You're Probably Deleting Too Much From Your Charts
And it's making them harder to read
There is a popular chart rule. It comes from Edward Tufte.
He calls it the “Data-Ink Ratio.”
The name sounds fancy, but the rule is actually very simple. It says you should look at your chart and ask one question: “Is this ink showing data?”
If the answer is no, you should erase it.
This rule says you should remove the borders. You should remove the gridlines. You should remove the background colors.
In theory, this is a great idea. No one likes a messy chart. But there is a problem: It is possible to take it too far.
Why We Needed This Rule
To understand this rule, you have to look at history.
In the 1980s, computers were just starting to make charts. People went wild with designs. Charts had thick black borders, heavy gridlines, and 3D effects that made your eyes hurt. Some charts even had pictures of coins and briefcases floating around.
It was a mess.
Tufte looked at this chaos and said, “Stop. Just show the data.” He was a hero. He saved us from “chart junk” that made things hard to read.
But that was 40 years ago. Today, some people follow his rule like it is a religious law. They strip a chart so bare that it doesn’t look like a report anymore. It looks like abstract art.
You Can Go Too Far
When you delete everything except the data, you create a new problem.
You end up with just a few floating bars or lines in a big, empty white space. Without any lines to guide you, your brain has to work much harder.
You have to guess how tall a bar is.
You have to guess which labels belong to which dots.
You feel lost because there is nothing to anchor your eyes.
If you make it too simple, it actually becomes confusing.
Good Ink vs. Bad Ink
We need to learn the difference between Junk and Scaffolding.
Junk is bad. This includes 3D shadows, dark borders, and silly pictures. You should definitely delete these.
Scaffolding is good. Scaffolding is the structure that holds your data up. It includes:
Light grey gridlines: These help you read the exact numbers.
Axis lines: These anchor the chart so it doesn’t look like it is floating away.
Background colors: A subtle grey box can help group related charts together.
These things are not data. But they help your brain organize the information. They tell your eyes, “Look here, these things go together.”
Clarity is King
We need to change our goal.
Don’t try to use the least amount of ink possible. Instead, try to make it easy to read
Think about the “Signal-to-Noise” ratio. The Signal is the data and the clues that help you understand the numbers. The Noise is anything that distracts you.
A light gridline that helps you read a number is a signal.
An arrow pointing to a key insight is a signal.
If adding a little extra ink, like a border or a background color, helps your boss understand the chart in two seconds instead of ten, then do it.
So, What Should You Do?
The Data-Ink Ratio is a great starting point. It teaches you to ask questions about everything on your chart.
But remember, you don’t get bonus points for having the cleanest chart. You get bonus points for making a chart people can actually understand.
So, go ahead and keep the scaffolding. Help your readers. Make it clear.
That is ink well spent.