Be able to enhance the appearance of a graph or chart including extracting a pie chart sector, changing the colour scheme or fill patterns

Topic 16 – Graphs and Charts

Objective

Be able to enhance the appearance of a graph or chart, including extracting a pie‑chart sector, changing the colour scheme, and applying different fill patterns.

1. Why Enhance a Graph or Chart?

• Improves readability and visual impact.
• Highlights key data points or trends.
• Ensures the chart follows a consistent style for reports or presentations.

2. Changing the Colour Scheme

Most spreadsheet programs allow you to apply a predefined colour theme or create a custom palette.

1. Select the chart.
2. Open the Chart Design or Format tab.
3. Choose Change Colours and pick a theme that contrasts well with the background.
4. If required, customise individual series colours by clicking the data series and selecting Format Data Series.

Example Colour Palettes

3. Changing Fill Patterns

Fill patterns are useful when a chart will be printed in black and white or when you need to differentiate series without relying on colour alone.

1. Select the data series you wish to modify.
2. Open the Format Data Series pane.
3. Choose Fill & Line → Fill → Pattern fill.
4. Select a pattern (e.g., stripes, dots, cross‑hatch) and adjust the foreground/background colours if needed.

Common Fill Patterns

4. Extracting a Pie‑Chart Sector (Exploding a Slice)

Extracting a sector draws attention to a particular portion of the pie chart.

1. Click the pie chart to select it.
2. Click again on the specific slice you wish to extract.
3. Drag the slice outward, or use the Format Data Point options and set an Explosion distance (e.g., 10 pt).
4. Optionally, change the slice’s colour or add a pattern to further emphasise it.

Example: If the “Marketing” slice represents \$45\%\$ of total sales, extracting it helps the audience focus on that contribution.

5. Practical Example – Enhancing a Bar Chart

Suppose you have a bar chart showing quarterly sales (in $000). Follow these steps to improve its appearance:

1. Apply the “Warm Sunset” colour palette.
2. Set the Q2 bar to a diagonal cross‑hatch pattern to indicate a target shortfall.
3. Add data labels showing values as \$\text{Sales}_{\text{Q}} = \text{value} \times 10^3\$.
4. Increase the chart title font size (via the formatting pane) and centre it.

6. Checklist – Before Finalising Your Chart

• Is the colour scheme consistent with the rest of the document?
• Are fill patterns used where colour alone may be ambiguous?
• Has any important slice or data series been highlighted (e.g., exploded pie slice, bold bar)?
• Are axis titles, legends, and data labels clear and correctly formatted?
• Is the chart readable when printed in black and white?