When to Use Bar Graphs

THE SKINNY ON BAR GRAPHS OVERVIEW The first known publication of a bar graph occurred in in William Playfair's A bar graph is a graphic with rectangular BARS with lengths proportional 1786 "The Commercial & Political Atlas." Exporta and inporta of SCOTLAND o nd from different part far ode Yeur frorn ('heiftruas 1780 to Chriftrenr 17o Jersey ke medand Bland ble af Han Onlend Hollend Skedere to the values Drd and Flandere Araica they represent. Feland The l'iright dirifiens are Ten Thnyand trunds each The Blark Liner are Exporte the Ribbed lin Impert TYPES OF BAR GRAPHS l. VERTICAL HORIZONTAL Tall rectangles of varying lengths that represent and Wide rectangles of varying lengths that represent and compare different categories of things. compare different categories of things. GROUPED STACKED Rectangles of varying lengths that are clustered in groups to Rectangles of varying lengths that are divided into subparts compare different to show the groups of categories. cumulative effect. CONTROVERSY Sometimes, bar graphs are a preferred alternative to pie charts, though there are some who hate pie charts so much that they think bar graphs should always be used. USE PIE IF USE BAR IF there are only a few data points & they have vastly different values there are many data points or data points with similar values Many data points or similar With only a few slices of varying proportions to compare, it is easy for the values are easier for the viewer to understand when they are presented as bars. Varying heights are more visible than varying angles. viewer to understand the relationship between the different slices. NEW in 2015: Enhance your infographics with Zanifesto's new custom charts & graphs builder. * Made for FREE at * zanifesto.com