Companies are managed using numbers and words. The clearer they are, the better. That is why we recommend banning words that don’t have a clear message. We’ve done it – and don’t regret it.

Colors are supposed to make reports easier to read and understand. We've given some thought as to how that works best – and have realized: "easier" is hard with colors. So before we add to much color [...]

Managers receive more information than they can take in. In fact, their information absorption capacity is the main bottleneck in Business Intelligence. Here are a few ways we can increase it.

To make eye-catchers: ok. To make diagrams from data: always. To make eye-catchers from data: know-how needed. Taste helps. And respect. The five most frequent causes of death within a year, in countries [...]

Oh, ZEIT. I didn´t mean that. My scribbled design was born out of necessity. Yours is intentional. Scribbling threefold from Die ZEIT. Not supposed to take it seriously? Source: DIE ZEIT No [...]

I want quality measures for information. And today, we’ll take a closer look at one of them. A mere observation shows that many graphical elements are grossly exaggerated. That’s why we’ll show [...]

Hans Rosling wanted to show the best statistics ever seen at a TED conference. In my opinion, it was only one of the best presentations of statistics. Here are the pros and cons for using animation in [...]

Controllers are bean counters – and that is a good thing! After all, good entrepreneurs are as well. And too many captains on one ship spoil the course.

The expectations for data mining were very high. Its new methods were supposed to automatically uncover the buried information treasures in databases. Now, the German magazine ‘Wirtschaftsinformatik’ [...]

This blog makes regular pleas for maximum information density. And newspapers offer many great examples. Now, FAZ is further improving its density – to cut costs – and is starting to use graphical [...]

This blog is for the pie haters out there. If you have a sensitive stomach, please read with caution! Nothing but pies and one is worse than the next. This time, with examples from FTD, Handelsblatt [...]

After plenty of goose, duck and gingerbread, here’s something else to chew on. The pies have got to go! Warning: This blog is nothing for those with weak stomachs.

Right now, it’s pretty safe to be a pirate – even though navies around the world are already sharpening their grappling hooks. As far as reporting is concerned, it also pays to be a buccaneer … [...]

Today I have to give advice to Barack. He'll be taking a dog to the White House. He doesn't know yet which. Best choice: a Labrador. Barney, the Terrier of George W., had his own website. The most intelligent [...]

To read management information correctly, you often need good visual judgment. Take the test and see how you rate!

Right: All data within an eyespan. Wrong: Data as broad as an eyespan. As on the finance pages of the German newspaper Die ZEIT: Die ZEIT No. 25, 2008-06-12, p. 30. These few values would easily [...]

You can find time series comparisons in almost every newspaper, business journal and political magazine. Although they are frequently used in the media, these charts can be very misleading. What you should [...]

Everyone starts into their vacation. We take a map with us. Maps show wherefrom, whereto, how long, how far, how mountainous, next to what, where can you swim, sleep, refuel. Where Lothar Mathäus is [...]

Do we really live in an information society? I don’t think so. Information is as rare - and disinformation, lies and overall sloppiness are more rampant – than ever before!

If you are comfortable enough with presenting data in tables and charts, the next challenge is putting that information into words. The way that Peter Singer backs his positions is an excellent example [...]

Many cut axes just because of Excel. And go to charting hell. Because when you cut you distort. And when you distort you lie. At least with your graph. The graphical change in your data is no longer proportional [...]

Yet another bank in crisis. Do companies need some type of Mission Control Center to protect them from the ominous black holes of today’s global market space?

When managers and statistics collide, less is often more. In general, however, there are not enough statistics in data visualizations. The only requirement is that they need to be robust.

Even though they still have a shred of hope in the UEFA Cup, it is no secret that Nuremberg does not have the best soccer players in the German Bundesliga. The best soccer charts, however, do come from [...]

Getting crowned is not always an honor. And those who are doing the honors don’t always take the ceremony seriously. Of course, it isn’t always quite as extreme as receiving a crown of thorns, but [...]

We have already discussed the fact that no one in their right mind should steer a company (or a bank in particular!) like an automobile. But what about the other way around? Porsche’s Sport Chrono package [...]

The nice thing about Information Design is that there are so many role models for us to admire. Although we rarely see them in the office, we can at least view them in beautiful venues such as Barcelona [...]