I still hold the opinion that good typography and simple layout beats semi-interactive animated pages made up of static content (ie: graphs with real time update).
On the other hand, sometimes I need to persuasively illustrate a singular point, as you say. In this case, a single non-interactive but stylish and easily interpreted representation fits better.
It is an especially good read for non-designers, though I've given several copies to interns.
[1] - http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-Edition-Graphic-Communication...
* The longer the line the more space between lines
* Do not to mix font families
* Do not use fancy fonts
* You should probably give things more space around
* Use left aligned text, not justified
Of course, such rules are too simple. They have exception, implications, corollaries, and conflict with each other. Balancing this out is the art of typography.