Overview # A stacked area plot is used to visualize how the values of a group of things change as another value changes. The different groups are – as the name suggests – stacked on top of one another. The total height represents the sum of the different groups at different stages. This is an extension of the simple area plot, which you can think of as a stacked area plot, but with just one group. ...
Overview # An alluvial plot is a way to show proportions of observations across different categories. Visually, an alluvial plot is made up of stacked bars, and between those bars are links. Each set of stacked bars represents a categorical field. The separations within the stacked bars represent different categories. These stacked bars are more precisely referred to as strata (singular, stratum), and the vertical stacked bar themselves are called axis. ...
Overview # A sankey diagram is a visualization that can be used to represents flows that move through stages. A sankey diagram requies three different types of information: * Nodes – these are the stages along a flow. * Links – these are the connections between different nodes, and shows where the flow goes. Links are also scaled by some value to communicate the scale of flows. ...
Overview # A circle pack is used to show proportions using circles of different sizes. The relative positions of the circles don’t mean anything. Circle packs can be hierarchical, in the sense that categories can be nested within other categories. Functionally, circle packs are very similar to treemaps. In fact, circle packs are sometimes referred to as “circular treemaps”. When to use # Use circle-packs when you want to convey a sense of how different categories compare in terms of scale. ...
Overview # A slopegraph is a way to display change for particular observations across very few periods or categories. A very common use case for a slopegraph is to show how a set of observations change from one period to the next, and no more. Visually, a slopegraph looks like a line plot, with the ends connecting a starting point and an endining point. The slope of the lines communicates the degree and the direction of change for a given observation. ...
Overview # A treemap is a way to show hierarchical data, where the shapes correspond to relative proportions. Hierarchical data means there are layers to the stuff being examined, where specific things fit into broader buckets. There might be a major category, and within those categories, there might be minor categories. In fact, there might be multiple layers of categorization. Let’s say we’re talking about a kitchen pantry, and we want a count of the different types of items we have in the pantry. ...
Overview # A lollipop plot is essentially the same thing as a bar plot. Visually, instead of a bar, a lollipop plot is made up of line segments with dots at the ends. A lollipop plot is a good way to show the relationship between a categorical variable and a numerical variable. The big advantage of a lollipop plot over a bar plot is it’s visually lighter on a plot in the sense that the object on the plot takes up less space. ...
Overview # A dumbbell plot can show changes or differences within a given observation, grouping, or category along some numerical dimension. That numerical dimension can be a measure of some sort or a point in time (which really is just a measure of time). Visually, a dumbbell plot looks like… a dumbbell. An individual dumbbell plot is really nothing more than a line segment connecting distinct points on a plot. ...
Overview # A ridgeline plot (previously referred to as as a “joyplot”) is a way to examine the distributions of a numerical variable for several different groups. Ridgeline plots can present values in absolute terms (i.e., the heights of the ridges correspond to the actual values) or as densities (i.e., the heights of the ridges correspond to proportions within edge ridge component). Ridgeline plots showing absolute values is sort of like a filled line plot. ...
Overview # Well, this one’s a fun one. Parliament plots are a way to visualize the composition or votes of legislatures, with the shapes representing seats positioned in a manner reminiscent of the actual seating arrangements. Those seats can be mapped to party or faction affiliations, or even voting alignments. Once mapped, associations can be reflected using such features as colors or shape types. In terms of application, parliament plots are very similar to waffle plots. ...