Best Data Viz
Design

Sort by Value, Not Alphabet.

Order categorical bars and dots by the metric, not by name.

On a categorical axis the eye reads ranking before it reads labels. Alphabetical order forces the reader to scan every bar to find the biggest; value-sorted order makes the ranking visible instantly. Reserve alphabetical when the user genuinely needs to look up by name (e.g. a state directory).

Cleveland, 1985; Few, 2012 · Show Me the Numbers