10 Guidelines to Better Table Design

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Jon Schwabisch recently proposed ten guidelines for better table design.

Next to the academic paper, Jon shared his recommendations in a Twitter thread.

Let me summarize them for you:

  • Right-align your numbers
  • Left-align your texts
  • Use decimals appropriately (one or two is often enough)
  • Display units (e.g., $, %) sparsely (e.g., only on first row)
  • Highlight outliers
  • Highlight column headers
  • Use subtle highlights and dividers
  • Use white space between rows and columns
  • Use white space (or dividers) to highlight groups
  • Use visualizations for large tables
Afbeelding
Highlights in a table. Via twitter.com/jschwabish/status/1290324966190338049/photo/2
Afbeelding
Visualizations in a table. Via twitter.com/jschwabish/status/1290325409570197509/photo/3
Afbeelding
Example of a well-organized table. Via twitter.com/jschwabish/status/1290325663543627784/photo/2

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