Tree source definition
situation: Where are you with your chart right now?
Each answer points to the reference that is strongest for that moment. Sources and caveats are in Chart selection references compared.
- I know the message I want to show, but not which chart family fits
- I have a dataset and do not know which chart suits it
- I have a chart but it looks cluttered, misleading or off
- I want to browse chart forms, including unusual ones
- I need to teach chart literacy to a team
data-narrowing: How do you want to narrow it down?
- Follow a decision tree by data type, with the common mistakes explained
- Filter a big gallery by input structure, purpose or shape
browse-style: What kind of browsing suits you?
rec-ft: FT Visual Vocabulary
FT Chart Doctor — Visual Vocabulary — a poster and web page that groups chart types by the job they do: deviation, correlation, ranking, distribution, change over time, part-to-whole, magnitude, spatial and flow. Good for deciding what you are trying to show. It is static and about ten years old (repo created 2016, last commit 2024-03-12), and it has no accessibility or colour guidance, so pair it with Wilke for design principles.
Citations
rec-data-to-viz: From Data to Viz
From Data to Viz — a decision tree from your data type (numeric, categoric, both, maps, network, time series) to about 39 chart types in seven families. Each chart page links to R, Python, D3.js and React tutorials, and a gallery explains 12 common mistakes such as cut y-axes and rainbow palettes. The page shows copyright 2018 and promises no updates, so treat it as stable rather than current.
Citations
rec-wilke: Fundamentals of Data Visualization
Fundamentals of Data Visualization by Claus O. Wilke — a free online book (O’Reilly also sells print and ebook versions) with chapters on proportional ink, overlapping points, colour pitfalls, redundant coding and multi-panel figures. It explains why a chart fails, not just which one to pick. The online text is the author’s manuscript before final copy-editing, and it is licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, so you cannot make derivatives.
Citations
rec-dataviz-project: Data Viz Project
Data Viz Project — a catalogue of about 166 chart types by Ferdio, an infographic agency, filterable by input structure, function (comparison, correlation, distribution, part to whole, trend over time and others) and shape. It is more a catalogue than a guide: the main page gives no advice on when to use each type, so confirm the pick against a guide before committing.
Citations
rec-catalogue: Data Visualisation Catalogue
The Data Visualisation Catalogue — an A-to-Z list of 60 chart types with one page each, searchable by function. The home page does not say what each method page contains, so check one before relying on it. No author or year is shown on the home page.
Citations
rec-teach: FT Visual Vocabulary, then Wilke
Start with the FT Visual Vocabulary — its README says it sits at the core of an FT newsroom-wide training session aimed at chart literacy, and that it is not meant to teach everyone how to make charts. Then add Wilke’s book for the principles of figure design. Check the poster’s age with your group before you teach from it.