On the site’s Instagram, there’s a series of posts that each list with icons, the chart types recommended based on what you can communicate or analyse with them. In total, there were 15 posts created, each with a particular category and color theme.
Essentially, these posts were an updated, Instagram version of the ‘What do you want to show’ page found here on the site, but with some new types of charts covered. The Instagram post didn’t provide a comprehensive list of charts and categories, but they were a decent introductory guide for selecting a chart for your needs.
However, the issue with Instagram posts is that everything is segmented into parts. Because of this, I thought it would be a good idea to organise all the icons and their categories into a single page.
Distribution
Charts that display frequency in the data and/or how spread out over an interval the data values are. Often, these chart types are useful for generating shapes or patterns that provide insight into the kind of distribution present in the dataset.
Barcode Plot
Bean Plot
Bee Swarm Box Plot
Box Plot
Box-Percentile Plot
Density Plot
Dot Distribution Plot
HDR Box Plot
Histogram
Notched Box Plot
Population Pyramid
Q-Q Plot
Ridgeline Plot
Sina Plots
Stem & Leaf Plot
Vase Plot
Violin Plot
Comparisons
Charts that help communicate the differences or similarities between values in a dataset. Often, these charts are used to make comparisons across categories and/or for communicating the ranking between categories.
Bar Chart
Bullet Graph
Column Chart
Dot Graph
Grouped Bar Chart
Lollipop Chart
Pictogram Chart
Radial Column Chart
Side by Side Bar Chart
Slopegraph
Stacked Bar Chart
Unit Chart
Data Over Time
Charts typically used to show data changing over a time period to communicate or analyze trends and patterns in a dataset. The more diagrammatic editions below, such as a Timeline or Gantt Chart are more used to communicate the sequencing of events.
Area Graph
Connected Scatterplot
Control Chart
Gantt Chart
Heatmap
Horizon Plot
Line Graph
Run Chart
Spiral Plot
Stacked Area Graph
Streamgraph
Timeline
Proportions
Charts that use area size to communicate differences or similarities. This can be to communicate magnitude, flow, to compare values, or to show a parts-to-a-whole relationship.
Bubble Chart
Bubble Map
Circle Packing
Demers Cartogram
Dorling Map
Marimekko Chart
Parallel Sets
Pie Chart
Proportional Area Chart
Sankey Diagram
Treemap
Unit Chart (Area)
Geographical
Charts used to communicate data related to geographical regions.
Bubble Map
Cartogram
Choropleth Map
Connection Map
Demer Cartogram
Dorling Map
Dot Map
Flow Map
Isochrone Map
Non-contiguous Cartogram
Tile Grid Map
Connections
Charts used to communicate or analyse how things are connected, the structure of networks, or the relationships contained within networks.
Arc Diagram
Circular Tree Diagram
Connection Map
Hive Plot
Network Diagram
Non-ribbon Chord Diagram
Financial
Charts used to analyse financial data, to detect and predict trends in a market.
Candlestick Chart
Kagi Chart
OHLC Chart
Point & Figure Chart
Renko Chart
Waterfall Chart
Hierarchy
Charts used to communicate and/or analyse how things are ranked and ordered together in an organisation or system.
Circular Tree Diagram
Circular Treemap
Icicle Chart
Sunburst Diagram
Tree Diagram
Treemap
Parts-to-a-whole
Charts used to show proportions but in a parts-to-a-whole relationship. So when the goal is to show how the parts of a variable relate to a total. These charts can also be useful in showing how the data is divided up.
100% Stacked Bar Chart
Donut Chart
Marimekko Chart
Pie Chart
Treemap
Waffle Chart
Flow
Charts used to communicate the movement or flow of entities or to communicate how a process or system works.
Alluvial Diagram
Flow Diagram
Flow Map
Parallel Sets
Sankey Diagram
Ranges
Charts used to display the variations between the upper and lower limits on a scale.
Barbell Plot
Gantt Chart
Ranged Area Graph
Span Chart
Correlations
Charts used for finding and/or showing the correlation (when one variable has an effect on another) between two or three variables.
Bubble Chart
Correlation Matrix
Heatmap
Scatterplot
Multi-variable Analysis
Charts used to find or show relationships or patterns between many different variables. Also known as “multi-variate analysis” or “multi-dimensional analysis”.
Chernoff Faces
Parallel Coordinates
Radar Chart
Ternary Graph
Uncertainty & Error
Charts used to communicate and/or analyse the range of error or uncertainty within a dataset.
Area Bands
Confidence Strips
Error Bars
Graded Error Bars
Showing Change
Charts that are useful for show the amount of change between two points.
Barbell Plot
Change Bar Chart
Slopegraph
Overall, these are broad categories with many charts having some overlap between these listed categories. Also, some chart types missing from this list were designed with very specific usage.
You can find more information on some of these chart types on the homepage.
