A chart type for every message
The ultimate ambition that should lie behind every chart is to carry a precise data-based message. Unsurprisingly, the very first thing we have to do when planning for a chart is to decide which specific message we want to give. You can think of this message as the answer to a certain business question, such as is brand X growing its market share consistently? or how do revenues relate with the price of the service?. Although business questions can be pretty ambiguous and multifaceted, in most cases, they fall within one of the following three types:
- Evolution: These questions deal with the development of quantities over time. If your business question contains words like grow, decline, increase, decrease, accelerate, decelerate, fall behind, lag, overtake, or trend, it will likely fall within the Evolution type. This is one of the most popular types of queries that data charts answer as the need to understand how business performance indicators...