Why it’s Good to Show Bad Examples

Oct 8

Examples are one of the easiest ways to make your guidelines tangible, relevant, and useful. And examples are even better when they include bad examples.

That’s right, the contrast between good and bad examples help people identify (and avoid) mistakes. When paired with simple guidelines—like the ones we see from Delish—people have three opportunities to understand the guidance: the text, the good example, and the bad one. Each adds a bit more information and context. I’m a huge fan of this approach and I recommend it to anyone building out a style guide of their own.

Full Data Visualization Style Guide: https://delish.supernova-docs.io/latest/data-visualization/chart-guidelines/part-to-whole-aZUPf3Es#section-avoid-pie-charts-for-comparison-0f