Waterfall Chart
Box and Whiskers
3D Pie Charts
by Jon Peltier
Peltier Technical Services, Inc., Copyright © 2009.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Federico gives us this excellent example of a 3D pie chart, thanks to GraphJam.
The only way I can think of to improve this chart is to explode the segments.
Oh yeah, and animate it. I’ve done just that in this zipped workbook.
GraphJam ought to be banned. After I came across the pie chart at the top of the page (I forget where I first saw it, but thanks somebody!), my daughter and I wasted spent an hour laughing at other graphs.
Before you think I’m completely against pie charts altogether, let me say that there are some pie charts, even in 3D and exploded varieties, which are acceptable and even welcome. This one came to me thanks to Nathan of Flowing Data. It is actually a commercial product by Mary and Matt.
I feel a Homer moment coming on.
Possibly Related Posts:
- OT Friday: GraphJam
- OT: Charting to Achieve Fitness Goals
- Line Chart vs. Step Chart
- Introducing Control Charts (Run Charts)
- Step Chart Without Risers
- An Undistorted Election Results Map
- Clustered Bars as an Alternative to Stacked Bars or Bubbles
- California Majority Party by County
Posted: Friday, November 21st, 2008 under Amusement.
Comments: 7
Comments
I welcome comments from my readers. If you have an opinion on this post, if you have a question or if there is anything to add, I want to hear from you. Whether you agree or disagree, please join the discussion.
Read the PTS Blog Comment Policy.
Comment from Bob Gannon
Time: Friday, November 21, 2008, 3:26 pm
A different perspective can be an improvement. If you added an adjacent panel with a nice spider chart of the same data everything would be crystal clear.
Comment from Jon Peltier
Time: Friday, November 21, 2008, 4:43 pm
Bob -
How would that help? Excel doesn’t even have a 3D Radar Chart Type!
Pingback from 5 visualizations to inspire you [Nov 21] | Pointy Haired Dilbert - Chandoo.org
Time: Friday, November 21, 2008, 6:56 pm
[...] We all know that 3D pies are not a very good way to express your story. I guess this one is an exception we all are happy to make [via PTS Blog] [...]
Comment from Bob Gannon
Time: Friday, November 21, 2008, 7:01 pm
Just being sarcastic. I think the only thing worse than pie charts are spider charts.
Comment from Jon Peltier
Time: Friday, November 21, 2008, 8:23 pm
Bob -
So was I. I’m not a big fan of either type, though I guess each has a place. At a wobbly table next to the kitchen.
Comment from Sandi Mays
Time: Friday, November 21, 2008, 8:56 pm
I am not a pie charts fan. Which is kind of surprising, because I really do love pie. Why waste my time and a sheet of paper with that? Showing the data in table would be a better bet.
I once had someone ask me to teach them to animate a pie chart. I refused on principal :)
Comment from Jon Peltier
Time: Friday, November 21, 2008, 10:18 pm
Chandoo -
Your post, which referenced this one, inspired me in a way you couldn’t have expected.
Sandi -
You didn’t like my animation?
I love pie. Even my friend Dick has stated that Peltier Loves Pie. But not pie charts.
Write a comment