Use the correct data type

Planual rules regarding the correct data type

Grids are best for presenting data when it's useful to see large sets of specific values and understand their meaning, for example, sales figures against products and time. Grids shouldn't be used for visualizing high-level trends or comparisons between sets of data.

Line charts are best for seeing trends over a continuous timeframe, for example, revenue by month. They're especially useful for comparing multiple categories of data such as revenue of different products by month. 

Use contrasting colors so users can easily differentiate between the different series. 

Display a legend to make it clear what each series is rendering.

Line Charts

Column charts are great for comparing values across different lines or list items. Column charts are also useful for comparing items over time.

Column Charts

Bar charts are great for comparing values across different line or list items, but they shouldn't be used for comparing values over time.  

Bar charts are sometimes preferable over column charts if data labels are too long to fit on the X-axis.

Bar Charts

Stacked column charts are best used to display part-to-whole relationships with multiple series, for example,  revenue split into margin and expenses by time.  

Use contrasting colors so that users can easily differentiate stacked data.

Column Charts

Pie charts are used when you're trying to compare parts of a whole. They don't show changes over time.

Pie Charts

Funnel charts are often used to represent stages in a sales process and show the amount of potential revenue for each stage. This type of chart can also be useful in identifying potential problem areas in an organization's sales processes.

Funnel Charts

A timeline chart is an effective way to visualize a process using chronological order. Since details are displayed graphically, important points in time can be easily seen and understood.  

Timeline charts are often used for managing a project’s schedule, depicting timelines as a sort of calendar of events within a specific period of time.

Timeline Charts

A waterfall chart can be used for analytical purposes, especially for understanding or explaining the gradual transition in the value of an entity that is subjected to an increase or decrease in value. Often, a waterfall chart is used to show changes in revenue or profit between two time periods.

Waterfall Charts

Combination charts are useful when you want to validate the relationship between two variables that have different magnitudes and scales of measurement but are related in a meaningful way.

Combination Charts