Chart Types Overview

What You'll Learn

• Overview of Power BI chart types
• When to use each chart type
• Best practices for choosing visuals
• Creating your first charts

Why Visualizations Matter

Data is just numbers until you visualize it!

Good visuals:

• Tell a story
• Make patterns obvious
• Enable quick decisions
• Are easy to understand

Bad visuals:

• Confuse viewers
• Hide insights
• Slow down analysis
• Look cluttered

Common Chart Types

Bar and Column Charts

Best for:

• Comparing categories
• Rankings
• Showing differences

Bar (horizontal): Use when category names are long

Column (vertical): Use for time series or short labels

Clustered: Compare multiple measures side-by-side

Stacked: Show part-to-whole relationships

Example uses:

• Sales by product
• Revenue by region
• Monthly comparisons

Line Charts

Best for:

• Trends over time
• Continuous data
• Showing growth/decline

Single line: One measure over time

Multiple lines: Compare multiple trends

Area chart: Like line but filled underneath

Example uses:

• Sales trends
• Stock prices
• Temperature over time

Pie and Donut Charts

Best for:

• Part-to-whole relationships
• When you have 3-5 categories
• Showing percentages

Pie: Classic circular chart

Donut: Pie with hole in middle (looks modern!)

When NOT to use:

• More than 5-7 slices
• Comparing similar values
• Need precision

Example uses:

• Market share
• Budget breakdown
• Category distribution

Cards and KPIs

Card: Shows single number (BIG!)

Use for:

• Total sales
• Customer count
• Any key metric

Multi-row card: Shows multiple values in list

KPI: Shows value + target + trend

Use for:

• Performance tracking
• Goal achievement
• Executive dashboards

Tables and Matrices

Table: Simple rows and columns

Matrix: Cross-tab with row/column groupings

Use for:

• Detailed data
• When users need exact numbers
• Export to Excel scenarios
• Supporting detail for charts

Scatter Charts

Best for:

• Correlation analysis
• Finding outliers
• Comparing two measures

Bubble chart: Scatter with third measure as size

Example uses:

• Price vs quantity
• Sales vs profit
• Risk vs return

Maps

Filled map: Color regions by value

Bubble map: Circles sized by measure

Best for:

• Geographic data
• Regional comparisons
• Location-based analysis

Example uses:

• Sales by country
• Store locations
• Delivery routes

Gauge Charts

Best for:

• Progress to goal
• Capacity utilization
• Performance metrics

Shows:

• Current value
• Target
• Min/max range

Treemap

Best for:

• Hierarchical data
• Part-to-whole with categories
• Space-efficient comparisons

Shows: Rectangles sized by measure

Example uses:

• Product categories
• File sizes
• Market segments

Waterfall Charts

Best for:

• Showing cumulative effect
• Break down of changes
• From start to end value

Example uses:

• Profit/loss breakdown
• Budget variance
• Inventory changes

Funnel Charts

Best for:

• Process stages
• Conversion rates
• Sales pipeline

Shows: Progressive reduction through stages

Example uses:

• Sales funnel
• Website conversion
• Manufacturing process

Choosing the Right Chart

Ask these questions:

1. What am I comparing?

   • Categories? Bar/Column
   • Time trends? Line
   • Part-to-whole? Pie
   • Two measures? Scatter

2. How many data points?

   • Few (< 10)? Most charts OK
   • Many (> 20)? Avoid pie, use line/bar

3. What action should viewers take?

   • Compare? Bar/Column
   • Track progress? KPI/Gauge
   • Find patterns? Scatter/Line
   • See location? Map

Creating Charts in Power BI

Basic steps:

1. Select visual type Click icon in Visualizations pane

2. Add data Drag fields to appropriate wells:

   • Axis
   • Values
   • Legend
   • Tooltips

3. Format Use Format pane (paint roller)

4. Resize and position Drag to move, drag corners to resize

Chart Best Practices

Do:

• Start Y-axis at zero (for bars/columns)
• Use consistent colors
• Add data labels when space allows
• Keep it simple
• Sort meaningfully

Don't:

• Use 3D effects (confusing!)
• Clutter with too many colors
• Use pie charts for many categories
• Ignore mobile view
• Forget to format numbers

Color Usage

Consistent colors: Same category = same color across all visuals

Limit palette: 3-5 colors maximum

Accessibility: Avoid red/green only (colorblind users!)

Emphasis: Use bold color for key item, gray for others

Interactive Features

Cross-filtering: Click one visual, others filter automatically

Drill-down: Click to see more detail

Tooltips: Hover to see details

Slicers: User-controlled filters

Try This Exercise

Create a dashboard with:

1. Card: Total Sales (big number!)

2. Bar chart: Sales by Product

3. Line chart: Sales by Month

4. Pie chart: Sales by Region

5. Table: Top 10 customers

6. Format each nicely

7. Test interactions: Click bar, watch others filter!

Common Mistakes

Too many visuals: Less is more! 5-7 max per page

Wrong chart type: Pie for 20 categories = bad!

No hierarchy: All visuals same size = confusing

Inconsistent formatting: Mix of fonts, colors, styles

No white space: Cramming everything together

Next Steps

Let's dive deeper into Tables and Matrices!

Tip: When in doubt, use bar charts. They're the most versatile and easy to read!