Chartjunk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chartjunk is a term for unnecessary or confusing visual elements in charts and graphs. Markings and visual elements can be called chartjunk if they are not part of the minimum set of visuals necessary to communicate the information understandably. Examples of unnecessary elements which might be called chartjunk include heavy or dark grid lines, ornamented chart axes and display frames, pictures or icons within data graphs, ornamental shading and unnecessary dimen.
Another kind of chartjunk skews the depiction and makes it difficult to understand the real data being displayed. Examples of this type include items depicted out of scale to one another, noisy backgrounds making comparison between elements difficult in a chart or graph, and 3-D simulations in line and bar charts.
The term chartjunk was coined by Edward Tufte in his 1983 book The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Tufte wrote: "The interior decoration of graphics generates a lot of ink that does not tell the viewer anything new. The purpose of decoration varies – to make the graphic appear more scientific and precise, to enliven the display, to give the designer an opportunity to exercise artistic skills. Regardless of its cause, it is all non-data-ink or redundant data-ink, and it is often chartjunk."
Although Tufte's book is regarded as a classic in information design and the term has found widespread use, "chartjunk" has not entered the general lexicon and is usually still associated with Tufte's work.
