Academy / Design posts that stop the scroll
Lesson 6 of 6 · 4 min
Numbers people can read at a glance
Quick recallYour video page has a headline, a price, a sticker and a logo. What should move?Think of your answer, then open.
One thing, like the headline. One moving thing stands out. When everything moves, nothing does.
A number is the fastest way to make a post believable. It only works if a person can read it in one second.
One number, big and rounded
Give each page one number and make it the biggest thing on the page, at least a fifth of the page's height. Round it to something you could say out loud. 1,238 customers reads as "1,200 customers". Put the exact figure in the small line if it matters.
Words under it
A number alone is a puzzle. Under it, say what it counts and what changed: "customers this year, up from 900". One short line is enough.
A chart makes one point
Use at most four bars on a phone. Write the point in the title, not the topic. "Q3 was our best quarter" beats "Projects per quarter". Label each bar with a word, not a code.
Do it
- Press Open the year report in Design. Click page 2, the big number.
- Double-click the number and type yours, rounded. Then double-click the words under it and write what it counts.
- Click page 3, then click the chart and press Edit chart.
- In the Data table, type a short word in the first column and your number in the second, one row for each bar.
- Open Numbers. Type a sign like $ in Before value or % in After value if your number needs one.
- Click the chart's title and rewrite it as the point you want people to remember.
- Squint at the page. The number should be the first thing you see.
Press Undo (Cmd+Z) if a step goes wrong. Nothing here can break.
Try it: blur a post and see what stands out first.
Quick check · 3 questions
Check what stuck
A page shows 1,238 customers. How should the big number read?
Show the answer
About 1,200, with the exact figure in the small line. People read a rounded number in one second. The exact figure can sit in the small line.
Which chart title makes a point?
Show the answer
Q3 was our best quarter. The title tells people what to see. A topic leaves them to guess.
You have nine months of numbers. What do you do?
Show the answer
Show the four that matter, or split them over two pages. On a phone, four bars stay readable. More than that turns into a pattern nobody reads.
In this course
- 1One message per postWhy one message stops more people than five, and how to make it the biggest thing on the page. · 3 min
- 2Text people can read at a glanceSize, contrast and photos behind text, so words read on a phone. · 3 min
- 3Your brand on every pageSet your colors, fonts and logo once, then put them on any template in one click. · 3 min
- 4Photos that fitPick a photo that tells the story, drop it where it belongs, and crop it so the important part shows. · 3 min
- 5Make it moveTurn a design into a short video, animate the headline word by word, and let a number count up. · 3 min
- 6Numbers people can read at a glanceOne number per page, rounded, with words under it, and a chart that makes one point. · 4 min