Misleading charts

On the right, January looks like almost nothing. In reality it was 570, only a little below February's 598.

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About 5–10 minutes · no sign-up needed

The idea

Both charts show the same three months. One starts its axis at zero. The other doesn't:

Key points

Start at zeroBar lengths must start at zero, or small gaps look huge.

Sort sensiblyMonths in time order. Categories by size.

Label clearlyData labels and a clear title stop misreading.

A good chart is honest first, and beautiful second.

In Power BI Desktop

Select the chart, open Format visual, then Y-axis, then Range, and set Minimum to 0. To sort, use the chart's More options (...) menu, then Sort axis.

Practice

Try each one in your head first, then open the answer.

1. This chart makes January look tiny. Why?

The axis doesn't start at zero

Learn it by doing. This lesson is a short hands-on level on Bampaa: see it work, then build and write it yourself, with instant feedback.

Try this lesson free →

About 5–10 minutes · no sign-up needed