Back to all posts
FP&A
November 29, 2023

Today's misleading infographic

The Raconteur supplement in the Times contains a large centre spread infographic entitled “How UK compares to European rivals”.

The supplement in today’s Times newspaper published by Raconteur contains a large centre spread infographic entitled “How UK compares to European rivals”. The right hand side of this infographic contains the graph below, which is entitled “Manufacturing Contribution to EU-4 Mid Market”.

Manufacturing Contribution to EU Market Chart

It is clear from the flags at the base of the graph that each of the four bars represents one of the four EU Big 4 (Germany, UK, Italy and France). However, it is much less clear what the four segments within each of the bars mean. They are described in the legend as "Firms", "Revenue", "Employees" and "GDP" and there is a percentage value within each segment. Unfortunately, the percentages within the bars do not add up to 100% (and neither do the percentages in segments of the same colour).My interpretation is of the chart is that the values for each country represent (a) the percentage that manufacturing firms represent of mid market firms, (b) the percentage of mid market revenues that manufacturing firms represent, (c) the percentage of employees in mid market firms who work in manufacturing and (d) the percentage of mid market GDP represented by the manufacturing sector.More importantly, this graphic completely violates the key principle of the stacked bar chart, namely that the total bar itself should represent something meaningful. It appears that the the designer of the infographic has simply left a tall thin space on the right of the picture which needed some content and a quick way of creating a tall thin chart was to stack four sets of unrelated data together.

What’s a Rich Text element?

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

  • ffff
  • ffff
Metapraxis
Company news and insights
We have been working with finance teams for nearly 40 years. We've built up an in-depth understanding of finance needs, and all of that experience has been embedded in our Empower product.
Popular POst
FP&A
Today's misleading infographic
Follow us

Latest Posts

Navigating Challenges in Construction
eBooks
Navigating Challenges in Construction
Explore how the construction industry confronts economic volatility, technological integration, and strategic decisions. Uncover the effects of economic downturns and policy shifts, delve into the significance of digital transformation, and grasp strategies for bolstering resilience through innovation.
Read more
Navigating a 2024 Tech Investment Slowdown
FP&A
Navigating a 2024 Tech Investment Slowdown
Managing Internal Tech Investment Slowdowns in 2024 with savvy finance strategies: streamline operations, rethink ROI, and set dynamic objectives for a resilient financial approach.
Read more
What does 2024 look like for FP&A teams?
FP&A
What does 2024 look like for FP&A teams?
2024 poses unique challenges for FP&A teams amidst a shifting financial landscape. Here we delve into the anticipated obstacles, developmental prospects, and socio-economic trends that will shape the course of businesses in the upcoming year.
Read more