Unit 12.01: Reading order, and where the eye lands first

Reading order is decided by placement, not by numbering the charts.

Five zones, decreasing attention

Where the eye goes, and what belongs in each zone.

The code lays them out.

ZONES = [
    ("top left",     "read first",  "the headline number and its comparison"),
    ("top right",    "read second", "the trend behind that number"),
    ("middle",       "scanned",     "the breakdown that explains it"),
    ("bottom",       "read last",   "detail, method, caveats"),
    ("below the fold", "often never", "nothing the argument depends on"),
]
print(f"{'zone':16} {'attention':12} put here")
for zone, attention, content in ZONES:
    print(f"{zone:16} {attention:12} {content}")

print("""
Reading order is a design decision you make by placement, not by numbering the
charts. Anything the argument depends on goes above the fold, because a
reader who scrolls is already a reader you have persuaded to stay.
""")

Top-left is read first, which follows directly from position being the strongest visual channel in Module 8. Below the fold is often never read at all.

That last row is the one to design around: anything the argument depends on goes above the fold, because a reader who scrolls has already been persuaded to stay.

The mistake this prevents

The mistake is arranging charts by the order you built them, or by data source. Neither has anything to do with the argument, and the reader will follow the layout regardless of what the commentary says.

Takeaway

Place the finding top-left and keep everything the argument depends on above the fold. Reading order is set by placement, not by numbering.

Mark complete