Mastering the Basics: A Novice’s Guide to Tables
Explore the key principles of effective table creation, often overlooked in traditional courses. This guide is a valuable resource for designers and anyone interested in designing user-friendly, data-rich tables. Harness the power of ergonomics and information in your tables, starting with the fundamentals.
A table is about ergonomics
A typical table consists of:
When you create a table in applications like Excel or Numbers, the template already includes pre-defined areas that are coloured differently. This design choice aims to enhance the ease of visually locating and identifying each distinct block within the table.
A table is created to organize and present a large amount of data. The primary goal of table design is to assist the eye in efficiently navigating through the abundance of numbers, letters, lines, and columns. Hence, the techniques and principles explained below focus solely on ergonomics, disregarding aesthetics.
A fundamental rule is that increasing visual noise makes it difficult for the eye to filter and the brain to identify necessary information. Therefore, a key strategy for designers is to eliminate visual noise as much as possible.
It may seem that it has become worse. You’re not imagining it! But it’s temporary. We’ll fix everything now with a couple of reliable techniques. But first:
Use a monospaced font for numbers
"Monospaced" means that characters have equal width.
In the picture, on the left, it appears that parameter A has a smaller value than parameter B. However, in reality, parameter A is about 100 times larger. This misperception is due to the differing widths of the numbers, which can create a false impression if the digits are not taken into account.
When selecting a font for numbers in tables, it is recommended to choose monospaced fonts. Examples include Courier, which is commonly available on most computers, or any font from the monospace category in Google Fonts.
Monospaced fonts offer an additional benefit: they prevent confusion between the letter "O" and the number "0" by crossing out the zero. This distinction is helpful for clarity.
In some cases, you can also consider using a font like Arial, although its numbers may not have the same width. However, the difference between the number "1" and "0" is still not as drastic. It is important to remain vigilant and attentive even with such fonts to avoid any potential confusion.
Align text to the left
It’s better to align the text to the left margin. This forms a neat edge across the entire table, along which the eye can easily glide. You can also do away with vertical lines in the table: the straight edge of the text will form a column that the eye can freely move along, without getting lost or confused.
Rows are necessary
Such tricks with rows, as with columns, rarely work. Therefore, it’s necessary to help the eye maintain the line. There are 2 effective methods:
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I prefer lines: they are less “intrusive”, but sometimes zebra stripes look better purely aesthetically.
Whatever you choose, it’s important to select such a colour and brightness so that they do not interfere with data perception, and do not “create noise”. But they should be noticeable enough to help the eye run along the line:
Don’t stretch the table
Distance between data: try to ensure that there are no large gaps either vertically or horizontally. Gaps interfere with the eye’s ability to compare and group information. Therefore, if they can’t be avoided, you can try to reduce the distances. For example:
Column and row titles are usually less important than the data
You need to help the eye clearly separate the data from the titles. There are several techniques:
I usually reduce the size by 3–4 points and make it all in uppercase.
The key point to remember is that people primarily focus on the data when looking at a table. Consequently, column names should not overshadow the data itself. It's advisable to avoid excessive formatting such as increasing font size, bolding, or using accent colours unless you are confident in what you doing.
Avoid overcrowding column titles with lengthy text or unnecessary details. Aim for concise and straightforward headings. Consider using a condensed font style if appropriate.
You have the flexibility to combine multiple columns under a single header or explore other creative approaches while ensuring the information remains clear and accessible.
Thank you for reading. This translation of my article from Russian was originally published on Medium, and rewritten with ChatGPT, using the simplify the text prompt.
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