Paul Graham says make something people want.

For me, it’s make charts people want to read.

I’m constantly reading trading books and studying other people’s charts. Some charts are very good, but some are very bad.

Before I can define what a good chart is, I need to define what I think a bad chart is.

Here’s what I think makes a bad chart:

  • Small text
  • Poor context
  • Hard to read lines
  • Dark background
  • Poor or no labels
  • Text that is separate from the chart yet still describing the chart
  • Too much information / trying to make too many points / unfocused
  • No fun

And here’s what I think makes a good chart:

  • Large text
  • Enough context so that the user instantly grasps what the chart is trying to say
  • Clear lines that are easy to read
  • Light background
  • Sufficient labels
  • On-chart annotations
  • Sufficient/focused information to get a single point across
  • Emits a sense of fun (emojis, graphics, conversational text)

I want to look at a chart and get it right away.

I want to tab through images as though they are slides to understand the big picture.

I think a good measure for the best charts is when I want to print a chart off and frame it on my wall.

It’s important to find your own style and taste, but it needs to align with making charts that people want to read.

There’s a YCombinator article about how to design a better pitch deck. It has three rules:

  1. Make it legible
  2. Make it simple
  3. Make it obvious

I can apply those rules to charts. Each chart is a slide in a pitch deck.

Future blog posts:

  • How to Make Charts People Want to Read
  • How to Design Better Charts

Make charts people want to read is the driving force behind everything I’m trying to do. If I make charts people want to read, then everything follows.

If I focus on making charts people want to read:

  • I’m getting better at chart pattern recognition
  • I’m making content that people want
  • I’m thinking clearer
  • I’m doing deliberate practice instead of aimlessly looking at charts and learning about new setups
  • My charts database grows
  • I get better at trading
  • I become the authority on making charts people want to read because nobody else is focused on this as far as I can tell
  • I help other people learn how to make money in stocks