Designing Charts: Using Title Case

One key aspect of design that can significantly impact the effectiveness of your visuals is the choice of case for your chart titles and labels. The title case is the recommended choice for chart titles and labels. The title case is where the first letter of each major word is capitalized, while the rest are in lowercase. For example, “World Population Growth Over Time” is written in the title case. Title case can improve readability and make your chart appear more professional.

Here are a few reasons why title case works best: 

1. Improved readability: Title case makes it easier for the reader to identify individual words and phrases in your titles and labels. This is especially important in data visualizations, where you want to minimize cognitive load and help readers quickly grasp the main message.

2. Consistent style: Using title case across all elements of your visualization creates a sense of consistency and unity, which can contribute to an overall sense of professionalism and polish.

3. Hierarchy: Title case helps to establish a clear visual hierarchy, with the most important elements (the chart title) appearing more prominent than secondary labels and data points.

 When it comes to axis labels and legends, you can also use a title case, but it’s important to ensure that the lettering is smaller than the main chart title. This helps maintain the hierarchy and makes it clear which elements are most important.