I often come across charts that don't label the bars, lines, scales, etc. directly, and instead force readers to "look up" what those chart elements represent somewhere else in the chart, i.e., in legends, footnotes, etc. While charts like this are readable, they force a lot of work onto the reader:

Labeling chart elements directly makes the chart easier to read:

There are times, however, when direct labelling can look a bit "messy," so a legend and/or footnotes might be warranted to keep the chart clean looking. If you're not sure, try both.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below!

BTW…
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