Attempting to organize chart types based on their primary portrayal method is not new (see http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1805128 and http://www.visualizing.org/stories/taxonomy-data-visualization). The classifications presented in this chapter reveal a personal view—informed by knowledge, experience, and instinct—of a logical way to organize thinking about the relationship between data variables, visual variables, and chart frameworks.
The examples presented are intended to cover the most typical and contemporary approaches being used today. It is an arbitrary statement, but you should find that on 95 percent of occasions one or several of the chart types shown will cover your requirements. The remaining 5 percent will probably require custom-built solutions for very specific data shapes and contexts.
Note that many of the chart types presented hold numerous presentational characteristics and could belong to more than just one classification of method...