Hey Reader,

Most scout reports and data visualisations I see from analysts fail before anyone processes a single metric.

The insight's there. The data's solid. But the layout works against how human eyes actually move across a screen.

The Z-Pattern Reality

Your eyes follow a Z across any image or document.

Top left first. Then across to top right. Diagonal down to bottom left. Finally, bottom right.

That's it. That's the path. And the bottom right corner? That's where attention dies.

This applies to everything - scatter plots, heat maps, one-page scout reports. If you're building any visual that someone needs to read quickly, you're working with this pattern whether you know it or not.

I've seen this with two members in the Recruitment Room recently - Roger and Josh. Both were building one-page reports to share online. Strong analysis. Good insights. But the structure buried what mattered most.

The fix was simple: player information stays top left. Verdict goes top right. Those are the two things anyone opening a scout report wants immediately. Everything else - secondary stats, contextual notes, background data - can sit lower.

This isn't about design preference. It's about working with how people actually see.

And it matters just as much for your data visualisations. The most important information needs to land in that top-left to top-right sweep. Not buried at the bottom where eyes have already moved on.

Titles That Do the Work

Stop wasting space on keys.

If you're highlighting a player on a scatter plot, don't add a separate box explaining that blue means Player X and grey means everyone else. Build that into the title itself.

"Player X has the most goal involvements in the Championship this season."

Colour Player X's name in the same blue you've used in the chart. Done.

The title now serves two purposes: it tells the reader what they're looking at, and it explains the visual system you've used. No extra clutter. No wasted real estate.

John Burn-Murdoch at the Financial Times does this better than anyone. I sat through one of his lectures at Birkbeck University during the StatsPerform course, and the principle was clear - use the title to tell people what they're supposed to see.

Not "Goal Involvements by Player." That says nothing.

"Player X leads the Championship in goal involvements" - that's a statement. That's a message. And when someone glances at your viz, they know exactly what you're showing them before they've even processed the chart itself.

Purpose Over Volume

Here's where most scout reports and visualisations fall apart: trying to say too much.

You want to be comprehensive. You're sharing this online. So you add passing accuracy and defensive actions and ball progression and sprint metrics and suddenly the page is packed with information but empty of meaning.

Ask yourself: what's the purpose of this report?

If you're making the case that a player is an elite ball progressor, build around that. Don't dilute it with unrelated metrics or information just because you have access to them. Keep the focus tight.

When you're posting online - whether it's a scout report or a visualisation - you need the takeaway to be immediately clear. Someone scrolling through should understand your point in seconds.

The purpose of any report or visualization is to communicate a clear message. That only works when you're disciplined about what you include.

Too much information doesn't make you look thorough. It makes your point harder to find.

The Real Test

Next time you're building a visualisation or report, run it through this:

Does the layout follow the Z-pattern? Is the most important information in the top corners?

Does the title do the explaining, or are you relying on a key that takes up valuable space?

Can someone glance at this for five seconds and understand the message, or do they need to study it?

That last one matters most.

Because in most cases, five seconds is all you'll get. A recruiter scanning visualisations on LinkedIn. A coach reviewing analysis between sessions. A director glancing at your work before a meeting.

If your layout fights against how they naturally read, you've lost before you've started.

Work with how eyes move. Use titles that communicate. Keep the purpose singular.

That's how you turn data into something people actually understand.

Liam