Comments on: Quickie: Colour Style of Bar Chart Bars

By: bill mcnair

bill mcnair — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:37:31 +0000

But the issue with the drop shadow is that I cannot figure out how to add it using VBA. All I get is a “black” drop shadow, not a nice gray semi transparent drop shadow. (Format Data Series >Shadow >Presets #1)

By: bill mcnair

bill mcnair — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:33:24 +0000

I think solid is best, with lighter colors. Also, I have been adding subtle drop shadows to my bar charts. This makes them pop better than gradient. I do not like gradient because it might be mistaken for being meaningful, when in fact, it is not.

By: PaulMc

PaulMc — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:11:03 +0000

Hi all, newbie alert!

I agree with Mike, the fill used here is probably a bit strong, over exaggerated, just like a “before” shot of a bloke who lost 5 stone with some fad diet! Try make the comparison look a little better ;)

Think fade works in places.

Great blog by the way

PaulMc

By: John Nurick

John Nurick — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:20:24 +0000

I prefer the plain bars (agree with Jon about the colour). Using the “fade” is just eye candy: better to keep effects like that for times when you need an extra dimension of data.

By: ross

ross — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:21:56 +0000

I cant get that book Gordon, on account of it being pink!

By: Gordon

Gordon — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:43:08 +0000

We must club together and buy Ross a copy of The Visual Display of Quantitative Information…

By: Ross McLean

Ross McLean — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:08:48 +0000

rofl, lmao, thats what I though, I’d love a base ball cap with that on, classic!

By: Mike Woodhouse

Mike Woodhouse — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:44:20 +0000

(Oh, and do feel free to have that picture printed on a skateboard, poster or trucker hat should you wish…)

By: Mike Woodhouse

Mike Woodhouse — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:42:36 +0000

If there’s to be a fill effect, I prefer a horizontal shade to a vertical one:

http://tinypic.com/m/9bfwye/4

But I think a less in-your-face solid fill would probably work best…

By: Jon Peltier

Jon Peltier — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:20:28 +0000

I think solid is best, but a lighter shade than the bold blue you’ve blasted our eyes with. A shade towards the lighter edge of your gradient bars.