Archive register · 24 stock specimens

Catalogue Of Chart Work.

Filter by what the page needs, not by software. Each specimen lists the use, data needed, normal lead time and price band so an editor can brief the right thing first time.

Minimum job value is £180 + VAT. Send briefs to hello@whatthechart.com.

Grouped Bar Comparison

Best use: supplier, region or product comparisons.

Data needed: two to six comparable series.

Lead: 2 working days. Band: £180 to £260 + VAT.

Use when a ranking needs to be read, not merely noticed.

Trend Line With Notes

Best use: prices, claims, installations and monthly demand.

Data needed: time series and source note.

Lead: 2 working days. Band: £180 to £260 + VAT.

Useful when the bumps matter more than the end number.

Small Multiples

Best use: sector panels that need fair scales.

Data needed: matched categories across groups.

Lead: 3 to 5 working days. Band: £260 to £520 + VAT.

The honest option when one heroic chart would hide the story.

Stacked Share Bars

Best use: mix, spend split and survey answers.

Data needed: totals that genuinely add up.

Lead: 2 working days. Band: £180 to £260 + VAT.

Not used when tiny slices would become decorative crumbs.

Process Diagram

Best use: compliance flow, plant handling, service steps.

Data needed: ordered stages and exceptions.

Lead: 4 to 6 working days. Band: £420 to £650 + VAT.

A good process diagram makes the exception visible early.

Feature Infographic Page

Best use: research features and buyer guides.

Data needed: source pack, quotes and page size.

Lead: 7 to 10 working days. Band: £850 to £1,450 + VAT.

Built as a magazine page first, not as a poster squeezed later.

Regional Site Map

Best use: factories, depots, dealer coverage and projects.

Data needed: places, postcodes or checked coordinates.

Lead: 4 working days. Band: £360 to £620 + VAT.

Kept deliberately general unless location precision is editorially required.

Area Heat Map

Best use: density by region, not exact pin location.

Data needed: regional totals and boundaries.

Lead: 5 working days. Band: £420 to £700 + VAT.

Only used where the geography will not mislead the comparison.

Specification Table

Best use: product pages and buyer comparisons.

Data needed: clean rows, units and footnotes.

Lead: 2 to 3 working days. Band: £180 to £360 + VAT.

Units are treated as design material, not afterthoughts.

Sector Scorecard

Best use: ranked firms, product ratings and benchmark pages.

Data needed: scoring method and tie rules.

Lead: 4 to 6 working days. Band: £420 to £800 + VAT.

The method note is designed before the trophy row.

Timeline Strip

Best use: implementation, regulation and product launch dates.

Data needed: dates, labels and milestones.

Lead: 2 to 4 working days. Band: £240 to £520 + VAT.

Good for narrow columns when a full process diagram is too much.

Production Gantt

Best use: project features and installation reports.

Data needed: stages, durations and dependencies.

Lead: 4 working days. Band: £360 to £620 + VAT.

It looks simple only after the overlaps have been argued into place.

Product Anatomy

Best use: machinery, packaging and technical equipment.

Data needed: labelled parts and approved image reference.

Lead: 4 to 6 working days. Band: £420 to £650 + VAT.

Callouts are written for readers who know the subject already.

Decision Tree

Best use: standards, compliance and buying routes.

Data needed: rules and named source authority.

Lead: 5 to 7 working days. Band: £520 to £900 + VAT.

Never built from memory. Rules need a source or an editor sign-off.

Three-number Explainer

Best use: feature openers and short survey pages.

Data needed: three checked figures and captions.

Lead: 2 working days. Band: £240 to £420 + VAT.

Fast, but still sourced. Large type makes weak numbers look weaker.

Scatter With Editorial Labels

Best use: correlation stories and outliers.

Data needed: paired numeric values.

Lead: 3 to 5 working days. Band: £300 to £560 + VAT.

Only worth it when the reader understands both axes quickly.

Share Donut

Best use: simple composition when exact ranking is secondary.

Data needed: three to five parts of a whole.

Lead: 2 working days. Band: £180 to £260 + VAT.

Often replaced by bars if the slices are close together.

Buyer Matrix

Best use: good, better, best comparisons without fake scores.

Data needed: attributes and clear editorial criteria.

Lead: 4 working days. Band: £360 to £620 + VAT.

Readers can smell invented weighting. We keep the method plain.

Reader Survey Spread

Best use: annual reader polls and salary pages.

Data needed: respondent count, questions and raw totals.

Lead: 6 to 10 working days. Band: £850 to £1,450 + VAT.

Percentages are checked against respondent counts before design starts.

Captioned Sequence

Best use: installation steps and factory walkthroughs.

Data needed: ordered images or sketched stages.

Lead: 3 to 5 working days. Band: £320 to £580 + VAT.

A practical choice when the photography is useful but uneven.

Waterfall Bridge

Best use: cost movement and margin explanations.

Data needed: opening value, changes and closing value.

Lead: 3 working days. Band: £260 to £480 + VAT.

Helpful when finance copy needs a visual audit trail.

Supply Route Map

Best use: logistics flows and distribution stories.

Data needed: origin, destination, route notes and scale needs.

Lead: 4 to 6 working days. Band: £420 to £750 + VAT.

Not a navigation map. It explains the route a reader needs for the article.

Editorial Calendar Grid

Best use: events, training dates and regulatory deadlines.

Data needed: dates, categories and publication cut-off.

Lead: 2 to 3 working days. Band: £180 to £360 + VAT.

Small type is tested at print size before final artwork leaves.

Issue Data Package

Best use: six to ten charts across one magazine issue.

Data needed: flatplan, sheets and priority list.

Lead: planned around press date. Band: £1,200 to £2,400 + VAT.

Retainers for monthly titles start from £950 + VAT per month.

Magazine problems

Drawers For The Common Briefs.

Reader survey results

Send the raw totals, number of respondents, question wording and whether multiple answers were allowed. Mara will flag totals that cannot be reconciled before artwork starts.

Sector comparisons

Use bars or scorecards for clear ranking. Avoid area charts unless the scale is genuinely spatial or proportional. If the chart needs a caveat, the caveat belongs on the page.

Compliance explainers

Rules need named source material. Medical, financial or legal claims graphics require an editor signing off the interpretation before final artwork.

Product specification pages

Supply units, model names and the exact order you want readers to compare. Scanned tables can be handled but add at least one working day.

Footnotes and caveats

Pie and donut charts are refused when close slices would make the page less clear than a bar chart.
Axes are not cropped to make tiny changes look dramatic. If a cropped axis is editorially necessary, it is labelled plainly.
Political persuasion graphics, campaign attack ads and charts designed to mislead by scale, crop or omission are not accepted.
Free speculative layouts for pitches are not supplied. A paid sketch stage can be quoted for publishers with a confirmed commission.
Files are archived for 24 months after publication.

packaged InDesignPDF/X-1aoutlined IllustratorPNG cropsSVG cropsJPEG cropssource notesproof PDFs packaged InDesignPDF/X-1aoutlined IllustratorPNG cropsSVG cropsJPEG cropssource notesproof PDFs

Send The Brief By Email.

No form, no portal. Attach the sheet, the copy direction and the print size. New clients pay a 40% deposit before work starts; established publishers are invoiced on 14-day terms.

hello@whatthechart.com