HOW TO MAKE A SCATTER PLOT IN ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR

[Pages:21]HOW TO MAKE A SCATTER PLOT IN ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR

by Jeff Bennett | Digital Splash Media

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRO

Page 3

01

Get the Data

Page 4

02

Get the Data into Illustrator

Pages 5?9

03

Styling a Scatter Plot in Illustrator

Pages 10?21

by Jeff Bennett | Digital Splash Media

2

WHY SCATTER PLOTS?

Scatter plots are a great way to show correlation between two variables. They're extremely easy to create in Google Docs, Microsoft Excel, and Open Office. But if you want to go beyond the limited styling that those applications allow, you might consider creating your scatter plot in Adobe Illustrator. But, making a scatter plot in Illustrator is a little less intuitive than these other applications.

This step-by-step guide will show you how to get your data into Illustrator and style your scatter plot to your liking.

The Scenario

I created an infographic about the 2012 Major League Baseball season that compares data and shows correlations of aspects of the games to wins, for example how well a teams's home runs, or hits, or ERA, or payroll correlates to wins. So for this example, I'll show how to create a scatter plot that shows the correlation of team payrolls to wins for the 2012 season.

by Jeff Bennett | Digital Splash Media

3

STEP 1 - GET THE DATA

The first thing you'll need of course is the data. For my project, I culled data from a variety of sources and input it into a Google Docs spreadsheet. In this example, I wanted to show the correlation of each team's payroll to its total wins for the 2012 season. So, for this tutorial, I'll be working with data from these three columns; Team, Payroll in Millions, and Wins.

by Jeff Bennett | Digital Splash Media

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STEP 2 - GET THE DATA INTO ILLUSTRATOR

The next step is to get your data into Illustrator. In an Illustrator document, find the scatter graph tool as shown here. You may need to hold down your mouse button as you hover over the graph tool icon to see the list of available graph tools. Select the scatter graph tool.

by Jeff Bennett | Digital Splash Media

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STEP 2 - GET THE DATA INTO ILLUSTRATOR

Once the scatter graph tool is selected, click and drag with your mouse, a rectangular area on the canvas where you want your scatter plot to be. When you release your mouse button, Illustrator will insert the graph axes, along with a dialog box for you to insert your data.

by Jeff Bennett | Digital Splash Media

6

STEP 2 - GET THE DATA INTO ILLUSTRATOR

The next step is to insert your data into the Illustrator pop up window that looks like a spreadsheet. This is where Illustrator can be a bit quirky. You only want to insert the numerical data. In other words, don't insert the column titles (Team, Payroll in Millions, Wins). It's also important to consider what data you want on which axis. I'm correlating payroll to wins so I want wins on the vertical axis and payroll on the horizontal axis. So, go to your spreadsheet program where you have your data and select the data you want on the vertical axis and copy it. In my scenario, it's wins. Remember, don't select the cell that says "Wins." Now go back to Illustrator select the top left cell in the pop up window and paste the data.

by Jeff Bennett | Digital Splash Media

7

STEP 2 - GET THE DATA INTO ILLUSTRATOR

Now, go back to your spreadsheet and select and copy the data you want to have on the horizontal axis. In my scenario, this is payroll in millions. Then paste that into the next column in Illustrator's pop up window.

by Jeff Bennett | Digital Splash Media

8

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