In this blog post we will take a closer look at some best practice recommendations to optimize your chart visualizations when using Bar charts. Using NetCharts, the style and look of each chart type such as Bar charts can be customized using our Chart Definition Laungauge (CDL) and its functionality controlled. With countless combinations allowing you to build a chart to look exactly the way you want to match your visualization needs.

What is a Bar chart?
A Bar is a chart that uses horizontal or vertical bars to show comparisons between categories of data.

How would I use a Bar chart?
The recommended uses includes showing comparisons between categories of data such as inventory count, revenue totals, prices, and production volume etc. Below are some suggestions of how Bar charts can be used and visualized.

Figure #1: Grouping or stacking of bars as a different way to show comparisons of multiple datasets.

Figure #2: Display bars as bullet style to indicate a count of total by using smaller width bars (count) in front of wider bars (total).

Figure #3: Using colors to indicate negative and positive values of a certain bars.

Figure #4: Using multiple Y axis to map each bar data set to its own axis with different scales and formats.

The examples presented here are only a few out of countless combinations you’re able to build and visualize by using our powerful and flexible NetCharts products. Using our design studio NetCharts Designer enables you to create and manage charts, graphs, tables, and interactive dashboards that can be displayed through NetCharts Pro and NetCharts Server.

For more, also see related blog posts – What is CDL? and Anatomy of a Chart. You can also find a lot more How-To topics on design approaches here.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at support@visualmining.com.