Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
@obumbratta.com
The list is by no means exhaustive, HOPs, horizon charts and I'm sure other charts can be and have been used to show distributions. But attached is a handy one pager to summarize all the methods discussed here
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
The list is by no means exhaustive, HOPs, horizon charts and I'm sure other charts can be and have been used to show distributions. But attached is a handy one pager to summarize all the methods discussed here
Quantile Plot
These can feel less cluttered than ranked bars, but can be harder to highlight a single data point. You usually plot each of the 100 percentiles rather than plotting every point in your data. Great for answering "what percent of my values are below/above a certain threshold?"
These can feel less cluttered than ranked bars, but can be harder to highlight a single data point. You usually plot each of the 100 percentiles rather than plotting every point in your data. Great for answering "what percent of my values are below/above a certain threshold?"
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Quantile Plot
These can feel less cluttered than ranked bars, but can be harder to highlight a single data point. You usually plot each of the 100 percentiles rather than plotting every point in your data. Great for answering "what percent of my values are below/above a certain threshold?"
These can feel less cluttered than ranked bars, but can be harder to highlight a single data point. You usually plot each of the 100 percentiles rather than plotting every point in your data. Great for answering "what percent of my values are below/above a certain threshold?"
OECD Better Life Index by @moritzstefaner.bsky.social, @do.minik.us & Raureif (current tool not working so here is Moritz's post)
truth-and-beauty.net/projects/oec...
Darkhorse Analytics on Alberta school grades
grades.dha.io
Density Design ranks cesarean sections
www.flickr.com/photos/densi...
truth-and-beauty.net/projects/oec...
Darkhorse Analytics on Alberta school grades
grades.dha.io
Density Design ranks cesarean sections
www.flickr.com/photos/densi...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
OECD Better Life Index by @moritzstefaner.bsky.social, @do.minik.us & Raureif (current tool not working so here is Moritz's post)
truth-and-beauty.net/projects/oec...
Darkhorse Analytics on Alberta school grades
grades.dha.io
Density Design ranks cesarean sections
www.flickr.com/photos/densi...
truth-and-beauty.net/projects/oec...
Darkhorse Analytics on Alberta school grades
grades.dha.io
Density Design ranks cesarean sections
www.flickr.com/photos/densi...
Ranked Bars
Great to communicate a single distribution while highlighting a particular data point. People love to rank things so it’s easy to interpret. It behaves in almost the opposite manner to a histogram in that flat areas represent clusters of data whereas with a histogram it is the peaks.
Great to communicate a single distribution while highlighting a particular data point. People love to rank things so it’s easy to interpret. It behaves in almost the opposite manner to a histogram in that flat areas represent clusters of data whereas with a histogram it is the peaks.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Ranked Bars
Great to communicate a single distribution while highlighting a particular data point. People love to rank things so it’s easy to interpret. It behaves in almost the opposite manner to a histogram in that flat areas represent clusters of data whereas with a histogram it is the peaks.
Great to communicate a single distribution while highlighting a particular data point. People love to rank things so it’s easy to interpret. It behaves in almost the opposite manner to a histogram in that flat areas represent clusters of data whereas with a histogram it is the peaks.
We are back to plotting all the data, but this time we use one axis to plot the values and another to plot the ranking. This gives a different perspective on the shape of the data. These are excellent at providing context for where one data point fits in among many. Not great for comparing >1 dist.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
We are back to plotting all the data, but this time we use one axis to plot the values and another to plot the ranking. This gives a different perspective on the shape of the data. These are excellent at providing context for where one data point fits in among many. Not great for comparing >1 dist.
Seth Kadish visualizes charity ratings
vizual-statistix.tumblr.com/post/1207793...
I rework social media demographics
www.darkhorseanalytics.com/blog/divergi...
(I've since learned to have better contrast)
vizual-statistix.tumblr.com/post/1207793...
I rework social media demographics
www.darkhorseanalytics.com/blog/divergi...
(I've since learned to have better contrast)
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Seth Kadish visualizes charity ratings
vizual-statistix.tumblr.com/post/1207793...
I rework social media demographics
www.darkhorseanalytics.com/blog/divergi...
(I've since learned to have better contrast)
vizual-statistix.tumblr.com/post/1207793...
I rework social media demographics
www.darkhorseanalytics.com/blog/divergi...
(I've since learned to have better contrast)
Stacked Bar
This plot involves a change in perspective. It has a much smaller number of bins and shows the proportion of the data that fits in each. It will provide a very coarse look at the shape of the data but is quite easy to interpret. It is most effective with a small number of categories.
This plot involves a change in perspective. It has a much smaller number of bins and shows the proportion of the data that fits in each. It will provide a very coarse look at the shape of the data but is quite easy to interpret. It is most effective with a small number of categories.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Stacked Bar
This plot involves a change in perspective. It has a much smaller number of bins and shows the proportion of the data that fits in each. It will provide a very coarse look at the shape of the data but is quite easy to interpret. It is most effective with a small number of categories.
This plot involves a change in perspective. It has a much smaller number of bins and shows the proportion of the data that fits in each. It will provide a very coarse look at the shape of the data but is quite easy to interpret. It is most effective with a small number of categories.
FiveThirtyEight with a story on name based age estimates
fivethirtyeight.com/features/how...
@flowingdata.com plots 10th, Median, & 90th percentiles of salaries across industries
projects.flowingdata.com/2014/industry/
Flourish looks at the ages of olympians
flourish.studio/blog/visuali...
fivethirtyeight.com/features/how...
@flowingdata.com plots 10th, Median, & 90th percentiles of salaries across industries
projects.flowingdata.com/2014/industry/
Flourish looks at the ages of olympians
flourish.studio/blog/visuali...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
FiveThirtyEight with a story on name based age estimates
fivethirtyeight.com/features/how...
@flowingdata.com plots 10th, Median, & 90th percentiles of salaries across industries
projects.flowingdata.com/2014/industry/
Flourish looks at the ages of olympians
flourish.studio/blog/visuali...
fivethirtyeight.com/features/how...
@flowingdata.com plots 10th, Median, & 90th percentiles of salaries across industries
projects.flowingdata.com/2014/industry/
Flourish looks at the ages of olympians
flourish.studio/blog/visuali...
Range Plot
The ends of the line (usually) show the min and max of your data and the dot shows the average, or really any three metrics you find most useful. If the range of the data is the most important thing or your audience my struggle to interpret the other plots, this is nice and simple.
The ends of the line (usually) show the min and max of your data and the dot shows the average, or really any three metrics you find most useful. If the range of the data is the most important thing or your audience my struggle to interpret the other plots, this is nice and simple.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Range Plot
The ends of the line (usually) show the min and max of your data and the dot shows the average, or really any three metrics you find most useful. If the range of the data is the most important thing or your audience my struggle to interpret the other plots, this is nice and simple.
The ends of the line (usually) show the min and max of your data and the dot shows the average, or really any three metrics you find most useful. If the range of the data is the most important thing or your audience my struggle to interpret the other plots, this is nice and simple.
FiveThirtyEight looks at the Red Sox roller coaster
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
Washington Post - Ivy League Grad Income
www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp...
Marcus Beck analyzes dissertation & thesis lengths
beckmw.wordpress.com/2014/07/15/a...
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
Washington Post - Ivy League Grad Income
www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp...
Marcus Beck analyzes dissertation & thesis lengths
beckmw.wordpress.com/2014/07/15/a...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
FiveThirtyEight looks at the Red Sox roller coaster
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
Washington Post - Ivy League Grad Income
www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp...
Marcus Beck analyzes dissertation & thesis lengths
beckmw.wordpress.com/2014/07/15/a...
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
Washington Post - Ivy League Grad Income
www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp...
Marcus Beck analyzes dissertation & thesis lengths
beckmw.wordpress.com/2014/07/15/a...
Box Plot
Box Plots focus on the min, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile and max. Many will explicitly plot outliers and exclude them from the min-max
Box Plots focus on the min, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile and max. Many will explicitly plot outliers and exclude them from the min-max
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Box Plot
Box Plots focus on the min, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile and max. Many will explicitly plot outliers and exclude them from the min-max
Box Plots focus on the min, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile and max. Many will explicitly plot outliers and exclude them from the min-max
You can also simplify the distribution by focusing on a few key aspects of the data, usually some measure of central tendency plus some measure of range. The following visuals give less detail but may make comparisons simpler.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
You can also simplify the distribution by focusing on a few key aspects of the data, usually some measure of central tendency plus some measure of range. The following visuals give less detail but may make comparisons simpler.
Nick Berry analyzes 4-digit PINs
www.datagenetics.com/blog/septemb...
Seth Kadish shows chess board utilization
vizual-statistix.tumblr.com/post/7882178...
Matt Styles looks at the distribution of birthdays
www.themarginalian.org/2013/10/08/b...
www.datagenetics.com/blog/septemb...
Seth Kadish shows chess board utilization
vizual-statistix.tumblr.com/post/7882178...
Matt Styles looks at the distribution of birthdays
www.themarginalian.org/2013/10/08/b...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Nick Berry analyzes 4-digit PINs
www.datagenetics.com/blog/septemb...
Seth Kadish shows chess board utilization
vizual-statistix.tumblr.com/post/7882178...
Matt Styles looks at the distribution of birthdays
www.themarginalian.org/2013/10/08/b...
www.datagenetics.com/blog/septemb...
Seth Kadish shows chess board utilization
vizual-statistix.tumblr.com/post/7882178...
Matt Styles looks at the distribution of birthdays
www.themarginalian.org/2013/10/08/b...
Heatmaps
Heatmaps are extremely compact and excellent for looking for patterns across many distributions. They use variation in colour to show the counts and, as such, they are not very precise, only giving a crude sense of the data’s shape
Heatmaps are extremely compact and excellent for looking for patterns across many distributions. They use variation in colour to show the counts and, as such, they are not very precise, only giving a crude sense of the data’s shape
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Heatmaps
Heatmaps are extremely compact and excellent for looking for patterns across many distributions. They use variation in colour to show the counts and, as such, they are not very precise, only giving a crude sense of the data’s shape
Heatmaps are extremely compact and excellent for looking for patterns across many distributions. They use variation in colour to show the counts and, as such, they are not very precise, only giving a crude sense of the data’s shape
Japanese train departures
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem-an...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem-an...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Japanese train departures
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem-an...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem-an...
Stem & Leaf Plot
So awesome, so rare. It’s a sideways histogram, but with all the data encoded in it. Once you know how to read it, it is quite powerful, but possibly too much information for many audiences.
So awesome, so rare. It’s a sideways histogram, but with all the data encoded in it. Once you know how to read it, it is quite powerful, but possibly too much information for many audiences.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Stem & Leaf Plot
So awesome, so rare. It’s a sideways histogram, but with all the data encoded in it. Once you know how to read it, it is quite powerful, but possibly too much information for many audiences.
So awesome, so rare. It’s a sideways histogram, but with all the data encoded in it. Once you know how to read it, it is quite powerful, but possibly too much information for many audiences.
Periscopic looking at grant distributions
medium.com/@Periscopic/...
@experimental361.com shows Premier League age profiles. The page for this visual seems to have disappeared
CJ Mayes compare life expectancy over time and continents
cj-mayes.com/2022/05/24/v...
medium.com/@Periscopic/...
@experimental361.com shows Premier League age profiles. The page for this visual seems to have disappeared
CJ Mayes compare life expectancy over time and continents
cj-mayes.com/2022/05/24/v...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Periscopic looking at grant distributions
medium.com/@Periscopic/...
@experimental361.com shows Premier League age profiles. The page for this visual seems to have disappeared
CJ Mayes compare life expectancy over time and continents
cj-mayes.com/2022/05/24/v...
medium.com/@Periscopic/...
@experimental361.com shows Premier League age profiles. The page for this visual seems to have disappeared
CJ Mayes compare life expectancy over time and continents
cj-mayes.com/2022/05/24/v...
Bean / Violin Plot
Like the area chart except symmetrical and often more compressed. Useful when comparing >1 distributions where a sense of the shape is important. Sometimes superimposed with: a box plot that makes them look like a violin, or a rug plot that makes them look nothing like a bean
Like the area chart except symmetrical and often more compressed. Useful when comparing >1 distributions where a sense of the shape is important. Sometimes superimposed with: a box plot that makes them look like a violin, or a rug plot that makes them look nothing like a bean
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Bean / Violin Plot
Like the area chart except symmetrical and often more compressed. Useful when comparing >1 distributions where a sense of the shape is important. Sometimes superimposed with: a box plot that makes them look like a violin, or a rug plot that makes them look nothing like a bean
Like the area chart except symmetrical and often more compressed. Useful when comparing >1 distributions where a sense of the shape is important. Sometimes superimposed with: a box plot that makes them look like a violin, or a rug plot that makes them look nothing like a bean
OkCupid exposes lies about height among other things
theblog.okcupid.com/the-big-lies...
The Financial Times compares the time of day distribution of devices browsing their site
aboutus.ft.com/press_releas...
D3 visualizing some pulsar data à la Joy Division
observablehq.com/@d3/psr-b191...
theblog.okcupid.com/the-big-lies...
The Financial Times compares the time of day distribution of devices browsing their site
aboutus.ft.com/press_releas...
D3 visualizing some pulsar data à la Joy Division
observablehq.com/@d3/psr-b191...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
OkCupid exposes lies about height among other things
theblog.okcupid.com/the-big-lies...
The Financial Times compares the time of day distribution of devices browsing their site
aboutus.ft.com/press_releas...
D3 visualizing some pulsar data à la Joy Division
observablehq.com/@d3/psr-b191...
theblog.okcupid.com/the-big-lies...
The Financial Times compares the time of day distribution of devices browsing their site
aboutus.ft.com/press_releas...
D3 visualizing some pulsar data à la Joy Division
observablehq.com/@d3/psr-b191...
Line Chart
Like the area chart but not filled under the line. Line charts can be useful when you want to accurately compare a few distributions to one another.
Like the area chart but not filled under the line. Line charts can be useful when you want to accurately compare a few distributions to one another.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Line Chart
Like the area chart but not filled under the line. Line charts can be useful when you want to accurately compare a few distributions to one another.
Like the area chart but not filled under the line. Line charts can be useful when you want to accurately compare a few distributions to one another.
FiveThirtyEight looks at the political spectrum in law schools
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
The Financial times looks at the distribution of points won and lost by top tennis players
ig.ft.com/features/bas...
HBR looks at how people interpet probabilistic words
hbr.org/2018/07/if-y...
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
The Financial times looks at the distribution of points won and lost by top tennis players
ig.ft.com/features/bas...
HBR looks at how people interpet probabilistic words
hbr.org/2018/07/if-y...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
FiveThirtyEight looks at the political spectrum in law schools
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
The Financial times looks at the distribution of points won and lost by top tennis players
ig.ft.com/features/bas...
HBR looks at how people interpet probabilistic words
hbr.org/2018/07/if-y...
fivethirtyeight.com/features/the...
The Financial times looks at the distribution of points won and lost by top tennis players
ig.ft.com/features/bas...
HBR looks at how people interpet probabilistic words
hbr.org/2018/07/if-y...
Area Chart
Sometimes these are density plots which involve some fancy math to estimate distributions from a sample, but you can also just plots the bin totals. Consider using the area chart when the shape/pattern of the distribution is more important, or just when it suits your aesthetic better.
Sometimes these are density plots which involve some fancy math to estimate distributions from a sample, but you can also just plots the bin totals. Consider using the area chart when the shape/pattern of the distribution is more important, or just when it suits your aesthetic better.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Area Chart
Sometimes these are density plots which involve some fancy math to estimate distributions from a sample, but you can also just plots the bin totals. Consider using the area chart when the shape/pattern of the distribution is more important, or just when it suits your aesthetic better.
Sometimes these are density plots which involve some fancy math to estimate distributions from a sample, but you can also just plots the bin totals. Consider using the area chart when the shape/pattern of the distribution is more important, or just when it suits your aesthetic better.
Quartz finds peak wall punching age
qz.com/582720/ameri...
I take a look at uniform distributions
imgur.com/1VSV5Bs
Todd W. Schneider analyzes reddit front page rankings
toddwschneider.com/posts/the-re...
qz.com/582720/ameri...
I take a look at uniform distributions
imgur.com/1VSV5Bs
Todd W. Schneider analyzes reddit front page rankings
toddwschneider.com/posts/the-re...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Quartz finds peak wall punching age
qz.com/582720/ameri...
I take a look at uniform distributions
imgur.com/1VSV5Bs
Todd W. Schneider analyzes reddit front page rankings
toddwschneider.com/posts/the-re...
qz.com/582720/ameri...
I take a look at uniform distributions
imgur.com/1VSV5Bs
Todd W. Schneider analyzes reddit front page rankings
toddwschneider.com/posts/the-re...
Histogram
Draw boxes over top of the unit charts and voilà, the chart synonymous with distributions: a histogram. A scalable axis means it works with large numbers of data points. Choosing the right number of bins impacts how it looks, but experimentation usually leads to a reasonable answer.
Draw boxes over top of the unit charts and voilà, the chart synonymous with distributions: a histogram. A scalable axis means it works with large numbers of data points. Choosing the right number of bins impacts how it looks, but experimentation usually leads to a reasonable answer.
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Histogram
Draw boxes over top of the unit charts and voilà, the chart synonymous with distributions: a histogram. A scalable axis means it works with large numbers of data points. Choosing the right number of bins impacts how it looks, but experimentation usually leads to a reasonable answer.
Draw boxes over top of the unit charts and voilà, the chart synonymous with distributions: a histogram. A scalable axis means it works with large numbers of data points. Choosing the right number of bins impacts how it looks, but experimentation usually leads to a reasonable answer.
@propublica.org on changes in workers compensation
www.propublica.org/article/the-...
@scmp.com shows Hong Kong Marathon results
www.scmp.com/infographics...
@nadiehbremer.com looks at East Asian Urban growth
www.behance.net/gallery/2550...
www.propublica.org/article/the-...
@scmp.com shows Hong Kong Marathon results
www.scmp.com/infographics...
@nadiehbremer.com looks at East Asian Urban growth
www.behance.net/gallery/2550...
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
@propublica.org on changes in workers compensation
www.propublica.org/article/the-...
@scmp.com shows Hong Kong Marathon results
www.scmp.com/infographics...
@nadiehbremer.com looks at East Asian Urban growth
www.behance.net/gallery/2550...
www.propublica.org/article/the-...
@scmp.com shows Hong Kong Marathon results
www.scmp.com/infographics...
@nadiehbremer.com looks at East Asian Urban growth
www.behance.net/gallery/2550...