Depending on what you want to show, here is an overview of the most common chart types:(You need to understand these 4 types to design better charts)
Composition
- Pie Chart Stacked column chart Stacked area chart Waterfall charts.
Comparison
- Column chart Bar chart Line chart Radar chart.
Relationship
- Scatter Chart Bubble chart.
Distribution
- Histogram chart Scatter chart.
Let’s see a few quick tips that how we can improve and design better charts which leads to better UX.
Pie and Donut Charts
- Don’t use pie charts if you have more than 6 categories.
- Don’t use pie charts for similar values.
- Don’t use pie charts if the value doesn’t add up to 100%.
- Order slices according to their size.
Bar and Column Charts
- Always start the y-axis at 0.
- Use a horizontal bar chart when you have long labels.
- Order data series unless you are working with data.
- Use contrasting colors for greater clarity when presenting data.
Line Charts
- Avoid comparing more than 5-7 lines.
- Don’t use line charts if not comparing values over time.
Area charts
- When using overlapping area charts make colors transparent.
Learn more about Chart design principles in here.
