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Types of Charts Explained

Column and bar charts are best for comparing categories or showing changes over time. Cylinder, cone, and pyramid charts are 3D versions that can plot against three axes. Line charts show changes over a series over time or categories. Pie charts show percentages of the whole. Scatter charts show correlations between two value sets on the x and y axes. Area charts emphasize total values over time. Doughnut, radar, surface, bubble, and stock charts are less common types with specific uses.

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160 views2 pages

Types of Charts Explained

Column and bar charts are best for comparing categories or showing changes over time. Cylinder, cone, and pyramid charts are 3D versions that can plot against three axes. Line charts show changes over a series over time or categories. Pie charts show percentages of the whole. Scatter charts show correlations between two value sets on the x and y axes. Area charts emphasize total values over time. Doughnut, radar, surface, bubble, and stock charts are less common types with specific uses.

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Column Charts

• Excellent when you need to compare categories.


• Good at showing changes over time, with time as the x-axis.

Bar Charts

• Similar to column charts, but the bars extend horizontally instead of


vertically.
• Avoid using a time-based scale as the category, studies show that this is
generally confusing for people. Use a column chart instead when working
with times or dates.

Cylinder, Cone, And Pyramid Charts

• These are just like column charts, but use cones, cylinders, or pyramids instead of
rectangles.
• These are 3-D, so they should be used when you have three axes to plot against
(i.e. sales made for each month for each salesman).

Line Charts

• Best show changes in a series over categories or time.


• Suggests that the data is continuous, so if you were to measure a point
between two points, the line would be correct.

Pie Charts

• Best for showing percentages of the whole.


• Use the Exploded Pie choice to emphasize a particular category.

Scatter Charts

• Used to show correlations between two sets of values, one on the x-


axis and one on the y-axis.
• Generally not used with time, use a line chart instead.

Area Charts

• Best for when you want to show a change over time but emphasize the total of all the series combined.
This is like the combination of a line chart and a pie chart.

Charts that Aren’t So Common

Doughnut Charts

• Just like comparing multiple pie charts, you see how two (or more) series
contributed to their wholes and a comparison of the amounts.
• Not often used in the US, so others may be confused by it.

Radar Charts

• Uses a separate axis for each category radiating out from the center.
• Not often used in the US, so others may not know how to read it.

Surface Charts

• These use three axes to show how three sets of data interact (like a
scatter plot with three axes).
• Shown in 3-D with the data points shown as a flat
sheet, almost like a bent piece of paper.

Bubble Charts -Very similar to Scatter charts, but the size of


the dot at each point reflects another dimension of the chart.

Stock Charts - Used specifically for charting stock activity.

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