Pies, bars, columns, and lines – we’re all used to seeing these types of charts and graphs. And that’s the problem. Too often we see the same tools used again and again simply because they’re familiar, not necessarily because they’re the right ones for the job.

It goes without saying, but picking the right tool is a key step in the data viz process, and Excel offers an impressive range of options. There are 20+ fully customizable chart templates for you to choose from, so it’s time to ditch the bar chart and get creative.

Excel gives you the tools to visualize virtually any type of data relationship – from hierarchies and trends to compositions and distributions – using specialized charts like tree maps, sunbursts, waterfalls and scatter plots.

Don’t settle for the same old charts — dive into Excel’s data viz toolkit and learn how to bring your data to life!

If you’re looking at Excel’s default color palettes and chart styles and thinking, “this just isn’t on brand,” I have some news for you. Excel is all about personalization, and offers virtually unlimited customization options.

Don’t worry about getting stuck with a template that doesn’t fit your style to a T. You can customize every element of your charts, from colors, styles and labels to legends, markers, titles, and more.

Here’s a bonus: If you’re happy with a style you’ve designed and want your whole organization to follow suit, simply save it as a custom template and apply it to other visuals with the click of a button!

It’s Monday morning, and your boss just asked for a daily report showing trends across 10 different KPIs. You collect the data, spend all day creating a beautiful, polished dashboard, and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

The only catch? She needs the report by 9am every morning, and it takes you over an hour to load the new data and update each individual chart range. Looks like you’re in for some early mornings…

Now before you resign yourself to the role of reporting monkey, here’s a pro tip: with OFFSET and COUNTA functions, you’ll never have to worry about manually updating your charts again.

These functions allow you to create dynamic, named ranges so that instead of relying on fixed cell ranges (i.e. A1:A10), your visuals update automatically as source data is added or removed. Trust me, you’ll never go back.

Automation is the key to building efficient and functional dashboards. With a little practice, these techniques can help you eliminate manual reports and absolutely revolutionize your workflow.

When it comes to managing recurring dashboards and reports, it’s tempting to fall back on the safe, tried-and-true “brute force” approach. Sure it might take an extra couple hours, but hey — it’s just the way it’s always been done, right?

I’ve seen it a thousand times, and I beg you to break those terrible habits. All that time you spend tediously copying and pasting data could (and should) be spent actually analyzing it. Exploring it. Understanding it.

Luckily, Excel’s here to help. With a few clever functions, you can fully automate the process of blending, filtering, segmenting, and visualizing your raw data.

For example, by leveraging conditional stats functions like SUMIFS and COUNTIFS, you can apply custom criteria to not only filter and segment your raw data, but feed it directly into charts and graphs to create turnkey reports. Add some conditional formatting and user controls, and BOOM — you’ve got a dynamic and fully interactive dashboard.

Did someone say promotion??

There’s a common misconception that Excel is for the dry and unimaginative. But if you’re willing to think beyond rows and columns, you can push the boundaries of data visualization beyond what most think is possible.

Here’s a tip: don’t settle for default templates or out-of-the-box settings. Channel the mad scientist in you and experiment with different templates and configurations to create visualizations that tell your story clearly and boldly.

What you never thought would work together may actually result in harmony, like combining scatter plots with donuts to create unique gauge charts, or using advanced array functions to generate custom grids and graphs.

Want to really make your mark and give your audience something they’ve never seen before? Import your own graphics and create personalized image overlay charts. When it comes to visualizing data in Excel, the biggest limitation is your own creativity.