Chart

Intro to charts

View as Markdown

Charts and visualizations are graphical data elements that add visual context to your analysis. They allow you to create, explore, and view your data in a more focused and digestible format.

By adding charts to a document, like a workbook or report, you can reveal patterns, trends, outliers, and correlations crucial to creating a compelling data narrative. Build each visualization to deliver specific data insights and answer important questions that help you make better business decisions.

This document introduces the types of charts Sigma offers and explains where to configure element properties and formatting.

Chart types

Effective charts are essential to telling meaningful data stories, but choosing the right type of chart can be a challenge. Consider the type of data you want to visualize, the questions you need to answer, and the users who will view and consume your analysis.

The following information can help you choose charts best suited for a clear and detailed narrative.

Vertical bar chart with five bars in shades of blue and teal, decreasing in height from left to right.

Bar chart

Show how values vary across categories or groups of data. Compare values against each other, in relation to a reference mark, or as proportions of a whole.

See Build a bar chart.

Line chart with four colored lines showing different trends over time, with a dark red line trending upward, light blue and dark blue lines diverging, and an orange line intersecting the dark blue and light blue lines on an upward trajectory.

Line chart

Show how values of one or more metrics change over time. Spot trends and identify anomalies in your dataset.

See Build a line chart.

KPI displaying the value 17,000,000 with a red down arrow indicating a 14.4% decrease, and an area chart comparison below.

KPI chart

Highlight a single metric value to measure performance or progress toward a goal. Summarize the total value for a specific period, compare the value over time, or measure it against a benchmark or target.

See Build a KPI chart.

Stacked area chart with five colored layers in warm tones showing cumulative values that rise sharply at the start and then remain steady.

Area chart

Illustrate the magnitude or cumulative values of one or more metrics over time. Compare categories or groups of data, or evaluate the data composition or part-to-whole relationship.

See Area charts.

Scatter plot with pink data points showing a general upward trend from lower left to upper right.

Scatter plot

Demonstrate the presence and strength of a correlation between metrics. Analyze patterns, understand distribution, and identify outliers in your dataset.

See Build a scatter plot.

Combo chart combining green vertical bars with a blue line overlay, both showing a gradual upward trend.

Combo chart

Combine bar, line, area, and/or point marks to compare multiple types of metrics. Evaluate the relationship to identify correlations and variations between the datasets.

See Combo charts.

Box and whisker chart with blue and pink box plots showing value distributions across two categories, with outlier points.

Box chart

Show the value distribution of one or more metrics. Mark the minimum, median, and maximum values, and identify outliers in your dataset.

See Box and whisker charts.

Donut chart with five colored segments in muted purple, dark blue, red, teal, and gold tones.

Pie and donut charts

Portray values as proportions of a whole to convey the data distribution and part-to-whole relationship.

See Pie and donut charts.

Sankey diagram with colored flows connecting three source categories on the left to two destination categories on the right.

Sankey diagram

Show how data flows and changes throughout a process or system. Compare the movements and proportions of data across different paths to analyze distributions, workflow, networks, and more.

See Build a Sankey diagram.

Funnel chart with five stages in different colors, narrowing from the widest stage at the top to the narrowest at the bottom.

Funnel chart

Measure values across sequential stages in a linear process. Gain insight into inputs across stages, identify bottlenecks and other issues, and assess the overall health of the process.

See Build a funnel chart.

Gauge chart with a teal filled arc and an orange needle pointing slightly past the midpoint, with an unfilled gray section.

Gauge chart

Measure a single-value metric against a radial scale. Evaluate growth, assess performance, and track progress toward a goal.

See Build a gauge chart.

Waterfall chart with gray, green, and red bars showing starting values, increases, and decreases.

Waterfall chart

Show changes in one or two categories of data over a time period.

See Build a waterfall chart.

Region map of the United States with states shaded in varying intensities of blue-green.

Region map

Illustrate data distribution by region, including country, state, county, and city. Compare scale to identify variability and patterns across distinct geographical areas.

See Maps.

Point map of the United States with green dots marking data locations across the country.

Point map

Illustrate data distribution with precise positioning based on latitude and longitude coordinates. Reveal geospatial patterns and identify outliers in your dataset.

See Maps.

Geography map showing street-level detail of Manhattan with blue line overlays representing geospatial data.

Geography map

Illustrate geospatial objects on a map using geography (WKT) or variant (GeoJSON) data. Demonstrate data distribution, reveal patterns, illustrate spatial networks, or assess data variability across distinct geographical areas.

See Build a geography map.

Custom configurations

Charts feature various properties and formatting options that determine how your data is represented. With a wide range of customizable configurations, you can enhance your charts and ensure they present meaningful and actionable information. Options for customizing the configuration of a chart are located in the editor panel, under the Properties and Format tabs.

Properties

In the Properties tab of the editor panel, you can select a chart type and configure source columns to define chart properties, including axis categories, metrics, colors, trellising, and tooltips.

You can convert data value types, change the data aggregation or truncation, and customize chart markers and tooltips. Depending on the chart type selected, you may also have options to change the chart orientation, modify data stacking, and add trellis rows and columns.

A line chart named "Monthly Revenue by Store Region" color categorized by a column named Store Region, with a column named Month of Date as the X-axis and a column named Revenue as the Y-axis configured in the Properties tab.

Formatting

In the Format tab of the editor panel, you can customize the appearance of various components, including the chart’s title, size, and alignment. Depending on the chart type selected, you can also format the background, axes, legend, data labels, reference marks, trend lines, and more.

A line chart named "Monthly Revenue by Store Region" with the Line style formatting options expanded, and the line's interpolations set to Smooth, Stroke style set to Dashed, and Stroke width set to 2px.