But there isn’t one thing that’ll completely transform your dataviz.

There are a dozen tiny details:

What’s Inside

• 0:00 Welcome
• 1:04 Borders
• 1:15 Scale and Grid Lines
• 1:59 Branding
• 2:07 Categorical Colors
• 2:33 Color Contrast
• 3:13 Increased Font Size
• 3:26 Text Hierarchy
• 4:01 Mixed Case
• 4:08 Left-Aligned Text
• 4:19 Smaller Gap Width
• 4:48 White Space
• 5:08 Margins
• 5:31 Before-After Summary
• 6:02 Questions?

Technical tables have so much value, especially as visual appendices for reports.

In this blog post, you’ll get ideas for bringing your technical tables to life.

Before

Here’s what the “before” version of some technical tables looked like.

These are made-up numbers, but you get the idea.

The public health staff wanted to look at quarterly numbers, the total annual number, and the rate (the number of cases per 100,000 live births).

Even if you’re not measuring neonatal abstinence syndrome, I bet there are numbers that you track each quarter. You might even want to look at the total annual number, too. Get some inspiration from this blog post, and then adapt the ideas to your own workplace.

Re-Created in Excel

First, I re-made their table in good ol’ Excel.

The finished product will be a PDF, but the most efficient way to bring technical tables to life is to keep the numbers inside Excel the entire time. We’re not going to transfer anything to Word.

Declutter

Let’s tackle the easy edits, such as:

• removing all the borders;
• adding back just the gray horizontal borders;
• removing the background fill; and
• left-aligning the text and right-aligning the numbers.

Add Trendlines

We’ll bring the quarterly trends to life with sparklines.

Add Bars

We’ll bring the annual totals to life with data bars:

We’ll bring the rates to life with data bars, too:

Brand Colors & Brand Fonts

Time to format!

We’ll apply brand colors and brand fonts:

We’ll color-code the text to match the bars.

(Sometimes the table’s columns get so narrow that it’s tricky to tell which number corresponds to which bar. That’s where color-coding comes to the rescue.)

As a general rule of thumb, colored font should be bold so that it passes 508/ADA color contrast guidelines.

Text Hierarchy & Intro Sentences

A text hierarchy means the title should be largest, boldest, and darkest so that it’s easiest to spot. (Followed by H1s and H2s if we had them.) We’re developing a hierarchy of information so our readers can stay organized.

As a general rule of thumb, I make sure headings are twice as big as body font. The body font is size 11, so this title is size 22 and bold.

We’ll also add intro sentences, and move that footnote info about the asterisks to the top. (People need to read that sentence before the table, not after.)

PDF- and Printer-Friendly

We’ve kept everything in Excel — that’s the only way to add the spark lines and data bars, and pasting tables into Word is a waste of time — but the final version will be shared with others as a PDF.

In the real version of this project, the PDF was about 15 pages long. There were various tabulations on various topics, not just neonatal abstinence syndrome.

We’ll need to:

• set the Print Area;
• adjust the Page Layout (portrait to landscape for easier on-screen reading);
• adjust the margins (0.5 to 1 inches is sufficient);
• add contact info and a logo so people can get in touch with questions; and
• adjust the column widths and row heights so everything fits juuust right.

Optional: Sort by Rates, Not Alphabetically

Finally, we might choose to sort the table by the most important column (rates, in this example) instead of alphabetically by county name.

I’m usually a fan of sorting. But I’m on the fence here. I also see the value in the leaving the counties alphabetized so readers can search for their own county. Hmm.

The Final Version

The visuals help us spot the patterns (thanks, Picture Superiority Effect).

The branding will help us look more professional to outside audiences (so we don’t look Frankensteined — when all our colleagues use different colors and fonts, and we put everything together in one doc, and it’s a hot mess).

The PDF’d appendices can be merged with the PDF’d report (thanks, Adobe Acrobat).

The Before-After Transformation

Once you’ve got intermediate/advanced Excel vizardry skills, the whole process will take less than an hour.

Really, this should take you less than 15 minutes!

If not, you’ll simply need to brush up on your Excel skills.

Dataviz is supposed to be fast and easy.

Bonus: Download the Materials

Want to explore my spreadsheet? Download my Excel file and adapt it for your own project.

But it doesn’t have to be!!!

Let’s stop hiding important qualitative concepts inside Text Walls that no one reads.

Step 0: Take Pride in Your Report’s Formatting

We’ll use landscape so that it’s easier to see on a landscape computer screen.

We’ll add the organization’s Theme Colors and Theme Fonts so that the document looks professional and enhances branding.

We’ll add a Text Hierarchy. Instead of a single Heading 1, we need to add several Heading 2s. We also need to enlarge all the font sizes. No more puny size 12 or 14 for headings!!

In this example:

• the Heading 1 is size 24 bold in a brand color,
• the Heading 2s are size 16 bold in a brand color, and
• the body font is size 11 in dark gray. (Not black, which causes eye strain and makes people think of funerals, at least according to my graphic design friends.)

Step 1: Choose Your Diagram

I like to scroll through SmartArt for ideas.

You can also browse Diagrammer, which is SmartArt on steroids.

Here are the most common diagrams I’ve used to visualize qualitative concepts in research and evaluation projects:

Processes

Processes are for linear, step-by-step concepts. There’s a defined start and end.

Examples:

• A lot of my own training programs, where I teach how-to instructions for dataviz.
• Logic models.
• Research methods (e.g., we recruited participants, and then they did this, and then they did this).

Cycles

Cycles are for processes that loop around and around until infinity.

Example:

• The program evaluation lifecycle, in which you plan for the evaluation, collect the data, analyze the results, use the data to inform decisions… and then start the process all over again.

Concentric Circles

Concentric circles are for spreading concepts and for inner, middle, and outer layers.

Example:

• An agency made a plan to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion. They identified three layers of changes needed: at the individual level, at the departmental level, and at the agency level.

Components

Components are for pieces of the whole—when you want to show that all these random things aren’t so random; they’re connected. They’re just not connected as a linear process or as a cycle.

Examples:

• In my master’s thesis, I researched how nonprofit organizations were using data to have a bigger impact on the community. In the literature review, I identified ~10 specific examples of data use, which were all related to the broader theme of data use.
• The U.S. Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health & Wellness (scroll down a bit here).

Pyramids

Pyramids, or ladders, are for concepts that build upon one another. The base layer is the foundation, the middle layer builds upon it, and you’re aiming for the pinnacle at the very top.

Example:

• In my Report Redesign classes, I organized the techniques into a pyramid. Participants learn the foundational skills, then the slightly narrower skills, then the nitty-gritty details that pull everything together.

Matrices

Matrices are fancy tables or plots.

Examples:

• This blog post about four types of dashboards.
• Lots of diagrams from McKinsey.

Venn Diagrams

Venn Diagrams are for interwoven, overlapping components.

Example:

• A project involving several groups of people, who all come together to advocate for their issue.

Honeycomb

Honeycombs, meh. I don’t love these. They’re overused, along with the gears. If you’re not sure what else to use, this is still better than a Text Wall.

Step 2: Introduce Your Diagram

Show the fully-colored diagram.

Don’t cram too much text on the diagram itself. In this example, I’m pretending we’re describing three steps, which repeat over and over.

Add a paragraph or two to explain the diagram at a high level.

Make sure there’s plenty of color contrast by using bold white or bold black text against your brand colors. Use this color contrast checker to figure out which font color to use.

Step 3: Repeat Your Diagram

Here’s the important part: Repeat your diagram as you explain each segment in more detail.

Copy and paste the diagram.

Then, gray everything out, and just highlight the segment you’re explaining in a dark brand color.

For bonus points, you can color-code the Heading 2s to match the diagram.

Make sure your colors are consistent with what you introduced earlier!!! You wouldn’t want Step 1 to be purple, and then blue, and then green.

I usually delete the words from the diagram that I’m not currently explaining. For example, when explaining Step 1, I delete the words Step 2 and Step 3 from the diagram. I don’t want any issues with color contrast; the white font wouldn’t be legible against the light gray diagram, so I simply delete it.

Make sure there’s plenty of white space between sections. I use at least 0.5 inches of white space (e.g., between the diagram and its paragraph, between the paragraphs).

For bonus points, break up the paragraphs into points and bold a few key words. Long paragraphs are dated. Readers expect short, skimmable paragraphs these days.

Check out the paragraphs in this blog post, for example. They’re 1-4 sentences long. There are lots of headings. There’s bolding to increase skimmability.

This blog post is also written at a 7th grade reading level.

Peek at the document with the gridlines on. Make sure the diagrams are aligned with each other.

The Final Product: Repeating Diagrams

I don’t care that it takes up two pages instead of one.

Two great pages will beat one lousy page any day of the week.

Yes, your boss might give you a made-up page limit. “Make sure everything fits on a page!” Those limits were created because bosses got tired of Text Walls. And, because we used to print a lot.

Nowadays, people don’t print as much. I think the pandemic was a major turning point. With everyone working remotely, nobody had access to the office printer anymore. Any who wants to pay to print at home??

I’ve never, ever heard complaints about two accessible pages vs. one inaccessible page. The word count is the same. (Well, I added some headings.) But the information is richer because we’ve added a diagram and then explained it piecemeal.

Adapt as Needed

Use can use any diagram you need—a cycle, linear process, pyramid, or concentric circles.

You can do this in Word.

You can do this in PowerPoint.

You can do this in Canva.

You can do this in Publisher.

I’m software-agnostic. I don’t care which software program you use. When formatted well, you’ll get the same high-quality end result regardless of which program you’re using.

In this example:

• The diagram was wide, so when I introduced it, it needed the full width of the page.
• When I repeated the diagram, none of the words (“Phase 1”) fit, so I deleted them.

Adapt as needed!!!

Download My Word Document

Bonus!

Want to see how I arranged everything inside of Word?

You can download the document here: https://depictdatastudio.gumroad.com/l/UseRepeatingDiagrams

Accessibility means different things to different people.

I see two main types: Big A and little a.

1. Big A Accessibility means that our graphs meet official accessibility guidelines so that they’re understandable for people with disabilities. In the United States, that means 508 Compliance.
2. Little a accessibility means that our graphs are understandable for non-technical audiences; skimmable; and generally not a garbage heap of jargon.

Both Big A and little a are central in my work.

Here’s where you can learn more.

Big A Accessibility

Here’s a (partial) list of everything you’d need to do to pass 508 compliance guidelines.

Directly Label

Remove legends and directly label the data.

Add White Outlines

Outline the touching, filled shapes with white borders (i.e., cells in a heat map, slices in a pie chart, locations in maps, rectangles in stacked bar charts).

Make Sure Graphs are Legible for People with Color Vision Deficiencies

Red-green colorblindness isn’t the only type, but it’s most common.

And, it’s the most problematic for data visualization. We love to use “stoplight coding,” especially in dashboards. We’ve all seen dashboards where green means “we met the target” and red means “we didn’t.”

For people with color vision deficiencies, those reds and greens just look like yellows all blended together.

Tips:

• Avoid red-green color combos (try red-blue, orange-green, or orange-blue for stoplight coding instead).
• Use direct labels.
• Test your drafts.

Make Sure Graphs are Grayscale-Friendly

Printing is less common nowadays, especially with so many people working from home indefinitely. Who wants to pay for their own color ink?!

Your infographics, reports, slideshows, and reports might still be printed.

And they might be printed in grayscale.

Let’s plan for grayscale printing ahead of time to make sure the visuals will still be legible, just in case they’re printed.

Tips:

• Use direct labels.
• Add white outlines.
• Test your draft.

Use Plenty of Color Contrast

The other night, as I was reading my 4-year-old a bedtime story, I was struggling to read the words on the page. The book used colored font against a colored background, and the words were kinda small. Those were all fixable problems!

Tips:

• Don’t use colored text against a colored background. Here’s how to place text on top of photos so that it’s legible.
• Make sure all your colored text (e.g., for headings) is bold.
• Make sure your grays are dark enough. Software defaults are terrible at this. Enlarge and darken those defaults!!

Use Larger Fonts

Increase the font size (I recommend 11+ for documents and 18+ for slideshows, not Excel and Tableau’s puny size 9 defaults).

Again, the software defaults don’t help us here. Their defaults are usually way too small.

Add Alt Text

Add alt text to all images for standalone documents (reports, dashboards, infographics, etc.), including graphs.

Molly Burke’s Instagram is my favorite alt text inspo.

little a accessibility

These are techniques that won’t necessarily help you pass official accessibility guidelines… but are still a good idea if you want to make charts that people actually understand and use.

Actually Use Graphs

Use less text and more graphs!!!

Add graphs alongside those boring bullet points.

Choose the Right Chart

Go beyond the bar chart.

Use Data Storytelling

Use data storytelling, which I define as:

• writing takeaway titles instead of topical titles and
• highlighting one key finding at a time in a darker color.

Color-Code by Category

One of my favorite techniques of all time.

Color-coding by category helps us chunks the information into manageable pieces.

We can color-code in presentations, reports, dashboards, and one-pagers.

Lower the Reading Level

I’ve written about reading levels several times:

• In this blog post, you’ll see a re-written chart title for a conference slide.
• Here are some common data phrases, re-written.
• Here are some common research methods phrases, re-written.

Lower the Numeracy Level

Here’s how.

Use a Consistency Text Hierarchy

Make sure all the Heading 1s match, all the Headings 2s match, and so on.

Use Horizontal Text

It’s faster to read than diagonal and vertical text.

Avoid Underlines

Only use underlines for hyperlinks (not for headings).

Avoid ALL CAPS

It feels like shouting and takes longer to read than mixed case letters.

Place Text Next to the Graph

Not on the next page so that it’s faster to read.

Add Symbols and Icons

They make graphs easier to navigate and they boost the memorability of our findings.

• Here’s an example with state icons.
• Here’s how to use the StateFace font.
• Here’s an example with realistic human icons (instead of gingerbread people).
• And the realistic human icons, in a GIF!

Presentation-Specific Techniques

Talk about one thing at a time so that what your audience is hearing and seeing match.

Use a microphone!!! In-person and online. I don’t care if you think your voice can fill the room. It can’t, especially for people who are hearing-impaired. For virtual presentations, purchase a microphone. Or, at the bare minimum, wear the earbuds that came with your phone (because they likely have a built-in microphone). Tinny, echo-y sounds are hard for all of us.

Report-Specific Techniques

Follow the 30-3-1 approach. Limit the body to 30 pages (or less!), and then create a separate 3-pager and 1-pager.

Use visual appendices instead of black and white appendices to make the patterns more obvious.

Dashboard-Specific Techniques

Don’t expect busy, non-technical audiences to interact with your dashboards.

Involve the End Users

Involve the end users in the sensemaking process, e.g., by using data placemats and by following the Choose Your Own Adventure method in presentations.

Listen to what users say they need… but give them what they actually need.

Remember the Humans Behind the Data

I love this example.

Your Turn

Which of these techniques are you already using?

Why techniques might you try in the future?

While planning for the session, I asked conference attendees to submit examples from their reports, dashboards, and slideshows that I could makeover as part of the talk.

Later, during the live keynote, I shared a few data visualization principles. Then, as a group, we practiced applying those principles to their real projects.

Here’s one of my favorite submissions:

This conference attendee worked at an organization that placed children into foster care homes. Each year, the organization surveyed their foster care parents to gather their feedback about the experience.

Virtually every organization conducts satisfaction surveys of one kind or another, so even if you don’t work for a foster agency, keep reading!

I’m going to show you the before version followed by five makeovers.

The first makeover didn’t work. The second makeover didn’t work. The third makeover didn’t work. The fourth makeover didn’t work. Just as I was about to give up, I found a winning design with my fifth attempt!

Let’s make fun of my first few attempts together. Then, we can celebrate the fifth attempt together.

I’m going to provide a behind-the-scenes peek into my thought process so that you can apply my thinking to your own projects.

What’s Already Working Well: Length and Context

A couple things were already working well in the before version.

First, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they fit all 22 survey questions and the responses on a single page. They wanted an at-a-glance handout, not a full report. All too often, I witness organizations drone on and on about simple survey results. It’s just a survey. Keep simple things simple, please.

Second, I was pleasantly surprised to see two years’ worth of data included: fiscal year 2016 and fiscal year 2017. All too often, I see annual survey results that only provide the current year’s data. Without historical context, we don’t know whether the current year’s data is any better or worse than previous years. Providing patterns over time is always a good thing.

What’s Not Working: Clutter, Order, Clustered Bars, and Analysis Approach

We’ll declutter the one-pager, obviously. We need to remove the gray background shading. How are the foster agency’s leaders supposed to make decisions based on this data if they can’t even see it?

We’ll also re-order the survey questions. Right now, questions are listed in the order they were asked on the survey: 1, 2, 3, and so on. Presenting survey results in the same order as the survey is rarely the best approach. Instead, we’ll group the individual questions into categories.

Next, I wanted to find an alternative to the clustered bars. Clustered bars are my least favorite chart of all time—even more so than 3D exploding pie charts! Clustered bars aren’t inherently evil. They’re just overused.

Finally, the analysis approach was a bit off. The agency asked foster parents whether they were completely satisfied, very satisfied, satisfied, not very satisfied, or not at all satisfied. They coded a completely satisfied as a 5, a very satisfied as a 4, and so on. Then, they calculated the average score. For example, Staff are courteous and respectful got an average score of 4.5 in 2017.

Although this numeric coding approach is common, it’s not correct. Variables can be nominal (favorite ice cream flavors), ordinal (this satisfaction scale), interval (the scale’s points are equidistant), or ratio (the scale has a true zero, e.g., a height of 0 feet means zero height). If this is the first time you’re learning about nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales, check out this article to learn more.

You can only calculate averages on interval or ratio scales, but the survey has an ordinal scale. In other words, the agency should’ve displayed how many foster parents selected completely satisfied, very satisfied, and so on for each of the questions instead of calculating an average score.

I didn’t have access to the raw dataset while designing this makeover, so I’m going to have to display the average scores here. It’s not the end of the world. But I did cringe during the makeover process. And I’m definitely cringing again during the blogging process.

Makeover 1: Slope Graphs Didn’t Slope…

I experimented with a few makeovers before I settled on a winning design. Here’s the first makeover. Wait! Before you start frowning and rolling your eyes, hear me out. Let’s look at what’s working, and then I’ll be honest with you about what’s not working.

I kept all of the makeovers to a single page, which was a fun challenge. I kept two years’ worth of data. I dramatically decluttered the page, removing the background shading, vertical lines, and horizontal lines from the original. And I grouped the survey questions into categories and then color-coded by category (Staff in turquoise, Clients in purple, Caseworkers in red, and so on). You can learn more about color-coding by category here.

I love most aspects of this redesign.

The major shortcoming of this data visualization makeover is the visualization itself—darn!

We have a few options for comparing two points in time, like these two fiscal years. The most obvious choice is a line chart, which was born with the sole purpose of displaying patterns over time. A slope chart is just the line chart’s cousin; it displays exactly two points in time.

The problem is that the slopes didn’t slope. The visuals were too short to show much of a difference.

Most designs require compromise. I decided that it was more important to limit the makeover to a single page than to increase the height of each slope chart (and, therefore, spill the survey results onto a second page).

Makeover 2: Columns Were Too Short…

Here’s my second attempt.

In this iteration, I visualized the data with column charts.

You can already see the problem, right? The columns were too short to see any differences.

If I didn’t tell you that these were supposed to be column charts, then you might’ve assumed they were just funny-looking squares.

I’m not upset that this makeover didn’t work. I wasn’t rooting for the clustered column approach anyway!

Onwards. I’ve still got a few more ideas up my sleeve…

Makeover 3: The Heat Table Was Too Colorful…

Heat tables are helpful when you’re working with limited space, like my self-imposed rule of limiting myself to a single page, just for fun, ha! The colors live on top of the numbers, not beside them, so they take up less space.

I can generally see that the FY17 column is darker than the FY16 column (ratings were higher in FY17 than in FY16). But I have to work to see the darker colors because I’m distracted by the rainbow in front of me.

If I wasn’t stubbornly devoted to a one-page design, then I could’ve added an empty row between the categories. For example, you’d see the turquoise section for staff. Then, there would be a centimeter of white space. Then, you’d see the purple section for clients. But again, every design is a compromise. I was committed to a one-page design. I couldn’t turn back now!

Makeover 4: Check Boxes Provided Overly Positive News…

As I was critiquing the heat tables, I finally realized that the FY17 results were better than the FY16 results. I hadn’t actually noticed that pattern while looking at the original, at my slopes, or at my columns! Spotting this pattern was a game-changing aha moment.

In this redesign, I opted to focus on big-picture results: that foster parents scored the agency higher in FY17 than in FY16 on every survey item except one. The filled-in squares and empty-squares are easy to scan at a glance. I’ve used square icons in dozens of real-life projects, and I’ve talked about them a few times on the blog before, too. You can read this post to learn how I created them. The filled-in square is a lowercase g in the Webdings font and the empty square is a lowercase c in the Webdings font.

The downside was that the check boxes provided overly positive news.

Can you have too much good news? I think so. Pretend that you’re a leader at the foster care agency. You see this handout at a meeting. You’ve improved from one year to the next on nearly everything! This is great news! There’s nothing to fix! Everything’s working! Except for that one survey question, but that’s just one thing, so who cares! No need to try any harder next year! You’re already doing everything perfectly… or are you?

I didn’t want to encourage complacency. I wanted to provide actionable ideas for improvement.

Makeover 5, the Winning Makeover: Deviation Bars

Finally! The winning makeover! It only took four failed attempts to get this one right…

I loved the simplicity of the check boxes. But I was afraid that they only provided good news. I needed to strike a balance: Keep the makeover simple while providing details about where the agency could do even better.

I created deviation bars to show the size of the difference from one fiscal year to the next. I intentionally re-ordered the survey questions yet again. Within each category, the survey questions are ordered by the magnitude of their improvements.

At a glance, you can still see that all but one survey question improved. But now, you can also see how much or little improvement took place.

It’s good to provide leaders with good news, but it’s better to provide leaders with balanced news.

Now, they can still celebrate all the areas where they improved. Then, it’s time to roll up their sleeves and get to work on improving even more.W

Bonus: Download the Materials

Want to see how I created these five makeovers? They all live inside Excel!

That’s right, I typed the survey questions into Excel, created all of the visuals within Excel, and then PDF’d my screen so that I could share the handouts with leaders.

Purchase the files to learn more and to adapt the templates for your own work.

Learn More

You’ll learn all the step-by-step skills inside Dashboard Design.

Except… Mine were way worse! I loved to write 100 pages of 11-point font and bullet points instead of these four summarized pages.

If you’re a full-time graphic designer, then you have 40 hours a week to get fancy with covers and other visuals.

But if you’re a full-time researcher, evaluator, scientist, or university faculty member (like this report’s author), your time to mess around with reports is limited.

I’m going to walk you through five easy steps that you can tackle in just two hours:

1. Add a 20-Minute Cover
2. Add a Text Hierarchy
3. Color-Code by Section
4. Add Intentional Page Breaks
5. Add More Visuals

Step 1: Add a 20-Minute Cover

Covers for short reports are optional, but they sure add a lot of visual interest to a text-heavy report.

I experimented with two 20-Minute Covers. The first cover is a full-bleed photograph. The second cover is a word cloud made from the report’s key words.

Here’s how I added the 20-Minute Cover with the full-bleed photo:

I added a new, blank page to the beginning of the document. I typed The ABC Library and 2017-18 Annual Report in large font.

You’ll use your institution’s fonts, not mine.

I went to www.Pexels.com and searched for library. I like Pexels because it has enough options without having too many options. You’ve got better things to do than spend your entire afternoon searching for stock photography. Plus, the photos on Pexels are free for both educational and commercial use.

If your organization already has its own repository of stock images—great! Use those.

I downloaded this photograph of a bookshelf.

I inserted the image file into my Word document.

I moved the image behind the text. To do this, I clicked on the image, went to Picture Tools: Format, and selected Wrap Text: Behind Text.

Tiny photos are so 1995. Nowdays, the bigger, the better. I wanted a full-bleed photograph; in other words, a photograph that filled the entire page with no margins whatsoever.

I enlarged the image until it filled the page (11 inches tall).

The photograph and the words were competing for attention, so I changed the font from black to white.

It was still too hard to read the text. I covered the image in a semi-transparent purple rectangle. You’ll use your institution’s color palette, not mine.

You’ll need to experiment with different transparencies (e.g., 10%, 20%, 30%, or higher).

Here’s how I added the 20-Minute Cover with the word cloud:

I added a new, blank page to the beginning of the document. I typed The ABC Library and 2017-18 Annual Report in large font.

I highlighted the entire report’s contents with a CTRL + A keyboard shortcut.

I went to www.wordle.net to make a word cloud. This site works best with Internet Explorer.

I spent 19 of my 20 minutes updating Java and giving permissions for the site to run on my computer.

I pasted the report’s contents into Wordle.

I adjusted the word cloud’s settings. I used horizontal text (I didn’t want distracting vertical text on my cover). I selected a Sans Serif font. I chose a grayscale color scheme.

I downloaded the word cloud.

I inserted the image file into my Word document.

I enlarged the image until it filled the page (11 inches tall and a million inches wide).

I moved the image behind the text. To do this, I clicked on the image, went to Picture Tools: Format, and selected Wrap Text: Behind Text.

The word cloud and the words were competing for attention, so I changed the words from black to white and covered the word cloud in a semi-transparent purple rectangle.

Which 20-Minute Cover is your favorite?

I liked the photograph better than the word cloud.

Step 2: Add a Text Hierarchy

When you zoom out and glance at the report, nothing stands out. It’s just a sea of text because everything is size 11.

I enlarged the Heading 1s from size 11 to size 38 bold. I often use even larger font for my headings (40s, 50s, or even 60s). But, some of the headings were long, and I didn’t want them to spill onto a third line. I kept all the headings to just one or two lines of text.

I also enlarged the Heading 2s from size 11 to size 13 bold.

Finally, I changed the black text into colored text to further differentiate the Heading 1s and Heading 2s from the regular ol’ body font.

Now, you can spot the sections of the report at a glance.

Step 3: Color-Code by Section

It’s a short report but it still feels dense. We need to break it up even more. Readers love skimming.

I color-coded the headings by section:

Step 4: Add Intentional Page Breaks

Make sure every section begins on a new page.

I use CTRL + Enter to add page breaks (rather than pressing the Enter key a dozen times).

Intentional page breaks are the easiest edit, yet researchers, evaluators, and scientists shy away from page breaks.

Why are we so afraid of white space? It’s not going to bite us.

Why are we so afraid of adding another page or two to our already-way-too-long reports? A well-designed report beats a non-designed report every time, regardless of the length.

Step 5: Add More Photos

The zoomed-out, at-a-glance view was really coming together! Our readers can see that the report has a few different sections because each section begins on a new page, with large font, and in a new color.

I still needed to add visuals. I suggest aiming for one visual per page—a graph, photograph, table, diagram, logo, etc. It would be great to comb through the entire report and find ways to incorporate graphs, tables, or diagrams. But this report was largely a list of bullet points, and I didn’t have the time or the background knowledge to completely overhaul its contents. I wanted to focus on the low-hanging-fruit edits.

When you’re pressed for time, or if you’re new to data visualization, you can add icons and/or photographs.

The default Microsoft book icons looked cheesy when placed next to the nice stock photograph. Mixing icons and photos just didn’t look right.

I decided to repeat the cover photo behind each of the Heading 1s.

I inserted the photograph, placed it behind the text, expanded it to fit the full width of the page, cropped it to be just a few inches tall, and overlaid colorful semi-transparent rectangles.

These small edits can transform a text-heavy report into a visual-lite report.

This transformation took me an hour. The vast majority of that time was spent banging my head against the wall thanks to the Wordle/Internet Explorer/Java trifecta of insanity. I’m calling it a Two-Hour Turnaround because everything takes longer when you’re doing it for the first time.

Don’t lose sleep over report formatting. You’ve got better things to do. Instead, just follow my easy steps and make drastic improvements to your document’s appearance within an hour or two.