WHP Information Graphics Making complex information clear, one chart at a time

WHP Information Graphics

Making complex information clear, one chart at a time

Latest Articles

The Shape of the Wait: Drawing NHS Elective Queues So the Tail Stops Hiding
Public Health Data Visualisation

The Shape of the Wait: Drawing NHS Elective Queues So the Tail Stops Hiding

Monthly elective waiting figures usually arrive as one number and one rising line, which tells the public how many people are waiting but almost nothing about how long. This article sets out a practical visual grammar for NHS waiting-time graphics: proportional time bands, medians paired with the longest waits, specialty small multiples on a shared axis, and threshold lines that inform rather than reassure.
The Two-Second Contract: What Overhead Motorway Signs Demand of Every Alert
Accessibility and Design

The Two-Second Contract: What Overhead Motorway Signs Demand of Every Alert

At motorway speed, an overhead variable message sign is not read so much as glimpsed. Its brutal character limits, amber hierarchy and legal obligations offer a practical discipline for any communicator designing alerts, dashboards and headlines for a moving audience.
The Domestic Dosing Problem: Designing Medicine Instructions That Work Beyond the Pharmacy Counter
Public Health Data Visualisation

The Domestic Dosing Problem: Designing Medicine Instructions That Work Beyond the Pharmacy Counter

UK pharmacy labels carry regulatory wording, pictograms and multiple instructions. At the kitchen table, those layers can collapse into confusion. This article examines how hierarchy, colour and repetition can turn a dosing schedule into a graphic that survives low light, tired eyes and the distractions of home.
Fiscal Data Visualisation

The Journey from Gross to Net: A Visual Grammar for the UK Payslip

Most people read a payslip for one number, yet the document exists to explain several. This article proposes a layered visual structure that leads with net pay, traces every deduction from gross pay, and keeps statutory reference detail visible rather than buried.
Bin Day Is a Promise, Not a Poster: Designing Waste Calendars That Keep It
Accessibility and Design

Bin Day Is a Promise, Not a Poster: Designing Waste Calendars That Keep It

A waste collection calendar is not a decorative notice; it is an instruction that has to work when someone is standing in a hallway with one shoe on. This article sets out practical visual rules for council bin schedules, from icon redundancy and bank-holiday exceptions to a three-part test on a phone, a fridge door and a wet Monday morning.
Shades of Maybe: Drawing UK Broadband Coverage So the Gaps Speak
Accessibility and Design

Shades of Maybe: Drawing UK Broadband Coverage So the Gaps Speak

Broadband coverage maps often turn a patchwork of premises-level rollout data into confident blocks of colour. This article sets out a visual grammar for showing what 'available' actually means, separating premises passed from premises connected and giving rural gaps a visible, readable voice.
Beyond the Blue Line: Designing Flood Risk Graphics That Show Range, Depth and Doubt
Environmental Risk Visualisation

Beyond the Blue Line: Designing Flood Risk Graphics That Show Range, Depth and Doubt

UK flood maps are among the most consequential graphics public bodies produce, yet the crisp blue edge they draw implies a certainty the underlying modelling does not possess. This piece examines how return periods, binary zones and confident colour mislead, and sets out a redesign approach built on depth, speed, timing and honest uncertainty.
The Stranger at the Stop: Bus Diagrams That Answer Whether You Can Get There From Here
Accessibility and Design

The Stranger at the Stop: Bus Diagrams That Answer Whether You Can Get There From Here

Most UK bus diagrams are organised around the operator's network rather than the passenger's question. This design critique looks at what London-style spider maps get right, where regional leaflets and shelter posters fall short, and sets out a practical testing checklist for graphics viewed on phones, at shelters and in poor light.
Two Minutes in the Rain: Giving Weather Warnings a Hierarchy That Survives a Phone Screen
Public Health Data Visualisation

Two Minutes in the Rain: Giving Weather Warnings a Hierarchy That Survives a Phone Screen

Met Office warnings pack hazard, likelihood, impact and geography into a single shaded map, yet most people meet them on a handset while walking to a station. This article sets out a glanceable hierarchy that keeps the official risk level intact while making the essential facts readable in seconds.
Tidy Polygons, Uneven Ground: Mapping Postcode Data Without Flattening the Places Behind It
Accessibility and Design

Tidy Polygons, Uneven Ground: Mapping Postcode Data Without Flattening the Places Behind It

Postcode-level choropleths have become the default visual for UK local data, yet their clean shapes conceal unequal populations, lookup uncertainty and boundary mismatches. Here is a practical framework for choosing, annotating and caveating postcode geography so that maps illuminate rather than mislead.
Aisle Logic: Designing Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels for the Three-Second Decision
Public Health Data Visualisation

Aisle Logic: Designing Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels for the Three-Second Decision

Front-of-pack nutrition labels are meant to guide a quick choice in the supermarket aisle, but small type, inconsistent colour coding and mismatched comparison bases often slow the shopper down. This article compares UK labelling approaches and proposes a clearer visual hierarchy that supports comparison without turning the pack into a data dump.
The Compact Grammar of the Crease: What Cricket Scorecards Teach UK Public Tables
Accessibility and Design

The Compact Grammar of the Crease: What Cricket Scorecards Teach UK Public Tables

A cricket scorecard is one of the most compressed data displays in sport, yet readers can find a bowler's economy rate or a batter's dismissal without instruction. This article examines the notation, hierarchy and progressive disclosure behind that feat and applies them to UK public-sector tables and financial reports that too often overwhelm rather than inform.
Small Screens, Big Claims: Designing UK Charts That Read in Seconds
Accessibility and Design

Small Screens, Big Claims: Designing UK Charts That Read in Seconds

Most UK charts are now met on a handset, in a feed, between two other distractions. This piece sets out a practical five-second test for static graphics, with before-and-after cases from transport, health and local government, and a frank view of when interactivity helps and when it simply conceals the story.
What the Standing Charge Hides: Redesigning UK Energy Bills as Honest Graphics
Fiscal Data Visualisation

What the Standing Charge Hides: Redesigning UK Energy Bills as Honest Graphics

An energy bill is a financial statement that most households read once and understand partially. This article sets out a before-and-after redesign that separates standing charges, unit rates, estimated consumption and policy levies, works within Ofgem's presentation requirements, and argues that a good graphic must show both what a household pays and why.
The Quiet Art of the Queue Board: Visual Lessons from UK Waiting Displays
Accessibility and Design

The Quiet Art of the Queue Board: Visual Lessons from UK Waiting Displays

Theme park queue boards, rail departure screens and NHS waiting-time displays are everyday examples of real-time visual storytelling under pressure. This article extracts five reusable principles for public-service dashboards that need to inform without overwhelming.
Fiscal Data Visualisation

From Ledger to Headline: Making Council Performance Dashboards Readable in 2026

Council performance dashboards often contain the right figures but hide the story behind equal-weight tiles and technical labels. This practical critique sets out five design moves for 2026, from leading with one accountable metric to publishing a clear update rhythm.
Six Charts, One Household: Making the 2026 Budget Legible Without Distortion
Fiscal Data Visualisation

Six Charts, One Household: Making the 2026 Budget Legible Without Distortion

The November 2026 Budget will arrive with OBR tables, IFS analysis and a blizzard of £ billions. This craft guide sets out six chart forms that translate fiscal totals into human scale without overselling precision, with spreadsheet-ready steps for communicators.
Colour Is Not Decoration: Making UK Charts Readable for Every Eye
Accessibility and Design

Colour Is Not Decoration: Making UK Charts Readable for Every Eye

Red-green heatmaps remain common in UK public reporting, yet roughly one in twelve men cannot read them reliably. This pragmatic guide shows how to swap palettes, add redundant labels and meet contrast expectations without losing visual impact.