What’s a visualization choice you regret making early in your career?

Unfollow Follow

Manish Menda

Updated on December 8, 2025 in

Every data professional has that one visualization mistake they look back on and cringe not because it was technically wrong, but because it taught them something fundamental about communication, perception, or human behavior. Early in our careers, we tend to focus heavily on making charts look impressive: too many colors, too many gradients, too many metrics on a single screen, complicated visuals that looked “advanced” but confused anyone who tried to interpret them.

Maybe you created a dashboard with so many filters that users didn’t know where to start. Maybe you used a pie chart with microscopic slices because it “fit the space.” Maybe you once believed that 3D charts added depth when all they added was distortion. Or you might have built an entire dashboard optimized for technical accuracy but completely ignored the decision-making flow leaving stakeholders more overwhelmed than informed.

Every data professional has that one visualization mistake they look back on and cringe not because it was technically wrong, but because it taught them something fundamental about communication, perception, or human behavior. Early in our careers, we tend to focus heavily on making charts look impressive: too many colors, too many gradients, too many metrics on a single screen, complicated visuals that looked “advanced” but confused anyone who tried to interpret them.
Maybe you created a dashboard with so many filters that users didn’t know where to start. Maybe you used a pie chart with microscopic slices because it “fit the space.” Maybe you once believed that 3D charts added depth when all they added was distortion. Or you might have built an entire dashboard optimized for technical accuracy but completely ignored the decision-making flow  leaving stakeholders more overwhelmed than informed.

Cancel

Data Visualization

1
55
4 weeks ago
0

Write your reply here to join the conversation

YOUR PREVIEW

Avatar

Subscriber

Vidhi Shah on December 8, 2025

Oh, absolutely — every data professional has that one chart they wish they could erase from history. And what’s funny is, the embarrassment rarely comes from a technical flaw. It comes from realizing later that data visualization is less about showing what we can do and more about helping someone else understand something quickly, calmly, and correctly.

When we’re early in the game, we equate complexity with mastery. More colors means more sophistication. More metrics on the screen means more insight. More filters means more control. A 3D bar chart? That used to feel like peak analytics.