Top 5 Types of Charts and their Uses

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Yes, you read that right.

Visual content can help you capture attention and convey information faster. Our brain processes visual content over 60,000 times faster than numbers and text.

A research conducted on more than 100 million Facebook updates and the result shows that Facebook updates with images had 2.3 times more engagement than those without.

Still, the impact of visual content goes beyond social media. A similar research and discovered roughly two-thirds of people understand information better when visual content is used.

You can use various types of charts to help your viewers grasp information faster. Also, they make data stories compelling and persuasive.

Some of the different types of charts we recommend you give a try this 2022 are:

1. Scatter Plot
2. Multi Axis Line Chart
3. Sentiment Trend Chart
4. Donut Chart
5. Box and Whisker Chart

These charts and graphs can help you to understand data quickly. When you show an easy-to-interpret graph, your data story gains clarity and authority.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re comparing sales figures or highlighting a trend.

Excel lacks a huge chunk of the charts we’ve highlighted above, such as Box and Whisker and Multi Axis Line Chart.

Did you know you can access these charts in your Excel by installing a particular add-in? If you did not, keep reading to discover more about this easy-to-use add-in.

In this blog, you’ll learn:

• Top 5 types of charts and their uses.
• What is a chart?
• Uses of charts in analysis.
• Different types of charts and graphs and their uses.
• How to create different types of charts in Excel?
• We’ll recommend a proven add-in to install in your Excel to access charts, such as Box and Whisker and Multi Axis Line Chart.

Before jumping into the blog’s core, we’ll address the following question: what is a chart?

What is a Chart?

Definition: A chart is a visual representation of your data.

Graphs and charts can help bring hidden insights to light by visually showing the causal relationships, patterns, and trends.

Besides, they’re a much better approach than displaying lists or tables of numbers that force your audience to process data and determine trends, patterns, and relationships.

Technology has made it easier for you to separate noise from signals in your data. And in many cases, it has automated the creation of charts and graphs for your data stories.

For instance, a Bar Chart that shows how costs vary between two similar factories can help management quickly uncover the underlying problem and deal with it.

In the coming section, we’ll take you through the uses of charts in analysis and data storytelling.

What are the Uses of Charts in Analysis?

Charts and graphs are recommended methods for displaying patterns, trends, and relationships in your data.

The purpose of charts is to display actionable insights into the data that’s bulky and complex to be presented using tables.

However, graphs are not suitable for smaller data samples.

It is imperative to select a chart or graph based on the nature of the data, your overall goals, and the intended audience.

In the coming section, we’ll take you through the different types of charts and graphs and their uses.

Top 5 Different Types of Charts and their Uses in Data Storytelling

Lets discuss 5 different charts and their uses in data storytelling.

1. Scatter Plot Chart

A Scatter Plot is a visualization design you can use to highlight insights into the relationships that exist between key data points.

The graph communicates insights using dots within the x and y-axes. The dots appear “scattered”, hence its name.

Use the Scatter Plot Chart to compare two or more key metrics in your data.

Look at the table below.

Products Type	Products	Sales	No. of Orders	In Stock
Cosmetic	Face Primer	90	10	26
Cosmetic	Foundation	70	12	16
Cosmetic	Concealer	190	9	13
Cosmetic	Blush	880	16	21
Cosmetic	Highlighter	900	22	35
Cosmetic	Bronzer	600	23	23
Cosmetic	Powder	600	42	38
Cosmetic	Eye Primer	1300	19	43
Electronics	TVs	590	28	32
Electronics	Refrigerators	390	11	33
Electronics	Washing machines	490	41	22
Electronics	Air Conditioners	390	18	40
Electronics	Printers	260	17	42
Electronics	Speakers	210	2	19
Electronics	Keyboards	170	23	34
Electronics	E-Readers	170	13	25
Garments	Mobile Phones	140	27	21
Garments	Sweater	110	13	40
Garments	Hoodies	110	12	35
Garments	T-shirts	760	6	35
Garments	Jeans	1500	7	38
Garments	Sweat Shirts	1000	19	39
Garments	Formal Trousers	150	10	28
Garments	Polo Shirts	380	14	15

Notice the difference after visualizing the data using a Scatter Plot.

Insights: There’s no direct relationship between the number of orders and sales in all the products (garments, electronics, and garments).

2. Multi-Axis Line Charts

A Multi-Axis Line Chart (one of the top 5 types of charts and their uses) combines the Line and Area Charts with a secondary axis.

You can easily display insights into two or more key data points.

Check out the table below. Can you provide key insights into the table below?

Month	Laptop	TV	Mobile	Tablet
Jan	45	60	40	35
Feb	60	80	30	70
Mar	55	65	50	55
Apr	35	70	55	80
May	55	55	70	55
Jun	75	85	20	90
Jul	60	50	55	70
Aug	40	30	80	35
Sep	50	55	60	40
Oct	80	75	20	60
Nov	30	50	65	55
Dec	25	30	35	50

Notice the difference after visualizing the data above.

3. Sentiment Trend Chart

A Sentiment Trend Chart (one of the top 5 types of charts and their uses) displays the trends and patterns of opinions of the target market.

The visualization design is insightful and easy to read, especially if your goal is to highlight the decline and growth of key variables.

The line in the graph displays the trends and patterns of key variables over a specified period.

Check out the table below. Can you provide key insights into the table below?

Topic	Positive	Negative
Customer Service	67	33
Shipping	60	40
Price	75	25
Selection	85	15
Return Policy	30	70
Ordering Process	75	15
Communication	90	10

Check out the final chart. You can easily point out declining and growing variables in your data.

To access ready-to-go Sentiment Trend Charts, download and install ChartExpo for Excel.

4. Donut Chart

Donut charts are visualization designs you can use to display insights into the proportions of categories present in your raw data.

Each piece of the chart represents the proportion of each category relative to the whole (totals). The graph answers questions about your data like: what are the proportions of the key categories present in your data?

Check out the table below. Can you provide key insights into the table below?

Sports Name	Played
Football	60
Cricket	33
Hockey	30
Tennis	15

Notice the difference after visualizing the table above.

Football accounts for 43% of the most popular sports worldwide, followed by cricket (24%) and hockey (22%).

5. Box and Whisker Charts

A Box and Whisker Plot (one of the top 5 types of charts and their uses) distills your data into averages and quartiles.

Use the Box and Whisker Plot to highlight outliers in your data. The chart displays key variables as quartiles.

You can draw boxes to connect the 1^st quartile to the 3^rd quartile. In this scenario, the boxes will represent the average values of key metrics understudy.

Whiskers are lines that depict variables outside of the average value. The highest and lowest values can be outliers, depending on the frequency of the occurrence.

The chart is made up of the following components, namely:

• Median value
• Third quartile
• Maximum value
• Minimum value
• Second quartile

Check out the table below. Can you provide key insights into the table below?

Subjects	Male	Female
Chemistry	54	2
Physics	45	5
Mathematics	35	15
Computer	36	14
Chemistry	38	20
Physics	52	15
Mathematics	28	20
Computer	58	15
Chemistry	47	12
Physics	30	20
Mathematics	41	21
Computer	52	18
Chemistry	48	12
Physics	35	15
Mathematics	62	8
Computer	56	29
Chemistry	27	13
Physics	79	21
Mathematics	75	15
Computer	55	25

Check out the final chart.

In the coming section, you’ll learn how to create different types of Excel charts.

How to Create Different Types of Charts in Excel?

Excel is one of the most-used visualization instruments. However, the spreadsheet application lacks ready-made top 5 types of charts and their uses, such as Sentiment Trend Charts.

We’re not advising you to do away with Excel in favor of other expensive tools.

And this is because there’s an amazingly affordable visualization tool that comes as an add-in you can easily install in Excel to access insightful and ready-to-go charts. The tool is called ChartExpo.

So, what is ChartExpo?

ChartExpo is an add-in you can easily install in your Excel without needing tutorials.

With many ready-to-go and insightful charts, graphs, and maps, ChartExpo turns your complex, raw data into easy-to-interpret and visually appealing excel charts that tell data stories in real time.

More benefits

• ChartExpo is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product, which makes it extremely light. You have a 100% guarantee that your Excel won’t be slowed down.
• You can export your charts in JPEG, PDF, SVG, and PNG formats.
• ChartExpo add-in is only $10 a month after the end of the trial period.

Example

This section will use Sentiment Trend Charts to visualize the data below.

Topic	Positive	Negative
Customer Service	67	33
Shipping	60	40
Price	75	25
Selection	85	15
Return Policy	30	70
Ordering Process	75	15
Communication	90	10

• To install ChartExpo into your Excel, click this link.
• Open the worksheet and click the Insert button to access the My Apps option.

• Select ChartExpo add-in and click the Insert button.

• Once ChartExpo is loaded, you will see a list of charts.

• Look for “Sentiment Trend Chart” in the list of charts.

• Highlight the data to be visualized and click the Create Chart From Selection button, as shown below.

• Check out the final chart.

FAQs:

What are the 3 main types of charts used to explain data?

Bar, Pie, and Line charts are crucial in your visualization strategy because they can help you extract hidden insights into:

• Proportions
• Trends and patterns
• Relationships

These charts are incredibly easy to read and interpret. Besides, you can easily incorporate visualization designs into your data stories for presentation.

What are the advantages of using charts?

Graphs and charts can help bring hidden insights to light in an easy-to-interpret way by visually showing the causal relationships, patterns, and trends.

Besides, they’re a much better approach than displaying lists or tables of numbers that force your audience to process data and determine trends, patterns, and relationships.

Wrap Up

Data is new oil. The reason for this is quickly motivate, enhance, and bring out the best in your audience.

While the actual figure fluctuates, the world is thought to produce 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. Given the amount of data being generated, it is not unexpected that visualization has grown to be such a crucial talent.

Visualization is becoming more and more valuable as organizations and governments work to promote innovation and preserve a competitive advantage.