Comments on: Pie Chart Rant #2: 3D is a nightmare http://tworivers.com/blog/archives/194 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:16:22 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Katy Gamble http://tworivers.com/blog/archives/194/comment-page-1#comment-10 Katy Gamble Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:20:54 +0000 http://tworivers.com/blog/?p=194#comment-10 Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Web apps are about getting the data you need to complete your work and not about, "Oh, whoa! Cool! Hey Bob, check out this nifty 3d-chart." Pretty sure no one goes home to show their family and friends a web app with 3d charts. So, I'm on board. 3d charts provide no extra value and just increase visual noise. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Web apps are about getting the data you need to complete your work and not about, “Oh, whoa! Cool! Hey Bob, check out this nifty 3d-chart.” Pretty sure no one goes home to show their family and friends a web app with 3d charts.

So, I’m on board. 3d charts provide no extra value and just increase visual noise.

]]> By: Hagan http://tworivers.com/blog/archives/194/comment-page-1#comment-6 Hagan Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:31:08 +0000 http://tworivers.com/blog/?p=194#comment-6 Great comments, Cliff... I suppose you could add information into the 3rd dimension of the pie chart (the thickness of the slice indicating something else), but I agree - the complications of the perspective view will make that information distorted as well - in fact, obscured. The front of the pie will make the back of the pie impossible to properly see (unless it's translucent? Ugh). I find it impossible to imagine a 3-dimensional pie chart that actually pulls that off. But I readily admit that my imagination may not be up to the job! As for Office and Corel, it does seem that they've gone out of their way to make the default charts 3-dimensional ... but all of the examples I've shown are from web applications, where more choice is available. I suspect those teams just copied what they see in Office, assuming that it must be right. This is why I think all companies in leadership positions must really give UI their extra effort - so many people copy what they do! Great comments, Cliff… I suppose you could add information into the 3rd dimension of the pie chart (the thickness of the slice indicating something else), but I agree – the complications of the perspective view will make that information distorted as well – in fact, obscured. The front of the pie will make the back of the pie impossible to properly see (unless it’s translucent? Ugh). I find it impossible to imagine a 3-dimensional pie chart that actually pulls that off. But I readily admit that my imagination may not be up to the job!

As for Office and Corel, it does seem that they’ve gone out of their way to make the default charts 3-dimensional … but all of the examples I’ve shown are from web applications, where more choice is available. I suspect those teams just copied what they see in Office, assuming that it must be right. This is why I think all companies in leadership positions must really give UI their extra effort – so many people copy what they do!

]]> By: Cliff Tyllick http://tworivers.com/blog/archives/194/comment-page-1#comment-5 Cliff Tyllick Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:22:18 +0000 http://tworivers.com/blog/?p=194#comment-5 Hagan, in principle the only reason to give the pie chart depth would be the need to assign a variable to that dimension. In that case, the depth and volume of each slice would carry meaning. But the complications of the perspective view would still give a distorted sense of the relative dimensions and volume of each slice. So a tilted pie chart is still a poor choice. Unfortunately, when the user chooses to display data as a pie chart, both Microsoft Office products and Corel Office Suite products produce a tilted pie chart by default. You can turn the depth off, but it shouldn't be there to begin with. After all, there really is never a good reason to use a 3D pie chart. Hagan, in principle the only reason to give the pie chart depth would be the need to assign a variable to that dimension. In that case, the depth and volume of each slice would carry meaning.

But the complications of the perspective view would still give a distorted sense of the relative dimensions and volume of each slice. So a tilted pie chart is still a poor choice.

Unfortunately, when the user chooses to display data as a pie chart, both Microsoft Office products and Corel Office Suite products produce a tilted pie chart by default. You can turn the depth off, but it shouldn’t be there to begin with. After all, there really is never a good reason to use a 3D pie chart.

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