Tufte offers some simple rules for creating attractive graphs:

• Good charts tell a story about the data
• Choose the proper graph format (don't use a bar graph when a line graph is the right choice
• Use an appropriate scale (don't use 0-100% when all of your data is between 90-100%)
• Use words, numbers and drawings together
• Make the complexity of the data accessible
• Avoid content-free decoration (i.e., chartjunk)

Tufte also offers some simple rules for cleaning up a graph:

• Show the data
• There is nearly always a better sequence for the data than alphabetical (can you organize it in ascending or descending order as in a pareto chart).
• Maximize the amount of ink that shows the data (he calls this data ink)
• Minimize the amount of ink that doesn't show the data
• Erase redundant data ink
• Revise and edit