Data Visuals: Charts & Infographics

A chart turns a pile of numbers into a picture you can understand at a glance. An infographic puts a chart together with a title, a big number, icons, and a source so the whole story fits on one screen. Picking the right chart is half the work — the rest is labeling it clearly.

Pick the Right Chart

• Bar chart — compare amounts across categories (favorite subjects, sales by store).
• Line chart — show change over time (temperature each day, page views per week).
• Pie chart — show parts of a whole that add up to 100% (time spent in a day).
• Histogram — show how often values fall into ranges (heights, quiz scores).
• Scatter plot — show the trend between two variables (study hours vs. grade).

Read Every Chart in Three Steps

1. Read the title — what is this chart about?
2. Check the axes — what does each axis measure, and in which units?
3. Use the legend — what do the colors or symbols stand for?

Anatomy of an Infographic

• Title — one short headline that tells the main idea.
• Hook stat — a big number or fact that grabs attention.
• Mini chart — one well-chosen chart that supports the hook.
• Icon row — simple pictures that represent each category.
• Source citation — where the data came from, with a date.