https://blog.dev.simpleenough.net/tags/mistakes/Recent content in Mistakes on Simple Enough BlogHugoenTue, 14 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0200https://blog.dev.simpleenough.net/blog/graphic7mistakes/Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0200https://blog.dev.simpleenough.net/blog/graphic7mistakes/<p>A chart is meant to clarify an idea. Poorly designed, it does the opposite: it confuses, or worse, it misleads — sometimes with no bad intent at all. The good news is that most failures come from the same handful of mistakes, easy to spot and fix. Here are seven, from the most misleading to the most subtle, with the remedy for each.</p> <hr> <h2 id="i-the-truncated-axis-that-exaggerates-everything" class="heading">I. The truncated axis that exaggerates everything<a href="#i-the-truncated-axis-that-exaggerates-everything" aria-labelledby="i-the-truncated-axis-that-exaggerates-everything"> <!-- <i class="fas fa-link anchor"></i> --> <svg class="svg-inline--fa fas fa-link anchor" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" role="img" viewBox="0 0 640 512"><use href="#fas-link"></use></svg>&nbsp; </a> </h2> <p><strong>The problem:</strong> starting the vertical axis somewhere other than zero. A 2% difference can then look like a dramatic gap. It&rsquo;s the most misleading mistake — and the most common in &ldquo;loaded&rdquo; charts.</p>