Timeline in : Pretty equals true
Timeline decides what is being compared in under “Pretty equals true.” The figure that must stay on the axis is 1765. Drawing it larger does not create a unit. Look first for a cut axis and a missing key. Numbers are optional. If comparison is the job, label the ends only.
When the story is: ordered events, eras, project milestones. Skip it in cases like: you need quantities changing, not just dates. Joseph Priestley’s 1765 Chart of Biography inspired later atlases Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.
Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present. Excel or Google Sheets or PowerPoint; export SVG/PDF. Do not rely on hue alone. Label directly and check greyscale. Timeline: honour position along an ordered time axis, and switch when you need quantities changing, not just dates.
The core mark of Timeline is position along an ordered time axis. ordered events, eras, project milestones The eye compares length and position more accurately than area. PowerPoint, Excel or Google Sheets and Meta, Google and retail print share the same geometry. Decoration rarely persuades; it slows reading.
Read Timeline as , “Pretty equals true,” and 1765. A bar with no unit is not those three.1765
Figures to keep
- Year of the chart
- 1765
- Axis figure
- 1765
- Chart
- Timeline
- How to read it
- Pretty equals true