Part III: Creating Charts and Graphics
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FIGURE 18.11The same data, plotted by using six chart types.
On the CD
This workbook is available on the companion CD-ROM. The file is named six chart types.xlsx.
The column chart (upper left) is probably the best choice for this particular set of data because it
clearly shows the information for each month in discrete units. The bar chart (upper right) is simi-
lar to a column chart, but the axes are swapped. Most people are more accustomed to seeing time-
based information extend from left to right rather than from top to bottom.The line chart (middle left) may not be the best choice because it seems to imply that the data is
continuous — that points exist in between the 12 actual data points. This same argument may be
made against using an area chart (middle right).The pie chart (lower left) is simply too confusing and does nothing to convey the time-based
nature of the data. Pie charts are most appropriate for a data series in which you want to emphasize
proportions among a relatively small number of data points. If you have too many data points, a
pie chart can be impossible to interpret.