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Canonical: https://semiotic.nteract.io/examples/data-viz-for-dummies-4
Data Viz for Dummies IV
Special teams · complete the core chart roster
The last charts are not obscure. They are specific.
Parts I through III covered the reliable starters and their sharpest substitutes. Part IV finishes the core Semiotic roster: fifteen charts whose value appears when the question includes a whole, a threshold, a third variable, a long timeline, or a system moving through time.
15 remaining charts7 decision boundaries1 complete roster
VIZ 404RC · 2026
04SPECIAL TEAMS
Specific question · specific geometry
100Range
99Fit
96Depth
00Filler
00
Completion board · specialist rotations
Specialists make sense when the question arrives before the chart.
The remaining roster is easiest to remember in rotations, not alphabetically. Each group protects one kind of structure: a whole, a judgment scale, a population, a multivariate decision, layered time, navigation, or a moving system.
COACH’S CHALLENGEDo not treat this page as permission to use the most elaborate available chart. Specific charts have narrow winning conditions—and unusually clear reasons to stay seated.
The final rotation board
Every remaining chart has a sentence it is waiting to finish
Start with the question in the third column. The chart names are the answer only after that sentence is true.01Share
Pie · Donut
How is one whole divided?
Keep the number of slices low.02Verdict
Gauge · Likert
Where do we stand against a standard?
The standard must be defensible.03Population
Swarm · Bubble
Which observations or magnitudes matter?
Packing and area reduce precision.04Diagnosis
Quadrant · Scatterplot matrix
Which multivariate pattern needs action?
Every extra variable raises reading cost.05Layered time
Stacked area · Multi-axis · Candlestick
Which structure rides on the time axis?
Shared time does not mean shared scale.06Navigation
Swimlane · Minimap
Where and when should the reader look?
Overview and detail need a clear contract.07Systems
Orbit · Process Sankey
Is the system organized by relation or timed flow?
Layout metaphor must match system behavior. 01
Pie + donut · one whole, few parts
A circle earns the ball when the whole is the headline.
Pie and donut charts trade precise ranking for immediate part-to-whole recognition. Pie gives the wedges maximum area; donut opens a center for a total, status, or annotation. Both need a short category list and a meaningful total.
COACH’S CHALLENGENever use several pies when the real task is comparison across groups. Aligned bars will expose differences that rotating angles conceal.
Shot diet · 260 attempts
Pie: let wedges own the stage
The same five-category total changes form without changing its claim. Toggle to see what the center space costs and buys.02
Gauge + Likert · judgment made visible
A value becomes a verdict only after the standard enters the picture.
A gauge locates one current value inside named performance zones. A Likert chart aggregates ordered responses around a neutral center. One summarizes status; the other preserves disagreement.
COACH’S CHALLENGEA gauge without a consequential threshold is decorative speedometer chrome. A Likert chart without ordered, balanced response levels is just a badly labeled stacked bar.
03
Swarm + bubble · every body counts
Show every observation, then decide whether size deserves a voice.
A swarm exposes individual values while packing overlaps aside. A bubble chart moves observations onto two quantitative axes and gives a third measure to area. The first protects the crowd; the second promotes multivariate magnitude.
COACH’S CHALLENGEBubble area is not a precision channel, and swarm packing is not a second measurement. Treat both as readable displacement, never as a hidden axis.
04
Quadrant + scatterplot matrix · multivariate film room
Decide with the quadrant; investigate with the matrix.
Quadrants impose meaningful cut lines on two measures and name the resulting actions. A scatterplot matrix compares every pair in a small metric set to expose correlations, clusters, and redundant variables.
COACH’S CHALLENGEQuadrant lines are policy, not natural law. Matrix cells multiply quickly, so three or four purposeful fields beat a wall of tiny plots.
05
Stacked area + multi-axis + candlestick · time with extra structure
The time axis stays familiar while the analytical grammar changes.
Stacked area tracks a changing total and its composition. Multi-axis lines compare two differently scaled measures that share timing. Candlesticks preserve open, high, low, and close—or simply a range—inside every period.
COACH’S CHALLENGEComposition, dual scale, and interval are three different claims. Do not choose among them by silhouette; choose by the structure each observation actually contains.
06
Swimlane + minimap · overview guides attention
When time gets crowded or long, give the reader somewhere to stand.
Swimlanes organize events or tasks into stable rows so overlap becomes schedule. A minimap compresses a long series into an overview and lets a brush choose the detail window. One separates concurrent work; the other preserves long-range context.
COACH’S CHALLENGEA swimlane is not a duration chart unless the value truly represents duration. A minimap is wasted space when the entire series is already legible at once.
07
Orbit + process Sankey · systems need verbs
A system can revolve around relationships or move through timed states.
Orbit diagrams turn hierarchy into a center-and-satellite metaphor, emphasizing levels and affiliation. Process Sankey adds real time to flow: nodes become lanes with lifetimes and ribbons travel between them at dated intervals.
COACH’S CHALLENGEOrbit motion is not evidence of measured motion. Process Sankey needs actual start and end times; without temporal events, an ordinary Sankey is the honest choice.
Final whistle · the complete roster
The rare chart is ordinary when its question is precise.
Parts I–IV now cover every named core XY, ordinal, and network chart in Semiotic. Keep the question, data contract, and reading cost on the same scouting report.
I need to…Divide one whole
Pie or donutFew parts; one meaningful total.
I need to…Judge against a standard
Gauge or LikertStatus for one value; sentiment for a crowd.
I need to…Keep individuals visible
Swarm or bubbleUse size only when the third measure matters.
I need to…Act on several measures
Quadrant or matrixDecide with thresholds; diagnose pairwise.
I need to…Add structure to time
Area, multi-axis, candleComposition, separate scale, or interval.
I need to…Navigate dense time
Swimlane or minimapSeparate concurrency or brush long context.
I need to…Explain a moving system
Orbit or process SankeyAffiliation is not temporal flow.
I need to…The contract is unclear
Return to the questionSpecificity is the entry fee.
Completion does not mean using every chart. It means knowing why every chart might earn its one perfect possession.
THE FOURTH RULEName the structure that makes the specialist necessary.