StretchLearn Course

Make charts people actually understand

A designer-focused path from a messy spreadsheet to a clear, honest, on-brand data story.

Beginner10 hr 5 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Designers are increasingly handed spreadsheets and asked to make them make sense. This course teaches the craft behind professional data visualisation: how human perception ranks visual encodings, how to match a chart to the question, how to design accessible colour, and how to build dashboards and narrative data stories. You work in approachable tools such as Datawrapper, Flourish, and Tableau Public, and finish able to take a messy dataset all the way to a clear, on-brand, defensible visual.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Choose the correct chart type by matching the data shape and the question to the most accurate visual encoding

Apply perception research such as the Cleveland-McGill hierarchy, preattentive attributes, and Gestalt grouping to design clearer charts

Build accessible, colour-blind-safe palettes using ColorBrewer, Viz Palette, and contrast checks

Reduce clutter with a data-ink discipline and a clear visual hierarchy of title, annotation, and reference lines

Produce finished charts and a multi-chart dashboard in Datawrapper, Flourish, and Tableau Public

Structure a data story with a clear message, honest framing, and annotation that guides the reader to the insight

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: How People Read a Chart

Start with the science of perception so every later choice has a reason behind it. This module replaces personal taste with research about how the eye and brain actually decode a chart.

3 lessons

Why Some Charts Just Work and Others Don'tContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

The Cleveland-McGill Accuracy HierarchyContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Preattentive Attributes and Gestalt GroupingContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Choosing the Right Chart

Move from perception to practice: pick the chart that matches your data and your question, and avoid the chart types that quietly mislead.

3 lessons

Match the Chart to the QuestionContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Bars, Lines, Scatter, and When to Use EachContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Charts That Mislead and How to Avoid ThemContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Colour, Type, and Clutter

Make charts clear and accessible: build colour palettes that work for everyone, set type for legibility, and strip away everything that is not data or essential context.

3 lessons

Colour Systems for DataContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Accessible and Colour-Blind-Safe PalettesContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Typography, Labels, and the Data-Ink RatioContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Dashboards and Data Stories

Assemble individual charts into dashboards and narrative stories, and build them in real tools so you leave with finished, shareable work.

3 lessons

Building Your First Charts in Datawrapper and FlourishContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Dashboard Layout and Information HierarchyContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Telling a Story with DataContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

data visualisationchart designdashboard designdata storytellingcolour accessibilityDatawrapperFlourishperception and Gestalt