Returns fell by a third after the new packaging'), axis label and number format text, and a source and date note. Explain how to avoid misleading effects such as a cut-off axis on a bar chart, and explain when a column chart suits my time-based data better than a line, or when a table would be clearer. Add alternative text and a short description. Presentation checklist: font at least 14 points, high contrast, no 3D effects, direct labels instead of a legend where possible, and still readable in black and white. Describe a typical poor chart and the improved version for my data in words, with a slide version and a printed-report version. Test: can someone understand the chart in five seconds, and is the point visible without reading the numbers? Mark menu names [VERIFY].
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See an example result (fictional data)
Message: refunds fell after the packaging change. Data: monthly refunds, January to June: 90, 88, 92, 60, 45, 41. Choice: line chart, because the message is a change over time; avoid a pie chart. Format: start the vertical axis at zero, one dark line, a vertical marker at March labelled 'New packaging', direct label on the last point (41), title: 'Refunds fell by more than half after the packaging change'. Check the arithmetic: from an average of about 90 before to 41 in June is a fall of 54 percent (49 / 90). Source line: refunds report, July export. Alt text: line chart of monthly refunds falling from 92 in March to 41 in June.
Illustrative only, made-up data. Your results will differ and must be reviewed.