Tutorials
Visualize your data like an expert with hundreds of practical how-tos for presentation, analysis, and understanding.
Make the Chart: Interactive Line Chart with Ghost Trails
Using faded lines to show the overall changes in a time series and to provide a point of reference for the present.
Make the Chart: Scatterplot Using Text Instead of Dots
I made a chart about Halloween candy. Even dumb charts need attention and require that choices are made.
Make the Chart: Precipitation Map as Animated GIF
Weather. Data. Map. Animation. They go well together to show sudden changes over time.
Make the Chart: Grid Map with Stacked Areas
Breaking it down to the small steps and choices with data, code, and editing that lead to a finished chart.
How to Map with Contour Lines and GeoTIFF in R
GeoTIFF data can provide high granularity but make it hard to see patterns when data is sparse. Contour lines provide an aggregated view that makes patterns easier to see.
How to Use a Slider to Let Readers Customize Charts
A simple user-controlled slider can help readers look at a dataset from their own point of view.
How to Make a Cartogram with Packed Circles in R
There are packages to make cartograms, but in some cases you might need a more flexible solution.
How to Make a Heatmap with Irregular Bins in R
There are existing functions and packages to make heatmaps in R, but when the data is irregular, it's worth going custom.
How I Made That: Network Diagrams of All the Household Types
Process the data into a usable format, which makes the visualization part more straightforward.
How to Make Unit-Based, Variable Width Bar Charts
In a cross between unit charts and variable width bar charts, we can show total counts and relative proportions at the same time.
How to Make a Smoother Animated Growth Map in R
Show change over time and geography with smooth transitions.
How to Animate Packed Circles in R
Pack circles, figure out the transitions between time segments, and then generate frames to string together.
How to Draw and Use Polygons in R
R provides functions for basic shapes, but you can also draw your own for maximum fun.
How to Make an Animated Donut Chart in R
There are "better" ways to show proportions over time, but sometimes you just want an animated donut.
How to Make Bubble Clusters in R
Represent individual counts with grouped units to make data feel less abstract.
How to Make Cartograms in R
While the reshaped geography doesn't work all the time, the use of size to show data can be more intuitive in some cases.
How to Make a Line Chart with a Color Gradient in R
Use color to reinforce or add another layer of meaning to a regular line chart.
How to Make UpSet Plots in R, with ggplot2 and ggupset
A more readable alternative to Venn diagrams for when you have more than a few sets.
