How to Master Custom Chart Design in Six Simple Steps

Customization is common in both life and work, representing tailoring, fitting, and exclusive design.

01. Steps to Customize a Chart

After mastering chart design rules and techniques, the workflow can be standardized into six clear steps.

Step 1: Determine Chart Style

Choose the style based on the boss's preference, industry attributes, and application context. Three common styles for business charts are:

Government Report : Formal, rigorous, accurate; suitable for government agencies, state‑owned enterprises, and other entities that value precision. Business Report : Professional, standardized, concise; widely applicable across industries and often the default choice when preferences are unknown. News Media : Flexible, innovative, eye‑catching; emphasizes strong visual impact and is best for media outlets focused on dissemination.

Step 2: Set Unified Font

If an organization has a prescribed font, use it directly. Otherwise, recommended fonts are:

Government reports: Song + Black.

Business reports: Microsoft YaHei or the open‑source Source Han Sans.

News media: No strict limits; any suitable font may be used.

For government reports, font sizes are divided into four levels:

Level 1 : Main title – 14pt Black, bold, centered.

Level 2 : Sub‑title, axis titles, axis labels, legend – 10pt Song, sub‑title bold.

Level 3 : Data labels, units – 9pt Song.

Level 4 : Data source, explanatory text, notes – 8pt Song.

Emphasis is achieved by bolding text on the appropriate level. Alignment rules: horizontal elements (titles, legends, units, data source, explanatory text) left‑aligned; axis titles positioned left or right as needed; vertical axis titles top‑aligned or bottom‑aligned accordingly.

Step 3: Define Unified Colors

Chart colors are split into three parts: text colors, auxiliary element colors (axis lines, grid lines, borders), and line/fill colors. Text and auxiliary colors are usually shades of gray or black, organized into four levels:

Level 1 : Main text (excluding data source and explanatory text) – black (15% lightness).

Level 2 : Data source and explanatory text – black (15% lightness).

Level 3 : Axis lines – white (35% darkness).

Level 4 : Grid line labels and units – white (15% darkness).

Choosing line and fill colors follows a hierarchy: primary color (most used), secondary color (gradient or analogous to primary), and accent color (contrasting to primary, used sparingly for highlights). The principle of “clear contrast” means using the primary color for positive values and the accent color for negative values; “consistent throughout” means applying the same palette across the entire template.

Step 4: Standardize Chart‑Specific Details

Each chart type has its own set of parameters (e.g., column charts need gap width, border style, and width; line charts need line weight, marker style, and fill). These details must be defined consistently.

Step 5: Define Element Details

Key element settings include:

Axis : Category axis – 1pt white (35% darkness) solid line; hide value‑axis line.

Grid lines : 0.25pt white (15% darkness) short dashes.

Data label placement : Outside for column/bar charts; above for line/area charts; appropriate placement for scatter/bubble charts; inside or near for pie/donut charts.

Decimal places : Percentages keep one decimal; other data keep none.

Chart size : Width 12.7 cm, height 7.6 cm (adjust as needed).

Step 6: Add Final Decorations

Enhance the chart with fill, shadow, logo, and simple line decorations to improve visual quality without overdoing it.

Fill : Apply a gradient of the primary color to distinguish the chart background from the report background.

Shadow : Use a 70% transparent version of the primary color (size 100 %, blur 5 pt, angle 0°, distance 0 pt) to add depth.

Logo : Place the organization’s logo (e.g., COFCO Group) in the upper left (graphic part) and upper right (text part), aligning heights with titles and legends.

Line decoration : Add a simple 2 pt primary‑color line (2.7 cm long) at the lower right corner to fill empty space.