Funnel encodes values as width (or area) of successive stages. Sales-management language of the mid-20th century; later CRM dashboards.
In reports, ads and assignments it fits ordered drop-off: leads, checkouts, applications. Skip it when stages are not nested subsets of the same population.
Principles
- Encoding — Funnel encodes width (or area) of successive stages.
- History — Sales-management language of the mid-20th century; later CRM dashboards
- Fit — ordered drop-off: leads, checkouts, applications
- Shared baseline — The eye compares length and position more accurately than area.
- Audience — PowerPoint, Excel or Google Sheets and Meta, Google and retail print share the same geometry.
Misconceptions
- Pretty equals true — Decoration rarely persuades; it slows reading.
- 3-D helps — Perspective distortion wrecks comparison. Keep it flat.
- More series is richer — Do not stack stories. One Funnel, one claim.
- Default palette is fine — Rainbow defaults fail color-blind viewers and grey print. Change Excel or Google Sheets defaults.
Why it matters
- Work — Work: ordered drop-off: leads, checkouts, applications. Readable in four minutes in PowerPoint.
- Ads — Ads: one number and one shape speak first in Meta, Google and retail print.
- School — School: for lab reports and poster boards, pick the form that answers the rubric.
- Craft — Craft: honour width (or area) of successive stages and decoration falls away.
Funnel: honour width (or area) of successive stages, and switch when stages are not nested subsets of the same population.