Chart layout

Every chart uses the same template. Elements marked “required” always appear. Include the others only when they help.

#	Element		Guidance
1	Figure number	optional	Use when the text refers to the chart.
2	Title	required	The main message, stated as a takeaway. One line if possible.
3	Subtitle	required	What is shown: measure, units, categories, period and place.
4	Legend	if needed	Only when the categories can’t be labelled directly. Place it above the plot, left-aligned, in data order.
5	Y-axis title	if needed	Only when the units aren’t in the subtitle. Put it horizontally above the axis. If it’s too long, move it into the subtitle.
6	Gridlines	optional	Light (Platinum) and horizontal only. They help when values aren’t labelled directly.
7	Data labels and annotations	preferred	Label the data instead of the axis. Put labels outside the bars where they fit. Use annotations or shading to point out key values and events.
8	Axis values	if needed	Only when the data isn’t labelled directly. Use no axis line on the value axis, and a Steel baseline at zero.
9	X-axis title	if needed	Only when the units aren’t in the subtitle. Centre it below the axis.
10	Source	required	Always. Give the organisation and dataset, then the year.
11	Note	optional	Explain choices and data limitations, such as “Excludes unverified reports.”
12	Logo	required for published visuals	Bottom right. Follow the brand guidelines: don’t stretch or recolour it.

Text

• Write titles in plain words. Don’t use acronyms unless every reader knows them.
• Round numbers in labels to the precision the message needs, usually two or three significant figures, and use the same number of decimals throughout a chart.
• On the web, give every chart and map alt text that states the message and the key numbers, and link to the data where you can.
• For case, alignment, sizes and weights, see Typography.

Spacing

Bars

Make each bar 67% of its slot and leave 33% as gap. In Excel, that’s a gap width of 50%.

Clustered bars

Bars within a cluster touch or nearly touch, and the gap between clusters is about half a bar wide.

Margins

Leave equal space on all sides, and align everything to the left edge of the title.

Long category labels

If the labels don’t fit, try these in order:

1. Switch to a horizontal bar chart, if the data allows.
2. Label every second or third value: dates, for example.
3. Abbreviate (“Jan”, “‘25”), and explain the abbreviations in a note if needed.
4. Rotate the labels. This is a last resort.

To make your own template, keep the numbered list and change only the positions and the logo rules to fit your brand. Build it once as a real chart template (an Excel .crtx file, a ggplot theme or a Plotly template) so that nobody has to apply it by hand.