Data-Journal

SIGNATURE DEVICE — “The Annotated Figure”

A W&W graphic is the one with the callout note tied to a single data point — an original figure that argues one idea, in grey, with one mark in colour and a source line beneath it.

Palette — “Field Notebook” (grey is the data · pine is the frame · one accent is the argument)

#F4F1E9Manila — paper field

#ECE7DAManila Deep — ruled panel

#1B1C18Field Ink — frame & titles

#3A3B34Graphite — body text

#9A9788Survey Grey — ALL context data

#C5C1B2Faint Grey — gridlines

#1C5A3EPine Signal — axes / rules

#E2552AMarker Tangerine — the argument

Type — Fraunces (figure titles) · Archivo (decks & UI) · Space Mono (labels, axes, source)

FIGURE 4 · CONVERSION LIFT

Restraint outperforms the redesign.

The deck is set in Archivo — a grotesque that does the work of three weights without changing voice. One serif (Fraunces, optical) is reserved for the figure title alone; the body never borrows it.

0 25 50 75 100 · AXIS LABELS IN SPACE MONO, GREY, UPPERCASE

Source — W&W field measurement, n=1,420 · 2026. Every figure ends here.

The device, applied three ways

hero — one figure, one idea

data callout — one stat, one source

divider / data-mark icon

Additive texture / material — felt, not seen

Ruler grid · baseline · one argued tick the single point

Descended from — steal the system, never the costume

NYT / The PuddingOne idea per figure, and the annotation layer carries the argument — words point at the pattern. Stolen: the callout-tied-to-one-point. Rejected: their full editorial illustration register.

Datawrapper style guides“Grey is the most important colour in data-vis.” Stolen: grey = all context, one accent = the point. Rejected: multi-hue categorical rainbows.

Müller-Brockmann / SwissThe grid and the rule are the system; type does the work; black + white + one accent. Stolen: uniform single stroke, asymmetric grid. Rejected: cold Helvetica neutrality.

Stripe Press · patent drawingEditorial finish + precision marks. Stolen: a reserved serif figure-title and ruler-true ticks. Rejected: ornamental flourish and faux-blueprint costume.

Predicted rubric fit — self-scored 1–5

1 · Single Ownable Device5

2 · One-Contrarian-Choice5

3 · Ruthless Consistency5

4 · Reproducible Simplicity5

5 · Information-Bearing5

6 · Brand/System Coherence5

7 · Motion Discipline4

8 · Scales Across the Page5