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The Radial Bar Chart is one of the visualization designs experts use to display totals across categories in data. Why?
The chart is amazingly easy to read and interpret. The only difference between Bar and Radial Bar Charts is the shape. Visualizing your data using a Radial Bar Chart does not have to be overwhelming and time-consuming, primarily if you use Google Sheets.
Why?
Google Sheets as a Radial Chart maker lacks ready-made and visually stunning charts. In other words, it does not natively support Radial Bar Graphs.
Worry not.
You can supercharge your Google Sheets’ usability by downloading and installing a particular add-on, which we’ll talk about later.
In this blog, you’ll learn:
Before delving into the how-to guide, let’s cover the definition part.
A Radial Bar Chart is a version of Bar Graphs plotted on a polar coordinate system rather than on a Cartesian one. A Radial Chart is also called a Circular Bar Chart.
While they look visually appealing, the problem with Radial Bar Charts is that the bar lengths can be misinterpreted.
This chart shares immense similarities with the multilayered Donut Chart— a version of the classical Bar Chart. In other words, interpreting this chart is just as easy as getting insights from the Bar Visualization Designs.
Each bar on the outside gets relatively longer than the preceding one. In addition, each bar has a varying radius and angle.
Like a bar chart, the bars in this chart represent the changes in variables in your data. So the sizes of the almost circular bars depict the magnitude of change in variables.
For instance, in the Radial Chart (above), fresh vegetables account for $7 million of the total sales ($33 million). On the other hand, coffee is the worst-performing product relative to others.
To create an easy-to-interpret chart, you need a tested and proven Radial Chart maker. Keep reading to learn more.
Take a look at the table below. Can you tell the whole data story of what’s going on?
| Products | Revenue (in millions) |
| Fresh Vegetables | $7.7 |
| Hot Dogs | $6.38 |
| Fresh Fruit | $5.77 |
| Frozen Vegetables | $5.03 |
| Sugar | $4.71 |
| Coffee | $4.04 |
Note the difference after visualizing data. You can easily point out key insights. For instance, the best-moving product is fresh vegetables. Conversely, the worst-selling product is coffee, closely followed by sugar.
Take a look at the table below? What’s the favorite sport among students?
| Name of the Sport | Total Number of Students |
| Cricket | 45 |
| Football | 53 |
| Basketball | 99 |
| Volleyball | 44 |
| Chess | 66 |
| Table Tennis | 22 |
| Badminton | 37 |
Now, note the difference after visualizing the data.
The most popular sport among students is basketball, followed by football and cricket. On the other hand, the least popular sport is table tennis, followed by badminton.
Google Sheets has inbuilt charts you can use to display insights into your raw data.
However, the freemium spreadsheet application lacks a ready-to-use and visually stunning Radial Chart for your analysis. The most viable option is to supercharge the usability of Google Sheets with a tested and proven add-on called ChartExpo.
ChartExpo does not require coding or programming skills, unlike other data visualization-based add-ons. More so, it has an ultra-friendly UI for everyone to use.
This tool comes pre-loaded with over 50 advanced charts to offset the missing ones in Google Sheets.
Use ChartExpo to generate easy-to-read and interpret Radial Charts.
ChartExpo comes as an add-on for Google Sheets.
Essentially, it turns your Google Sheets into a reliable data visualization companion capable of delivering hidden insights into your data, irrespective of the size or complexity.
The premium Radial Chart maker comes with a 7-day free trial period.
The key benefit of ChartExpo is the fact that it produces charts that are easy to read and interpret in few clicks without any coding. More so, it allows you to save charts in the world’s most recognized formats, namely PNG and JPG.
ChartExpo is cloud-hosted, which makes it extremely light. You have a 100% guarantee that your browser won’t be slowed down.
In the coming section, we’ll show you how to visualize data using a ready-made Radial Chart in ChartExpo.
This section will use a Radial Chart maker to display insights into the table below.
| Products | Revenue (in million) |
| Fresh Vegetables | 7.7 |
| Hot Dogs | 6.38 |
| Fresh Fruit | 5.77 |
| Frozen Vegetables | 5.03 |
| Sugar | 4.71 |
| Coffee | 4.04 |
Check out the practical uses of a Radial Chart.
A Radial Bar Chart can help you compare variables with a single diagram.
The visualization design can help you understand a metric and its value over different parameters. For instance, you can analyze the performance of a product using cost and revenue parameters.
Also, you can use the chart to visualize continuous data series across time, such as sales revenue.
You can use a Radial Chart as a backdrop of the decision-making process.
You can use the chart to create compelling data stories for your target audiences (and readers). And this is because a Radial Bar Chart is incredibly easy to interpret.
To get the most from this chart, use it in the following scenarios:
You can use the Radial Bar Chart to compare varying metrics in your data. For instance, you can use the chart to compare the profitability of various locations in a given period.
You can easily create comparisons using different color shades.
A Radial Bar Chart Google Sheets is the go-to visualization design if your goal is to uncover hidden insights into key variables in your data. For instance, you can easily point out how a particular metric, such as sales revenue, has changed over time.
You can leverage the Radial Bar Graph as the backdrop of the decision-making process in your workplace or business.
And this is because the chart is amazingly easy to interpret.
You can also use the chart in various sectors, such as digital marketing, sales, research, education, finance, etc.
Avoid a Radial Bar Chart Google Sheets in the following scenarios
A Radial Bar Chart uses circular shapes to compare key metrics in your data.
The chart shares a resemblance with Bar Charts. But, it uses circular bars to display insights. Use this chart to compare the performance of key variables in your raw data.
Google Sheets library lacks ready-made and visually stunning Radial Bar Graphs. Essentially, you have to follow a super time-consuming process to visualize your data using the chart.
But, you can supercharge your Google Sheets with third-party add-ons, such as ChartExpo, to access ready-to-use Radial Charts.
Radial Graph are best-suited in displaying outliers and commonalities in your raw data. Besides, the space-saving visual design can handle bulky and complex data without causing clutter. You can leverage the graph to compare key data points.
Also, you can use the chart to display part-to-whole insights into your raw data.
As we said, the Radial Bar Chart is one of the visualization designs experts use to display totals across categories in data. Why?
The chart is amazingly straightforward to interpret. The only difference between Bar and Radial Bar Charts is the shape. Visualizing your data using Radial Bar Chart does not have to be overwhelming and time-consuming, especially if you use Google Sheets.
Avoid using Google Sheets as your premier Radial Chart maker if your goal is to save time and generate simple, high-quality, and easy-to-interpret charts. To visualize your data using this chart, you have to follow a super-long and time-consuming process.
To avoid the challenges (above), we recommend you install third-party apps, such as ChartExpo, into your Google Sheets for ready-to-go Radial Bar Charts.
Essentially, ChartExpo is an add-on you can easily download and install in your Google Sheets app. More so, the tool comes loaded with ready-to-use Radial Charts, plus over 50 more advanced visualization designs.
Sign up for a 7-day trial to enjoy unlimited access to ready-to-go and visually appealing Radial Bar Charts.
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