How to Choose a Visualization

Bar Chart:

Good for:

✔ categorical values
✔ easily showing differences
✔ sorting/ ordering / ranking

Bad for:

✘ continuous values
✘ parts of a whole

Pie Chart

Good for:

✔ 1 to 3 values!!!
✔ Percentages
✔ Parts of a whole

Bad for:

✘ more than 4 values (becomes cluttered)
✘ comparing many different categories
✘ non-complete (not parts of a whole)

100% Bar Chart

Good for:

✔ Many categorical values
✔ Percentages
✔ Parts of a whole

Bad for:
✘ non-complete (not parts of a whole)

Dumbbell Chart

Good for:
✔ categories with a minimum and maximum
✔ comparing 2 categories
✔ showing overlap

Bad for:
✘ comparing totals
✘ showing averages
✘ showing distribution

Parallel Coordinates Plot

Each parallel line is a variable that can have different units of measurement for different variables. The chords are an observation or category (make sure to label those too). The height and angles of the "chords: illustrate the relationship between variables.

Radar Chart

Similar to a rounded version of the parallel chord chart, but:

1. you can see the overlapping area under the "web" for comparisons
2. eventually adding variables around the outside will become cluttered.

These are also hard to read and understand in less you are familiar with them (and even still when you are)

[img source and read more]

For representing categories use a palette in which the colours have distinctly different names.

Change the shape of a point to represent a category (make sure to include in a legend!)