Improve Your Charts and Data Visualizations in PowerPoint

Hi, I'm Alan, a presentation designer who's been using PowerPoint for over 20 years. In this course I will to show you how you can quickly make easy changes to charts to improve how you present your data with impact.

Bar charts are good to use when comparing data, when you want to highlight different categories or show how things change with time. Here's an introduction to the basic PowerPoint chart functionality and how to remove unnecessary elements to improve clarity and impact. I will show you call outs to re-enforce the message or add some supplementary information and options that to make your charts less generic and help you stand out.

By adding custom graphics we can create a unique variations that aren't available as PowerPoint options for charts. Here are some examples often used by designers in high-end infographics. I'll also show you how save any graph style as a template to use whenever you want.

Here's how to add any image into any bar chart, and avoid the image being stretched. Stick to simple images and be careful not to make things too distracting.

You can create a pictorial bar chart by changing the shape of the bars. This creates a more visual representation of the data which is more impactful and original.

A pictorial stacked chart is similar to the standard stacked bar chart, but the shape of the bar is changed to visually represent the stacked data.

There is lots of flexiblilty in what you can achieve using a live chart in PowerPoint, but by converting to a non-live graph you can have virtually limitless possibilities to customize the style and animation.

Pie charts are good to use when you want show relative proportions and percentages. They work best with a small amount of data categories to keep things clear. Here I show you how the improve the look of your pie chart by removing unnecessary details, adding data labels and highlighting segments.

Here are some enhancements using the doughnut chart, adding icons and using PowerPoint's 3D capabilities.

In this section we will convert to a non-live graph to open up limitless customization possibilities. We will produce a stunning stacked 3D pie chart that can be fully customized and animated.

You can use pie chart to add impact to key points of data, especially when showing percentage values.

Here’s another example of moving away from standard styles to create something more unique.

We will create some cool looking data points in a style that is popular in high-end brochures and websites. PowerPoint will not let us use rounded ends on a standard pie so these have to be drawn with shapes.

We will make a useful graph type known as a Proportional Area Chart. It is good for comparing values to provide a quick overview of the relative size without needing scales.

A Horizontal bar chart can provide a good alternative to the standard column chart as it can allow for more room, particularly if you have categories with long titles.

Here’s a horizontal bar design that moves away from standard PowerPoint styles to something more creative.This look must be created using shapes but I will show how it can be done quickly and easily.

A line chart displays information as a series of data points called ‘markers’ connected lines.
They are good at showing data changes at equal intervals of time.

This is another good look for this kind of data.
It is pretty similar to the line chart but with the area below the line filled with colour.

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that represents a project schedule.
PowerPoint doesn’t have a Gantt chart type but I will show you two different ways to create one directly in PowerPoint.

This toolbar helps speed up workflow considerably as some of the functions in PowerPoint are difficult to get to or find. Download my file for easy install into PowerPoint.

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