Anuj Malhotra April 21, 2017

Charts have become ubiquitous part of business presentations. They are visually impactful ways to represent your data whether you are talking about comparisons, trends, or relationships. If the graphs and charts are decently designed, they quickly communicate the message to the audience. Investors and analysts can know at a glance the growth in sales or fluctuations in trends. Imagine trying to decipher the same from a pile of numbers!

That said, the use of column charts consisting of a stack of rectangular bars is hardly inspiring and attention-grabbing. The rectangular bars have been done to death. Some have seen it so much that the minute they see the column charts on a slide, they instantly tune off. How to bring back the love for charts and data? How about trying creative PowerPoint charts like Picture Charts!

Picture Charts involve using images, icons and shapes to show the concept being discussed. Worried they would look kiddish? Not if you choose kiddish images and icons. Use relevant, professional icons and your picture chart would be a welcome change for the audience. Picture Charts are also useful if you wish to use them in an infographic or a marketing collateral which warrant use of creative data visualizations.

Hack #1- Replace Bars with Image/Icon

This is the most basic and simplest way to create a picture chart. Based on the topic of the chart, find a relevant image or icon from the web. Take the example of a presentation chart from the education industry we have shown below.

Doesn’t it look more impressive than the ordinary column chart! Here’s how we re-designed it:

Step 1- Find a professional icon & save it as an image

If the chart was say on attendance data, a pencil icon would have been suitable. If it was on graduates passouts, a student icon wearing a graduation hat would have been a perfect representation. Similarly, a ruler icon or other objects frequently used in classroom setting can add the right flavor to your chart. Since the chart we picked up happened to talk about pass percentages, we chose this graduation hat and pencil professional PowerPoint diagram and saved it as an image in PNG format.

Step 2- Use Picture Fill to format the bars

Select the rectangular column bars, right click and click Format Data Series. A Format Data Series window will open to the right. Go to the Fill & Line tab and under Fill, select the Picture or texture fill radio button (see the screenshot below). Locate the image on your system and open it.

Step 3- Reduce the Gap Width

When you insert a picture into a column, it will take the shape of the rectangle’s width. The images might look squished and ugly upon adding. But there’s a PowerPoint hack to smooth out the image and make it look perfect. Here’s it. Go to the Series Options tab under Format Data Series. Reduce the Gap Width to 0% or a small number until the image appears in its right dimension (see the screenshot below). The default gap width in our slide was 219% which we reduced to 8%.

Step 4- Add or Remove Chart Elements

Let’s remove all the redundant elements from the chart to make it look even better. Simply click on the chart area that’ll open 3 menus to the right of the chart. Click on the + menu (Chart Elements) and remove the elements you do not need (see the screenshot below). For instance, in this case we did not need the Chart Title and Legend. We deselected that.

If you want to show the exact data numbers next to the bars, simply select the Data Labels option from the Chart Elements menu (see the screenshot below).

We also gave a light gray background fill to the slide and chose an impressive font using the same colors as that of the image in the chart. Basically, this is a 2-minute hack: Find the image, fill the columns with the picture chosen and reduce gap width to get the right proportions- that’s all!

Hack #2- Change the Color of Each Picture Bar

It’s not necessary to add the same visual in all bars. PowerPoint allows us to format each data point individually too. We can do two things over here-

Use the same visual for each data point but in different colors

Use a different image for each data point

Using the same icon/image in different colors

The benefit of choosing icons to represent your data is that it can be customized as per your branding colors. For example, in the chart below, we downloaded an icon of a building since the data was on real estate. Being a vector icon, we chose different shades of the same color and saved each building as an image.

Using a different icon/image for each data point

Likewise, you can choose a separate image for each data point if you are showing comparison between different brands.

Steps to Create This Picture Chart

Double click on a single rectangular bar till it gets highlighted. Right click on the selected bar and click Format Data Point (see the screenshot below). Since only one data point was selected, PowerPoint shows Format Data Point this time instead of Format Data Series.

The rest steps are the same- A Format Data Point window will open on the right. Use the Picture or texture fill to insert the image for each data point. Increase or decrease the Gap Width to make images proportional.

Hack #3- Add an Icon/Image Behind Each Default Bar

The third way to create a picture chart is to insert the basic, default column chart on your slide. No need to click Picture fill to insert an icon or image. Here, we will insert an image onto the slide and superimpose the rectangular bars and image so that to the audience, it will appear as though images have been used. Confused? Look at the column chart on soft drink consumption in the slide below:

How This Chart Was Created:

Step 1- Insert a Column Chart

Insert a chart and edit the same as per your data:

Step 2- Superimpose Icon and the Chart

When you download an icon, customize it to match the dimensions of the rectangular bars. Use the same width as that of the bars. Here is an icon of a soft drink bottle that we customized to match the bars:

Select these icons, go to the Format tab and click Send Backward > Send to Back (see the screenshot below):

Hack #4- Use Stacks in Bars

Another creative use of images in charts is to stack them up. An icon might not look good taking up so much space on a chart. When that happens, you can use this hack. Stacks of that icon will make the slide look creative and add interest to otherwise boring data. Here’s an example of a stacked column chart:

Steps to Create This Picture Chart

Step 1 (same)- Insert Picture Using Picture Fill

Select the rectangular bars, right click and click Format Data Series. Select the Picture or texture fill radio button from the Fill menu.

Step 2 (New)- Use the Stack option

As soon as you locate the file on your system and click Open, the default Stretch option is highlighted. Select the Stack radio button (see the screenshot below) and the image will appear in stacks giving a unique look to your chart!

Cool, isn’t it?

Hack #5- Use Images + Icons

Addition of small design elements can create a big difference in the look of your chart design. So, in this fifth hack we will be creating a basic picture chart but at the same time also add icons next to each picture bar. We are doing this not just to make the chart look more pretty but to add more value to the data. Check out the chart on world’s top 5 tallest countries below. Flag icons of each country are a value addition making the whole slide look more informative and attention-grabbing at the same time.

Notice how the vertical axis in this chart is at the top rather than the default bottom. Also notice how the data labels are aligned perfectly in one line. Learn how to do these tweaks to your chart from the steps below:

Steps to Create This Picture Chart

Step 1 (same)- Insert Picture Using Picture Fill

Step 2 (same)- Reduce the Gap Width to Make Images Proportional

Step 3 (new)- Position the Horizontal Axis at Top

The default axis position is at the bottom of the rectangular bars. Click on the horizontal axis at the bottom, right click and click Format Axis (see the screenshot below).

The Format Axis menu will open to the right. Click the Axis Options tab (corer right), open the Labels menu and change the Label Position from default Low to High (see the screenshot below):

Step 4- Add Icons below the Top Axis

It’s your wish to add icons (flags of the respective countries in this case) below the top axis or below the images. Ideally, icons would look good below the axis. You have to add the icons manually to the slide and manually position the same.

Step 5- Add Data Labels

We can add data values to the slide to make it even easier for the audience to interpret the data. Simply click on the chart area and the + menu (Chart Elements) to the right and select Data Labels (see the screenshot below). Select each data point individually and move it to the desired location (we moved each data label a little higher and below the flags). In the process, gray lines will be formed between the start position and the end position. Simply click on the gray lines and press Delete.

Done! The slide looks chart perfect.

Hack #6- Place the Column Chart on an Image

Another innovative use of a picture chart is to add a realistic image of the subject being discussed and place the column chart on that image. To help you understand what we mean, take a look at the picture chart on truck accidents on highways below. The image of the truck immediately tells you the slide is on trucks and the empty back of the truck is creatively used to place the data.

Notice how the rectangular bars in the column chart are also pictorially designed with each bar resembling a truck. It’s your discretion however to use a normal column chart or further make modifications to the chart like we did. Either way, the chart looks innovative and stands out from usual charts and graphs.

How to Create This Picture Chart:

Step 1- Insert the Larger Image

Based on the topic of the data, choose an image that can can work as the base of the column chart. We found image of an open truck. If you are presenting marketing or sales data across different continents, a globe for instance can work as a good base.

Step 2- Insert the Column Chart

Go to the Insert tab, Chart menu and add the Column Chart. Edit the data and place the chart over the image.

Step 3- Use Pattern Fill in Bars

If you want to recreate the bars as we did in the “Truck crashes” slide, select the bars, right click and click Format Data Series. Select the Pattern Fill radio button and choose the Light Vertical option (see the screenshot below):

Step 4- Add Visual Element/Icon over the bars

Locate an image relevant to the topic or an icon and place it above the bars. If the bars represent different products or companies, you can add their logos. Since our chart depicted data on trucks, we took the front portion of the truck and placed it above the bars making the four bars appear like trucks.

Step 5- Customize the Gridlines of the Chart

You can also customize the Gridlines from the Chart Elements options. Go to the Gridlines menu, deselect Primary Major Horizontal and select the Primary Major Vertical. You can customize it further and change the color and thickness of the line by clicking More Options...

So these were 6 variations of picture charts that you can try for your presentation. Choose the right images and icons to create a professional picture chart. Do not choose a blurry image. If you are unable to find a good icon or image, then go for the default column chart look.

If the chart lends itself to creative imagery, then go for it!

Professionally Designed & Editable Picture Charts

Creative PowerPoint Chart #1

You can use the above hacks if you are using bar charts too. The difference between a column chart and a bar chart is that while column charts consist of vertical bars, bar charts consist of horizontal bars. Here’s an editable, data-driven bar chart that follows this hack:

Creative PowerPoint Chart #2

You can also have multiple categories and still use images without any trouble. Here’s one such data driven PowerPoint chart:

Creative PowerPoint Chart #3

Here’s a creative PowerPoint chart that combines a realistic image and column chart:

Creative PowerPoint Chart #4

For charts showcasing data on health and lifestyle, creative data visualizations like this editable PowerPoint chart can be used:

Using such picture charts ensures that your data would be remembered by the audience- a rare accomplishment where charts and graphs are concerned. What do you think about these charts? Give us your feedback in the comments below.