Where do we look?

Reader Gail Z. didn't like this chart by Business Insider (link).

It's probably not the worst we have seen. The biggest problem with this chart is that there is so much going on it's hard to know where to look! This is a huge no-no for a site like Business Insider, which is in the business of sensationalizing the most trivial things.

The first fix should be to shine a light on Mark Zuckerberg. The message of the chart is how the Facebook IPO would instantly make Zuckerberg one of the top 10 richest in America. Poor Mark is lost in the crowd here.

The second fix is to get rid of the data labels, and the gridlines. It won't matter to readers whether Mark's wealth is $25 billion or $24.7 billion. The vertical axis already provides the needed information.

Some may be offended by the color of money although I can handle it.

 

PS. Dear readers, I have received many submissions recently. Please be patient as I work through the backlog.

Comments

[Ian]

If you have the ability to get in on the Facebook IPO you can probably end up somewhere on the list as well

[Robert]

It isn't just the color of money that is a problem, but the fact that there are lots of varying straight lines created by the money. The mixed matched straight lines visually breaks up each of the bars and makes it difficult for the eye to make a quick scan and compare bar lengths.