In my prior post, I sketched a few options for a performing arts organization’s fictional ticket sales data:

IMG_8105

 

I intentionally separated the year-by-year bars from the total bar with a little extra space. I don’t want all the bars mushed together.

Easy to sketch on paper.

But easy in Excel?

Yes!

Here’s the default Excel graph.

Yuck.

Emery_Stacked-Bar-Chart_Default

 

Here’s the mostly edited version: reduced clutter; custom color; labels directly beside the data; reduced gap width.

Emery_Stacked-Bar-Chart_Nearly-Done

 

The secret strategy for nudging one of the bars over to the right: Add an empty column to your data table.

Emery_Stacked-Bar-Chart_Final-Version

 

Bonus: Download my spreadsheet. Apply my secret to your own projects. Post a comment and let me know how you’ve applied this technique!