There are extra kind of charts and graphs than ever earlier than as a result of there’s extra information. In truth, the quantity of knowledge in 2025 can be virtually double the info we create, seize, copy, and devour as we speak.
This makes information visualization important for companies. Several types of graphs and charts may also help you:
- Encourage your group to take motion.
- Impress stakeholders with aim progress.
- Present your viewers what you worth as a enterprise.
Knowledge visualization builds belief and might set up various groups round new initiatives. Let’s discuss concerning the varieties of graphs and charts that you should use to develop your corporation.
Completely different Forms of Graphs for Knowledge Visualization
1. Bar Graph
A bar graph needs to be used to keep away from muddle when one information label is lengthy or in case you have greater than 10 gadgets to check.
Greatest Use Circumstances for These Forms of Graphs
Bar graphs may also help you examine information between completely different teams or to trace modifications over time. Bar graphs are most helpful when there are large modifications or to indicate how one group compares towards different teams.
The instance above compares the variety of prospects by enterprise position. It makes it straightforward to see that there’s greater than twice the variety of prospects per position for particular person contributors than another group.
A bar graph additionally makes it straightforward to see which group of knowledge is highest or most typical.
For instance, firstly of the pandemic, on-line companies noticed an enormous bounce in site visitors. So, if you wish to take a look at month-to-month site visitors for a web based enterprise, a bar graph would make it straightforward to see that bounce.
Different use instances for bar graphs embody:
- Product comparisons.
- Product utilization.
- Class comparisons.
- Advertising site visitors by month or 12 months.
- Advertising conversions.
Design Greatest Practices for Bar Graphs
- Use constant colours all through the chart, choosing accent colours to focus on significant information factors or modifications over time.
- Use horizontal labels to enhance readability.
- Begin the y-axis at 0 to appropriately replicate the values in your graph.
2. Line Graph
A line graph reveals developments or progress over time, and you should use it to indicate many alternative classes of knowledge. You need to use it while you chart a steady information set.
Greatest Use Circumstances for These Forms of Graphs
Line graphs assist customers observe modifications over quick and lengthy intervals. Due to this, these kind of graphs are good for seeing small modifications.
Line graphs may also help you examine modifications for a couple of group over the identical interval. They’re additionally useful for measuring how completely different teams relate to one another.
A enterprise would possibly use this graph to check gross sales charges for various services or products over time.
These charts are additionally useful for measuring service channel efficiency. For instance, a line graph that tracks what number of chats or emails your group responds to monthly.
Design Greatest Practices for Line Graphs
- Use stable strains solely.
- Do not plot greater than 4 strains to keep away from visible distractions.
- Use the best top so the strains take up roughly 2/3 of the y-axis’ top.
3. Bullet Graph
A bullet graph reveals progress in direction of a aim, compares this to a different measure, and offers context within the type of a score or efficiency.
Greatest Use Circumstances for These Forms of Graphs
Within the instance above, the bullet graph exhibits the variety of new prospects towards a set buyer aim. Bullet graphs are nice for evaluating efficiency towards targets like this.
A majority of these graphs may also assist groups assess potential roadblocks as a result of you’ll be able to analyze information in a good visible show.
For instance, you may create a sequence of bullet graphs measuring efficiency towards benchmarks or use a single bullet graph to visualise these KPIs towards their targets:
- Income.
- Revenue.
- Buyer satisfaction.
- Common order dimension.
- New prospects.
Seeing this information at a look and alongside one another may also help groups make fast choices.
Bullet graphs are among the best methods to show year-over-year information evaluation. You can too use bullet graphs to visualise:
- Buyer satisfaction scores.
- Product utilization.
- Buyer procuring habits.
- Social media utilization by platform.
Design Greatest Practices for Bullet Graphs
- Use contrasting colours to focus on how the info is progressing.
- Use one colour in numerous shades to gauge progress.
Completely different Forms of Charts for Knowledge Visualization
To raised perceive these chart varieties and the way you should use them, here is an summary of every:
1. Column Chart
Use a column chart to indicate a comparability amongst completely different gadgets or to indicate a comparability of things over time. You can use this format to see the income per touchdown web page or prospects by shut date.
Greatest Use Circumstances for This Kind of Chart
You should utilize each column charts and bar graphs to show modifications in information, however column charts are greatest for unfavorable information. The principle distinction, after all, is that column charts present data vertically whereas bar graphs present information horizontally.
For instance, warehouses usually observe the variety of accidents on the store flooring. When the variety of incidents falls beneath the month-to-month common, a column chart could make that change simpler to see in a presentation.
Within the instance above, this column chart measures the variety of prospects by shut date. Column charts make it straightforward to see information modifications over a time frame. Because of this they’ve many use instances, together with:
- Buyer survey information, like displaying what number of prospects choose a particular product or how a lot a buyer makes use of a product every day.
- Gross sales quantity, like displaying which companies are the highest sellers every month or the variety of gross sales per week.
- Revenue and loss, displaying the place enterprise investments are rising or falling.
Design Greatest Practices for Column Charts
- Use constant colours all through the chart, choosing accent colours to focus on significant information factors or modifications over time.
- Use horizontal labels to enhance readability.
- Begin the y-axis at 0 to appropriately replicate the values in your graph.
2. Twin-Axis Chart
A dual-axis chart lets you plot information utilizing two y-axes and a shared x-axis. It has three information units. One is a steady information set, and the opposite is healthier suited to grouping by class. Use this chart to visualise a correlation or the shortage thereof between these three information units.
Greatest Use Circumstances for This Kind of Chart
A dual-axis chart makes it straightforward to see relationships between completely different information units. They’ll additionally assist with evaluating developments.
For instance, the chart above exhibits what number of new prospects this firm brings in every month. It additionally exhibits how a lot income these prospects are bringing the corporate.
This makes it easy to see the connection between the variety of prospects and elevated income.
You should utilize dual-axis charts to check:
- Worth and quantity of your merchandise.
- Income and models offered.
- Gross sales and revenue margin.
- Particular person gross sales efficiency.
Design Greatest Practices for Twin-Axis Charts
- Use the y-axis on the left facet for the first variable as a result of brains naturally look left first.
- Use completely different graphing types as an instance the 2 information units, as illustrated above.
- Select contrasting colours for the 2 information units.
3. Space Chart
An space chart is mainly a line chart, however the house between the x-axis and the road is full of a colour or sample. It’s helpful for displaying part-to-whole relations, like displaying particular person gross sales reps’ contributions to whole gross sales for a 12 months. It helps you analyze each total and particular person development data.
Greatest Use Circumstances for These Forms of Charts
Space charts assist present modifications over time. They work greatest for large variations between information units and assist visualize large developments.
For instance, the chart above exhibits customers by creation date and life cycle stage.
A line chart might present extra subscribers than advertising and marketing certified leads. However this space chart emphasizes how a lot greater the variety of subscribers is than another group.
These charts make the scale of a gaggle and the way teams relate to one another extra visually necessary than information modifications over time.
Space graphs may also help your corporation to:
- Visualize which product classes or merchandise inside a class are hottest.
- Present key efficiency indicator (KPI) targets vs. outcomes.
- Spot and analyze business developments.
Design Greatest Practices for Space Charts
- Use clear colours so data is not obscured within the background.
- Do not show greater than 4 classes to keep away from muddle.
- Manage extremely variable information on the high of the chart to make it straightforward to learn.
4. Stacked Bar Chart
Use this chart to check many alternative gadgets and present the composition of every merchandise you’re evaluating.
Greatest Use Circumstances for These Forms of Graphs
These graphs are useful when a gaggle begins in a single column and strikes to a different over time.
For instance, the distinction between a advertising and marketing certified lead (MQL) and a gross sales certified lead (SQL) is typically laborious to see. The chart above helps stakeholders see these two lead varieties from a single standpoint — when a lead modifications from MQL to SQL.
Stacked bar charts are glorious for advertising and marketing. They make it easy so as to add a number of information on a single chart or to make some extent with restricted house.
These graphs can present a number of takeaways, so that they’re additionally tremendous for quarterly conferences when you may have lots to say however not a number of time to say it.
Stacked bar charts are additionally a wise possibility for planning or technique conferences. It’s because these charts can present a number of data without delay, however additionally they make it straightforward to concentrate on one stack at a time or transfer information as wanted.
You can too use these charts to:
- Present the frequency of survey responses.
- Establish outliers in historic information.
- Evaluate part of a method to its efficiency as an entire.
Design Greatest Practices for Stacked Bar Graphs
- Greatest used as an instance part-to-whole relationships.
- Use contrasting colours for better readability.
- Make the chart scale giant sufficient to view group sizes in relation to 1 one other.
5. Mekko Chart
Often known as a Marimekko chart, this kind of graph can examine values, measure every one’s composition, and present information distribution throughout every one.
It is much like a stacked bar, besides the Mekko’s x-axis can seize one other dimension of your values — as an alternative of time development, like column charts usually do. Within the graphic beneath, the x-axis compares the cities to 1 one other.
Greatest Use Circumstances for This Kind of Chart
You should utilize a Mekko chart to indicate development, market share, or competitor evaluation.
For instance, the Mekko chart above exhibits the market share of asset managers grouped by location and the worth of their belongings. This chart clarifies which companies handle probably the most belongings in numerous areas.
It is also straightforward to see which asset managers are the biggest and the way they relate to one another.
Mekko charts can appear extra complicated than different varieties of charts and graphs, so it is best to make use of these in conditions the place you wish to emphasize scale or variations between teams of knowledge.
Different use instances for Mekko charts embody:
- Detailed revenue and loss statements.
- Income by model and area.
- Product profitability.
- Share of voice by business or area of interest.
Design Greatest Practices for Mekko Charts
- Differ your bar heights if the portion dimension is a vital level of comparability.
- Do not embody too many composite values inside every bar. Contemplate reevaluating your presentation in case you have a number of information.
- Order your bars from left to proper in such a method that exposes a related development or message.
6. Pie Chart
A pie chart exhibits a static quantity and the way classes signify half of an entire — the composition of one thing. A pie chart represents numbers in percentages, and the whole sum of all segments must equal 100%.
Greatest Use Circumstances for This Kind of Chart
The picture above exhibits one other instance of shoppers by position within the firm.
The bar graph instance exhibits you that there are extra particular person contributors than another position. However this pie chart makes it clear that they make up over 50% of buyer roles.
Pie charts make it straightforward to see a bit in relation to the entire, so they’re good for displaying:
- Buyer personas in relation to all prospects.
- Income out of your hottest merchandise or product varieties in relation to all product gross sales.
- P.c of whole revenue from completely different retailer areas.
Design Greatest Practices for Pie Charts
- Do not illustrate too many classes to make sure differentiation between slices.
- Be certain that the slice values add as much as 100%.
- Order slices based on their dimension.
7. Scatter Plot Chart
A scatter plot or scattergram chart will present the connection between two completely different variables or reveal distribution developments.
Use this chart when there are lots of completely different information factors, and also you wish to spotlight similarities within the information set. That is helpful when searching for outliers or understanding your information’s distribution.
Greatest Use Circumstances for These Forms of Charts
Scatter plots are useful in conditions the place you may have an excessive amount of information to see a sample rapidly. They’re greatest while you use them to indicate relationships between two giant information units.
Within the instance above, this chart exhibits how buyer happiness pertains to the time it takes for them to get a response.
Any such graph makes it straightforward to check two information units. Use instances would possibly embody:
- Employment and manufacturing output.
- Retail gross sales and inflation.
- Customer numbers and outside temperature.
- Gross sales development and tax legal guidelines.
Attempt to decide on two information units that have already got a constructive or unfavorable relationship. That stated, this kind of graph may also make it simpler to see information that falls exterior of regular patterns.
Design Greatest Practices for Scatter Plots
- Embrace extra variables, like completely different sizes, to include extra information.
- Begin the y-axis at 0 to signify information precisely.
- In the event you use development strains, solely use a most of two to make your plot straightforward to grasp.
8. Bubble Chart
A bubble chart is much like a scatter plot in that it could actually present distribution or relationship. There’s a third information set proven by the scale of the bubble or circle.
Greatest Use Circumstances for This Kind of Chart
Within the instance above, the variety of hours spent on-line is not simply in comparison with the person’s age, as it will be on a scatter plot chart.
As a substitute, you too can see how the gender of the person impacts time spent on-line.
This makes bubble charts helpful for seeing the rise or fall of developments over time. It additionally enables you to add another choice while you’re attempting to grasp relationships between completely different segments or classes.
For instance, if you wish to launch a brand new product, this chart might enable you to rapidly see your new product’s value, threat, and worth. This may also help you focus your energies on a low-risk new product with a excessive potential return.
You can too use bubble charts for:
- High gross sales by month and site.
- Buyer satisfaction surveys.
- Retailer efficiency monitoring.
- Advertising marketing campaign evaluations.
Design Greatest Practices for Bubble Charts
- Scale bubbles based on space, not diameter.
- Make sure that labels are clear and visual.
- Use round shapes solely.
9. Waterfall Chart
Use a waterfall chart to indicate how an preliminary worth modifications with intermediate values — both constructive or unfavorable — and ends in a closing worth.
Use this chart to disclose the composition of a quantity. An instance of this could be to showcase how completely different departments affect total firm income and result in a particular revenue quantity.
Greatest Use Circumstances for This Kind of Chart
A majority of these charts make it simpler to grasp how inside and exterior elements affect a product or marketing campaign as an entire.
Within the instance above, the chart strikes from the beginning stability on the far left to the ending stability on the far proper. Elements within the heart embody deposits, transfers out and in, and financial institution charges.
A waterfall chart provides a fast visible, making complicated processes and outcomes simpler to see and troubleshoot. For instance, SaaS corporations usually measure buyer churn. This format may also help visualize modifications in new, present, and free trial customers or modifications by person section.
You may additionally wish to strive a waterfall chart to indicate:
- Adjustments in income or revenue over time.
- Stock audits.
- Worker staffing evaluations.
Design Greatest Practices for Waterfall Charts
- Use contrasting colours to focus on variations in information units.
- Select heat colours to point will increase and funky colours to point decreases.
10. Funnel Chart
A funnel chart exhibits a sequence of steps and the completion price for every step. Use this kind of chart to trace the gross sales course of or the conversion price throughout a sequence of pages or steps.
Greatest Use Circumstances for These Forms of Charts
The commonest use case for a funnel chart is the advertising and marketing or gross sales funnel. However there are lots of different methods to make use of this versatile chart.
You probably have a minimum of 4 levels of sequential information, this chart may also help you simply see what inputs or outputs affect the ultimate outcomes.
For instance, a funnel chart may also help you see how you can enhance your purchaser journey or procuring cart workflow. It’s because it could actually assist pinpoint main drop-off factors.
Different stellar choices for these kind of charts embody:
- Deal pipelines.
- Conversion and retention evaluation.
- Bottlenecks in manufacturing and different multi-step processes.
- Advertising marketing campaign efficiency.
- Web site conversion monitoring.
Design Greatest Practices for Funnel Charts
- Scale the scale of every part to precisely replicate the scale of the info set.
- Use contrasting colours or one colour in graduated hues, from darkest to lightest, as the scale of the funnel decreases.
11. Warmth Map
A warmth map exhibits the connection between two gadgets and offers score data, similar to excessive to low or poor to glorious. This chart shows the score data utilizing various colours or saturation.
Greatest Use Circumstances for Warmth Maps
Within the instance above, the darker the shade of inexperienced exhibits the place the vast majority of individuals agree.
With sufficient information, warmth maps could make a viewpoint which may appear subjective extra concrete. This makes it simpler for a enterprise to behave on buyer sentiment.
There are lots of makes use of for these kind of charts. In truth, many tech corporations use warmth map instruments to gauge person expertise for apps, on-line instruments, and web site design.
One other widespread use for warmth map graphs is location evaluation. In the event you’re looking for the best location in your new retailer, these maps can provide you an thought of what the realm is like in ways in which a go to cannot talk.
Warmth maps may also assist with recognizing patterns, so that they’re good for analyzing developments that change rapidly, like advert conversions. They’ll additionally assist with:
- Competitor analysis.
- Buyer sentiment.
- Gross sales outreach.
- Marketing campaign affect.
- Buyer demographics.
Design Greatest Practices for Warmth Map
- Use a primary and clear map define to keep away from distracting from the info.
- Use a single colour in various shades to indicate modifications in information.
- Keep away from utilizing a number of patterns.
12. Gantt Chart
The Gantt chart is a horizontal chart that dates again to 1917. This chart maps the completely different duties accomplished over a time frame.
Gantt charting is likely one of the most important instruments for undertaking managers. It brings all the finished and uncompleted duties into one place and tracks the progress of every.
Whereas the left facet of the chart shows all of the duties, the best facet exhibits the progress and schedule for every of those duties.
This chart kind lets you:
- Break tasks into duties.
- Monitor the beginning and finish of the duties.
- Set necessary occasions, conferences, and bulletins.
- Assign duties to the group and people.
Greatest Use Circumstances for This Kind of Chart
Gantt charts are good for analyzing, highway mapping, and monitoring progress over a time frame.
The chart above divides the completely different duties concerned in product creation. Every of those duties has a timeline that may be mapped on the calendar view.
From the imaginative and prescient and technique to the seed funding spherical, the Gantt chart helps undertaking administration groups construct long-term methods.
One of the best half? You possibly can convey the stakeholders, undertaking group, and managers to a single place.
You should utilize Gantt charts in varied duties, together with:
- Monitoring worker information as a human useful resource.
- Monitoring gross sales leads in a gross sales course of.
- Plan and observe building work.
Design Greatest Practices for Gantt Charts
- Use similar colours for the same group of actions.
- Make sure that to label the duty dependencies to map undertaking begin and completion.
- Use gentle colours that align with the texts and grids of the chart.
13. Treemap
A treemap is a chart that represents hierarchical information in a tree-like diagram. As evident from the title, treemaps have information organized as branches and sub-branches.
The information within the chart is nested within the type of rectangles and sub-rectangles. Every of those rectangles and sub-rectangles has completely different dimensions and plot colours that are assigned w.r.t to the quantitative information.
Greatest Use Circumstances for This Kind of Chart
The treemap chart compares the completely different merchandise in a class or sub-category. Within the diagram above, the merchandise are divided by income.
Take a look at the 4 father or mother classes: Fruits, Greens, Dairy, and Meat. That is adopted by subsequent sub-categories or sub-products. The size of those rectangles are in proportion to their numerical amount and different rectangles in the identical class.
The colours of those rectangles are plotted as per the income generated. Treemap charts are efficient in differentiating between the merchandise that lie in the identical group however are divided into completely different sub-groups.
This type of mapping chart is greatest used:
- When there are a whole bunch of classes and even deeper layers of sub-categories. For instance, Complete votes solid w.r.t. States.
- To review the info with respect to solely two quantitative values.
- To check the efficiency of merchandise and determine similarities and anomalies inside a single or a number of classes.
Design Greatest Practices for Treemaps
- Use contrasting and shiny colours to focus on variations between sub-categories.
- Manage the rectangles so as of bigger space to smaller in dimension (i.e., from high to backside).
- Mark down every rectangle with textual content or numbers to make it straightforward to learn.
Select the Proper Chart or Graph for Your Knowledge
Channels like social media or blogs have a number of information sources, and managing these complicated content material belongings can get overwhelming. What must you be monitoring? What issues most?
How do you visualize and analyze the info so you’ll be able to extract insights and actionable data?
1. Establish your targets for presenting the info.
Do you wish to persuade or make clear some extent? Are you attempting to visualise information that helped you resolve an issue? Or are you attempting to speak a change that is taking place?
A chart or graph may also help you examine completely different values, perceive how completely different elements affect the entire, or analyze developments. Charts and graphs may also be helpful for recognizing information that veers away from what you’re used to or enable you to see relationships between teams.
Make clear your targets, then use them to information your chart choice.
2. Work out what information that you must obtain your aim.
Several types of charts and graphs use completely different varieties of knowledge. Graphs often signify numerical information, whereas charts are visible representations of knowledge which will or could not use numbers.
So, whereas all graphs are a kind of chart, not all charts are graphs. In the event you do not have already got the form of information you want, you would possibly have to spend a while placing your information collectively earlier than constructing your chart.
3. Collect your information.
Most companies gather numerical information often, however you might have to put in some further time to gather the best information in your chart. Moreover quantitative information instruments that measure site visitors, income, and different person information, you would possibly want some qualitative information.
These are another methods you’ll be able to collect information in your information visualization:
- Interviews
- Quizzes and surveys
- Buyer evaluations
- Reviewing buyer paperwork and information
- Group boards
4. Choose the best kind of graph or chart.
Selecting the unsuitable visible help or defaulting to the commonest kind of knowledge visualization might confuse your viewer or result in mistaken information interpretation.
However a chart is simply helpful to you and your corporation if it communicates your level clearly and successfully.
Ask your self the questions beneath to assist discover the best chart or graph kind.
Obtain the Excel templates talked about within the video right here.
5 Inquiries to Ask When Deciding Which Kind of Chart to Use
1. Do you wish to examine values?
Charts and graphs are good for evaluating one or many worth units, and so they can simply present the high and low values within the information units. To create a comparability chart, use these kind of graphs:
- Column
- Mekko
- Bar
- Pie
- Line
- Scatter plot
- Bullet
2. Do you wish to present the composition of one thing?
Use this kind of chart to indicate how particular person elements make up the entire of one thing, just like the system kind used for cellular guests to your web site or whole gross sales damaged down by gross sales rep.
To indicate composition, use these charts:
- Pie
- Stacked bar
- Mekko
- Space
- Waterfall
3. Do you wish to perceive the distribution of your information?
Distribution charts enable you to to grasp outliers, the traditional tendency, and the vary of knowledge in your values.
Use these charts to indicate distribution:
- Scatter plot
- Mekko
- Line
- Column
- Bar
4. Are you curious about analyzing developments in your information set?
If you’d like extra details about how a knowledge set carried out throughout a particular time, there are particular chart varieties that do extraordinarily properly.
You need to select one of many following:
- Line
- Twin-axis line
- Column
5. Do you wish to higher perceive the connection between worth units?
Relationship charts can present how one variable pertains to one or many alternative variables. You can use this to indicate how one thing positively impacts, has no impact, or negatively impacts one other variable.
When attempting to ascertain the connection between issues, use these charts:
Featured Useful resource: The Marketer’s Information to Knowledge Visualization
Obtain this free information visualization information to study which graphs to make use of in your advertising and marketing, shows, or undertaking — and how you can use them successfully.
Put these new varieties of charts and graphs into motion.
Now that you have chosen one of the best graph or chart in your undertaking, strive a knowledge visualization useful resource that makes your level clear and visible.
Knowledge visualization is only one a part of nice communication. To indicate your prospects, staff, management, and buyers that they are necessary, hold making time to study.
Editor’s be aware: This publish was initially revealed in November 2020 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
