The editors managing the Visualizing Data Insight Center have asked us to submit visualizations that we find compelling or effective. Mine won’t win any design awards, but I was so struck by it that I passed it along.
A Quartz article on the IPO of hipster journal company Moleskine included this chart that comes from the company’s prospectus.
Now, if I had read a paragraph of text Moleskine marketers had written that said, “Moleskine is not a stationery company — in fact it’s the opposite of a stationery company!” I likely would have rolled my eyes and glossed over the rest of the positioning.
This simple 2×2 chart, though, conveys that idea better than any text ever could, without any marketing jargon, and in a way that leaves an impression with me. There is some craft here as well, despite the artless design. For example, the two axes could be positioned any other way, with Identity on the right, or bottom, or left, but by positioning the axes as they have, Moleskine ends up by itself in the top right — the classic position for success on charts.
I’m not saying I’m going to run out and buy share, but this example struck me immediately when I saw it.
An HBR Insight Center
