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Data Viz for Dummies II
The second unit · more shapes, same film room
The starters cannot play every question.
The first guide drafted bars, lines, scatters, histograms, Sankeys, and treemaps. Excellent roster. Still: some questions arrive wearing composition, attrition, matrices, and many-to-many chaos. Send in the bench—specialists whose geometry earns its minutes only when the game calls for it.
7 more chart families1 fictional arena0 default pie charts
VIZ 202RC · 2026
02THE SECOND UNIT
Specialists · matchup dependent
96Range
99Shape
91Drama
100Context
00
Roster check · seven specialists
A chart earns the call-up by matching the structure of the question.
These are not upgrades from the first seven and they are not decorative difficulty settings. Each trades some general readability for one specific superpower: composition, density, stage loss, reciprocity, or topology.
COACH’S CHALLENGEComplex-looking data does not automatically require a complex-looking chart. Start with the plainest view that preserves the claim; call a specialist when the simpler chart drops something essential.
01Stacked bar
compare totals and sharescategories + components
Watch: tiny middle segments are hard to compare02Area
emphasize volume over timeordered values
Watch: the baseline becomes part of the claim03Box plot
compare spread and outliersgroups of observations
Watch: the raw distribution is summarized away04Heatmap
find clusters and hot spotstwo dimensions + magnitude
Watch: color is poor at exact lookup05Funnel
locate drop-offordered stages
Watch: stages must describe one cohort06Chord
inspect reciprocal exchangesmall many-to-many network
Watch: ribbons become spaghetti quickly07Force graph
discover topology and clustersnodes + relationships
Watch: position is emergent, not a metric 01
Stacked bar · combo guard
The total has a group chat, and every segment brought receipts.
A stacked bar carries two readings at once: overall magnitude and the parts that compose it. Normalize every bar to 100% when the mix matters more than the crowd size; keep raw totals when both scale and composition deserve the floor.
COACH’S CHALLENGEOnly the first segment enjoys a common baseline. If readers must compare every component precisely, grouped bars or small multiples are more honest teammates.
02
Area chart · power forward
A line learned to occupy space, so the baseline joined the argument.
Area gives time-series magnitude visual weight. It is useful when the quantity itself—attendance, inventory, volume, demand—matters more than tiny point-to-point differences. The filled region makes sustained scale feel sustained.
COACH’S CHALLENGEBecause area is measured to a baseline, a cropped y-axis overstates the drama. Multiple opaque areas also hide one another; use stacking only when the series form a meaningful total.
03
Box plot · defensive specialist
The median is only one player; the box plot brings the entire rotation.
Box plots compare distributions compactly: median, middle half, whiskers, and unusual observations. They excel when several groups need the same statistical x-ray and individual dots would become a pollen storm.
COACH’S CHALLENGEA box can conceal bimodality, sample size, and every charming wrinkle of shape. For small datasets, show the raw points too; for full density, consider a violin or ridgeline plot.
04
Heatmap · zone defense
When two categorical axes collide, color patrols the entire floor.
A heatmap turns repeated comparisons into a visual field. Instead of reading 24 numbers one by one, the eye spots hot columns, quiet rows, and suspicious intersections. Order both axes with intent; adjacency is doing analytical work.
COACH’S CHALLENGEColor supports pattern detection, not precision. Include a legend, use a perceptually ordered scale, and do not let a rainbow manufacture boundaries the data never had.
05
Funnel · transition tracker
Every stage asks the same cohort: who is still with us?
Funnels make sequential loss explicit. They fit conversion paths where each stage is a subset of the previous one: saw, visited, selected, purchased, attended. The steepest narrowing points to the next question, not automatically the next fix.
COACH’S CHALLENGENever funnel unrelated stage totals into a fake journey. If people can skip, re-enter, branch, or loop, use a Sankey or process view that admits the truth.
06
Chord diagram · passing savant
A circle of categories starts swapping volume across the lane.
Chord diagrams summarize many-to-many exchange among a small cast. Arc size shows each category’s total involvement; ribbons reveal who trades with whom. They favor the overview—dominant participants, reciprocal pairs, surprising connections—over exact route lookup.
COACH’S CHALLENGEThe readable category limit arrives early. If labels crowd or ribbons braid into upholstery, filter, aggregate, or switch to an adjacency matrix.
07
Force-directed graph · connective tissue
Relationships pull together; clusters emerge without assigned seats.
A force graph treats connections as springs and nodes as repelling bodies. Dense neighborhoods gather, bridges sit between groups, and isolates drift. It is exploratory topology: useful for seeing structure you did not already encode as a hierarchy.
COACH’S CHALLENGECoordinates are an outcome of the simulation, not measured values. Do not say one node is north of another as though geography happened. Layouts can also vary, so preserve stable identity and explain the forces.
Film room · matchup notes
A specialist earns its place by answering a narrow question.
Call the chart whose tradeoffs preserve the thing your reader must notice. Then tell them what the geometry cannot prove.
I need to…Compare a changing mix
Stacked barNormalize for share; retain totals when scale matters.
I need to…Feel sustained magnitude
AreaUse a meaningful baseline and restrained overlap.
I need to…Compare group spread
Box plotReport n; show raw points when the sample is small.
I need to…Find a two-way pattern
HeatmapOrder the axes and provide the color scale.
I need to…Locate stage loss
FunnelOne cohort, ordered subsets, no secret re-entry.
I need to…Survey reciprocal flow
ChordKeep the cast small and aggregate ruthlessly.
I need to…Explore relationships
Force graphPosition is simulated; links are the evidence.
I need to…Need exact values
Table firstA chart may accompany lookup; it cannot replace it.
The bench is not where lesser charts wait. It is where specific questions find the exact strange geometry they deserve.
THE SECOND RULECall the specialist. Name the tradeoff. Keep the evidence in bounds.