Choosing the right visuals

Using the right chart types to represent data is perhaps the most important design decision you need to make as a dashboard developer. In this section, we will review the most common types of charts and discuss how to use them appropriately.

Figure 3.1 – Common chart types

Note

There are additional visualization types available to the ones discussed in this chapter that are used less widely. The objective here is to introduce only the most basic chart types rather than offering a comprehensive list. You can refer to the resources listed in the Further reading section of the chapter for broader and more in-depth coverage.

Different chart types are suitable for representing different types of data. Broadly, data can be either categorical type or numerical type. Examples of categorical data include countries, gender, education levels, and risk groups. Categorical data can be measured either on a nominal scale or an ordinal...