Table Design Tools

Data/Ink Ratio (Tufte)

\[ p(x) = \frac{Data\:Ink}{Total\:Ink} \tag{1}\]

Data / Ink Ratio (Tufte) - amount of ink that presents information compared to total amount of ink used

  • Enhance using two design principles
    • Reduce non-data ink
      • Subtract unnecessary ink
      • De-emphasize and regularize remaining non-data ink
    • Enhancing the data ink
      • Subtract unnecessary ink
      • Strive for the minimal amount of info to communicate your point
      • Emphasize most important data ink

Checklist for Table Design

Publications: Follow the Conventions / Guidelines

  • Use the Publication Guidelines for your journal as a starting point
  • Understand what design elements you can use within the guidelines

ScienceDirect Guidelines Example

Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/learning-and-instruction/publish/guide-for-authors

Design is Iterative

  • We rarely get it right the first time
  • Get feedback by asking questions from colleagues
    • How easy was it to compare Group A and Group B?
    • Have people talk through your table
    • Can you see overall trends?

Design Toolbox (Ianonne/Chow)

Tool What’s affected Techniques
Structure Header, Column Labels, Stub Column Grouping/Ordering, Row Grouping/Ordering, Spanners
Format Data Cells Formatting, Precision, Units, Alignment
Style Can be applied to parts of Table Font, Font Weight, Spacing, Color, Borders

Structure: Spanners

  • Use spanners and column ordering to show hierarchy (which variables belong together)
  • Order like columns and groups of columns together
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
species sex island bill_length_mm bill_depth_mm
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Adelie male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
Chinstrap male Dream 50.3 20.0
Chinstrap male Dream 53.5 19.9
Adelie female Biscoe 39.6 17.7
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
species
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
sex island bill_length_mm bill_depth_mm
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Adelie male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
Chinstrap male Dream 50.3 20.0
Chinstrap male Dream 53.5 19.9
Adelie female Biscoe 39.6 17.7

Structure: Column Labels

  • Don’t use original variable names
  • Put units if necessary
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
species
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
sex island bill_length_mm bill_depth_mm
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Adelie male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
Chinstrap male Dream 50.3 20.0
Chinstrap male Dream 53.5 19.9
Adelie female Biscoe 39.6 17.7
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
species
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Length (mm) Bill Depth (mm)
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Adelie male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
Chinstrap male Dream 50.3 20.0
Chinstrap male Dream 53.5 19.9
Adelie female Biscoe 39.6 17.7

Structure: Row Ordering and Grouping

  • Sorting by Group helps
  • Use indentation to show hierarchy of variables
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
species
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Length (mm) Bill Depth (mm)
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Adelie male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
Adelie female Biscoe 39.6 17.7
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Chinstrap male Dream 50.3 20.0
Chinstrap male Dream 53.5 19.9
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Length (mm) Bill Depth (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Chinstrap
male Dream 50.5 19.6
male Dream 50.3 20.0
male Dream 53.5 19.9
Adelie
female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
female Biscoe 39.6 17.7

Structure: Column/Row Width and Height

  • Subtle technique for training people on reading direction
  • More column spacing = more likely to read up to down
  • More row spacing = more likely to read left to right
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Length (mm) Bill Depth (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
mean — — 47.77500 15.25000
Chinstrap
male Dream 50.5 19.6
male Dream 50.3 20.0
male Dream 53.5 19.9
mean — — 51.43333 19.83333
Adelie
female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
female Biscoe 39.6 17.7
mean — — 37.43333 18.20000
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Length (mm) Bill Depth (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
mean — — 47.77500 15.25000
Chinstrap
male Dream 50.5 19.6
male Dream 50.3 20.0
male Dream 53.5 19.9
mean — — 51.43333 19.83333
Adelie
female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
female Biscoe 39.6 17.7
mean — — 37.43333 18.20000
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Length (mm) Bill Depth (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
mean — — 47.77500 15.25000
Chinstrap
male Dream 50.5 19.6
male Dream 50.3 20.0
male Dream 53.5 19.9
mean — — 51.43333 19.83333
Adelie
female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
female Biscoe 39.6 17.7
mean — — 37.43333 18.20000

Format

  • Use the right units and formatting
    • Scientific notation
    • Currency
    • Date
    • Precision
  • Use consistent notation to show missing values
  • Alignment of numeric and text columns

Format: Precision / Units

  • Significant Digits!
  • Scientific Notation
  • Currencies

Making sure our summary has the correct number of significant digits:

Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.2 47.8
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.8 51.4
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.2 37.4

Format: Alignment

  • Left align text
  • Right align numbers
  • Try out grouping text columns on left, numbers on right
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.2 47.8
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.8 51.4
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.2 37.4
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.2 47.8
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.8 51.4
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.2 37.4

Styling

  • Lets you highlight rows, columns or specific cells
  • Techniques:
    • Font / Font Weight
    • Font Color / Background Color
      • Conditional Styling
    • Rules / Grids
    • Column Alignment

Styling: Preattentive Attributes

  • With styling, we can leverage what are called preattentive attributes
  • These are attributes that we notice right away:

https://www.empiricaldata.org/dataladyblog/6-lessons-from-human-psychology-for-effective-data-visualization

Styling: Using Bolding

  • Contrast is a preattentive attribute - we notice it right away.
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.2 47.8
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.8 51.4
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.2 37.4

Styling: Using Color

  • Color is a preattentive attribute - we notice it very quickly
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.25000 47.77500
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.83333 51.43333
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.20000 37.43333
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.25000 47.77500
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.83333 51.43333
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.20000 37.43333

Styling: Grids and Borders

  • Avoid unecessary grid lines
  • Use single rules only as necessary
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
species sex island
Penguin Bill Features
bill_length_mm bill_depth_mm
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
species
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
sex island bill_length_mm bill_depth_mm
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
species
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
sex island bill_length_mm bill_depth_mm
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5

Styling: Highlighting using Enclosures

Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.25000 47.77500
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.83333 51.43333
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.20000 37.43333

Styling: Zebra Stripes

  • Light zebra stripes can help people read
  • Don’t make them too dark
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
species
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
sex island bill_length_mm bill_depth_mm
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Adelie male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
Chinstrap male Dream 50.3 20.0
Chinstrap male Dream 53.5 19.9
Adelie female Biscoe 39.6 17.7
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
species
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
sex island bill_length_mm bill_depth_mm
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.5 16.2
Gentoo male Biscoe 50.0 15.3
Chinstrap male Dream 50.5 19.6
Gentoo male Biscoe 49.6 16.0
Adelie female Torgersen 35.5 17.5
Gentoo female Biscoe 42.0 13.5
Adelie male Torgersen 37.2 19.4
Chinstrap male Dream 50.3 20.0
Chinstrap male Dream 53.5 19.9
Adelie female Biscoe 39.6 17.7

Styling: Font Choice

  • In general use sanserif fonts (like Arial) rather than serif fonts (Times New Roman)
  • Serif fonts make it harder to read
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.25000 47.77500
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.83333 51.43333
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.20000 37.43333
Characteristics of Palmer Penguins
Chinstrap penguins are the largest overall
Demographics
Penguin Bill Features
Gender Island Bill Depth (mm) Bill Length (mm)
Gentoo
male Biscoe 16.2 49.5
male Biscoe 15.3 50.0
male Biscoe 16.0 49.6
female Biscoe 13.5 42.0
mean — — 15.25000 47.77500
Chinstrap
male Dream 19.6 50.5
male Dream 20.0 50.3
male Dream 19.9 53.5
mean — — 19.83333 51.43333
Adelie
female Torgersen 17.5 35.5
male Torgersen 19.4 37.2
female Biscoe 17.7 39.6
mean — — 18.20000 37.43333

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