Using pie charts to visualize anything other than percentages or parts of a whole! (Yes, some people make that major mistake.) 3D pie charts – They make it harder for people to make visual comparisons, which is the whole point of visualizing data to begin with.ĥ. If you need to use a legend, you probably have too many slices or aren’t using the best colors.Ĥ. Awkward labeling – Labels should help someone easily make connections, like in the example below. Poor use of colors – They should be different enough that someone can easily identify which slice is which.ģ. Too many slices – The slices get smaller and hard to read if there are any more than 3 or 4 of them.Ģ. These are some big errors to look for and avoid:ġ. Unfortunately, it’s really easy to make pie charts that don’t make much sense.
HOW TO CREATE PIE CHART IN EXCEL WITH PERCENTAGES FOR FREE
START CREATING FOR FREE Click to jump ahead:īecause pie charts are so well known, they are generally easy for people to read and understand.īefore you dive in, though, think it through. Just upload, copy and paste, or manually enter data with our Pie Chart Maker. You can then start working on your own infographic by customizing a Venngage template. You’ll have all your questions answered about pie chart infographic best practices and other ways to show percentages in infographics in this post. The rule of thumb should always be: Will this visual help someone interpret and understand this data better?
Pie charts and donut charts have become the go-to data visualization types, especially in infographics, but it’s worth asking: do they always fit the bill? Sure, they are the most familiar, but there may be better options you just need to get to know better. One of the most important decisions you will make when you are creating an infographic is what visuals you will use. If you are using quantitative data, like percentages, you will need to decide what chart will work best to communicate the numbers.