(or the board of directors).

CHARTS are a staple of PowerPoint presentations.

UNFORTUNATELY most of them are harder on the eyes than a Nick Nolte mug shot.

PRESENTATIONS WITH NO CHARTS

PRESENTATIONS WITH VISUALLY APPEALING CHARTS

PRESENTATIONS WITH CHARTS SO HEINOUS, THEY SHOULD BE ILLEGAL

TAKE FOR EXAMPLE this monstrosity:

(Courtesy of the default bar chart design built into PowerPoint 2011 for Mac)

YOU WOULD THINK that a graphic depicting Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlakes hilarious video poking fun of #hashtags c o u l d b e a b i t e a s i e r o n t h e e y e s .

PERHAPS MORE LIKE THIS?

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CHARTS SEXY ENOUGH FOR JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

(or the board of directors).

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:

STEP 1. REMOVE ALL THE NOISE.

Bye bye, gridlines.

STEP 1: REMOVE ALL THE NOISE.

Bye bye, gridlines. Later, labels.

STEP 1: REMOVE ALL THE NOISE.

Later, labels. Adios, axes. Bye bye, gridlines.

STEP 1: REMOVE ALL THE NOISE.

STEP 2. ADD A BACKGROUND IMAGE*.

*Note: Not every chart needs or warrants a background image. This one, IMHO, ds. Sometimes a pure, clean white background is all that's required. Other times, a texture that hints at the chart's meaning or even a color gradient that adds "pop!" will do the trick. This is where we move more into the territory of Art > Science, so feel free to experiment.

Google > Images > Download

STEP 2: ADD A BACKGROUND IMAGE.

Google > Images > Download Paste your image.

STEP 2: ADD A BACKGROUND IMAGE.

Paste your image. Reorder > Send to Back.

STEP 2: ADD A BACKGROUND IMAGE.

Google > Images > Download

STEP 3. RESIZE, RECOLOR, REPOSITION.

Select image > Shift + drag corner to resize > Crop excess

STEP 3: RESIZE, RECOLOR, REPOSITION.

Select image > Shift + drag corner to resize > Crop excess Format > Recolor > Grayscale > 50% Transparent

STEP 3: RESIZE, RECOLOR, REPOSITION.

Format > Recolor > Grayscale > 50% Transparent Select chart > Fill > Black > Drag to bottom edge

STEP 3: RESIZE, RECOLOR, REPOSITION.

Select image > Shift + drag corner to resize > Crop excess

STEP 4. AWESOME FONTS, NOT AWFUL ONES.

Go to FontSquirrel.com or MyFonts.com.

STEP 4: AWESOME FONTS, NOT AWFUL ONES.

Go to FontSquirrel.com or MyFonts.com. Install your awesome font > Restart PPT.

STEP 4: AWESOME FONTS, NOT AWFUL ONES.

Install your awesome font > Restart PPT. Replace awful font with awesome font.

STEP 4: AWESOME FONTS, NOT AWFUL ONES.

Go to FontSquirrel.com or MyFonts.com.

STEP 5. ADD SOME LABELS.

STEP 5: ADD SOME LABELS.

New text box > White > Awesome font.

STEP 5: ADD SOME LABELS.

New text box > White > Awesome font. Rotate 90 degrees left > Right-align text > Position at top right edge of first bar.

STEP 5: ADD SOME LABELS.

Copy/paste text box 6x > Align to each bar > Use smaller font size for smaller bars

Rotate 90 degrees left > Right-align text > Position at top right edge of first bar.

New text box > White > Awesome font.

STEP 6. DRAW THE EYE TO WHAT MATTERS.

STEP 6: DRAW THE EYE TO WHAT MATTERS.

Give the bars more weight.

STEP 6: DRAW THE EYE TO WHAT MATTERS.

Give the bars more weight. Adjust layout & font sizes > Add 40% transparent rectangle for emphasis

STEP 6: DRAW THE EYE TO WHAT MATTERS.

Adjust layout & font sizes > Add 40% transparent rectangle for emphasis

Flip image horizontally > Add color to highlight key data points

Give the bars more weight.

VOILA! not good enough for Justin: Justin-rific:

(in just a few steps)

THANKS FOR BRINGING SEXY BACK TO CHARTS.

MORE TIPS @ HTTP://BIT.LY/1A2C1MY

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