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How to create a good-looking timeline ? With lots of examples

Skye
2024-10-30
233

A timeline is an information visualization tool that can display events that occurred in different periods in a time-visualized way, helping us better understand the time when each event occurred, as well as the stories before and after the event. It has a wide range of application scenarios in personal work and life and corporate culture development .

Company development timeline

Ⅰ. Timeline application scenarios

1. Historical events display:

In the field of history, the timeline is used to show the time and sequence of various historical events. Through precise time scales and related text descriptions, the context of historical evolution can be clearly presented, helping readers better understand the development of historical events.

2. project management:

In project management, the timeline can be used to schedule and track the various stages and key nodes in the project. Through the timeline, team members can clearly see the progress of the project, so as to manage and coordinate the project more effectively.

3. Study notes:

Students or learners can use the timeline to summarize and organize their study notes. Arranging knowledge points in chronological order helps review and consolidate knowledge and improve learning efficiency.

4. Story Narration :

In literary creation or scriptwriting, a timeline can be used to narrate the plot of a story. By presenting the events in the story in chronological order, readers or viewers can better understand the evolution of the plot and enhance the coherence and logic of the story.

5. Product evolution display:

For product designers or marketers, the timeline can be used to show the evolution of the product. Through the timeline, they can clearly understand the release time and functional improvements of each version of the product, providing reference and reference for subsequent product optimization.

6. Life Planning:

Individuals can use the timeline to plan their life goals and schedules. Through the timeline, they can better manage and use time, achieve their goals, and improve their life efficiency.

7. Scientific research:

Timelines are also widely used in scientific research. For example, in geology, timelines can be used to represent the historical evolution of the earth; in biology, timelines can be used to show the evolution of biological populations, etc.

So, how to draw the timeline to improve the aesthetics?

Ⅱ. How to improve the aesthetics of the timeline

1. Beautify the time style

The timelines we see in daily life are mostly minimalist in style, composed of simple lines:

Comparison Timeline - Business

Friends with ideas will start with the thickness and color of the node lines, trying to divert everyone's attention from the single color and thin lines in the above picture.

Creative Timeline Series+-+S-shaped Timeline


In fact, there are more obvious tips for changing the overall style of the timeline.

For example, you can beautify the time nodes:
add an enlarged water drop-shaped frame to the time, and use different colors for different time nodes, and the page will become richer and more interesting.

Teardrop-shaped timeline

In addition, the timeline does not necessarily have to be a straight line. Curves, broken lines, arrows or other irregular lines are also good choices:

Arched Timeline


2. Creative Timeline

Some pictures in life that have "linear characteristics" like vines, such as branches, buildings, ribbons, mountains, waves, etc., can be used as materials for your creative timeline.

Creative Timeline - Brush

Road Shape Creative Timeline

As long as you can find material similar to an "axis", you can draw a creative and beautiful timeline.

However, the timeline does not necessarily have an axis.
In fact, the axis is a sufficient but not necessary condition for the timeline. Influenced by conventional thinking, many of us think that the timeline must have an axis, but this is not the case. As long as your graph can show the trend from one end to the other and has a very obvious time connection, then the axis can be omitted.

Timeline - Color

Timeline Template - Color

Timeline - Vertical

3. Use the template wisely

If you want to make a creative timeline, you need to watch more, associate more, try more, draw more, and accumulate more materials in your daily life. The editor shares with you several organizational charts selected from the template library. You can also refer to the color matching and drawing highlights of the template and make it yourself.

Timeline of corporate development

Timeline - Project Development Milestones

The above is the relevant content about the timeline. All the above timeline cases are drawn using ProcessOn.


ProcessOn supports online editing of flowcharts, mind maps, organizational charts , timelines , and other graphics. Users can create new content from scratch, or easily edit and modify existing drawing frameworks and case templates. The operation is simple and easy to use.

Timeline
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