I produced this step chart for a Makeover Monday post where I redesigned a line chart from the Irish Times’ Paris 2024 Summer Olympics coverage.
The original line chart had a y-axis that moved in a direction opposite what audiences usually expect. Line charts can also have some odd implications when we’re actually able to plot all the events (and not just some observed data), and the number of those events is small.
A step chart is a better choice than a line chart, but I’m not certain it’s perfect.