Choosing the right chart type in Prezi Present

🚧

New article coming soon We've made a few improvements to the Prezi Present editor that affect this article, so this article is currently being updated. Learn more about what's new here.

A luxurious line or a radiant radial… what’s the best chart type for your data? It all depends on what you’re trying to show. Luckily, Prezi Present has a variety of chart types to choose from so you can visualize your data and build a more powerful narrative.

Choosing the right chart

Finding the ideal chart type for your data depends on what you’re trying to show your audience. That’s why it’s best to think about the message you want to convey with your data visualization, how many variables you are using, and the format. Comparison, composition, and distribution are three general categories to start with to find the best chart type for your data.

Comparison

Comparison charts are used to compare two or more items or show changes over a period of time.

Chart types: Line, Bar & Column, Multiple Axes

Composition

Composition charts show the percentage or proportion of different parts that combine to make a whole.

Chart types: Pie, Funnel (hierarchy)

Distribution

Distribution charts are best when showing the relationship or correlation between variables. This type of chart can also help identify outliers and trends in your data.

Chart types: Scatter (plot)

Chart types in Prezi Present

Prezi Present comes with 18 chart types to choose from. Each chart comes prepopulated with default data so you can see a preview of how your data will display when inserting and editing your chart.

Line

Line charts are ideal for showing trends and continuous data over a period of time.

🏆

Pro Tip: Line charts typically have date values in the X-axis. If your X-axis contains numbers or text, it’s usually best to use a bar or column chart.

Bar & Column

Bar and column charts are excellent at comparing the differences between data. They are basically the same, except one displays data vertically and the other horizontally.

Stacked

Used to further breakdown and compare your data items. In this chart, each bar represents a segment that individually add up to a whole.

Grouped

Shows information about different sub-groups within each main category.

Radial

This is simply a bar or column chart plotted from a the center (polar) point.

🏆

Pro Tip: Radial charts look great but can sometimes be misleading as the curve might make data appear disproportionately.

Pie

Pie charts show the percentages or proportions of a whole. The totals of each part of a pie chart should equal 100%.

Doughnut

Best for showing differences through visualizing the length of each portion.

🏆

Pro Tip: Enhance your chart by filling the center with additional information or an image.

Irregular

Same as a basic pie chart but makes your data stand out by visualizing the proportion of each piece.

Semi circle

This just half of a pie chart and typically used for showing two data points.

Multiple axes

Combines line and bar charts to add a second y-axis for comparison and are useful when comparing different units of measure.

🏆

Pro Tip: These charts are often more complicated to create and interpret so carefully consider what message you want to convey when creating this chart.

Column & line

This chart type contains a standard column with a line chart on the secondary axis. This chart is useful when showing trends between mixed data sets where the line acts as an overlay for the primary column data.

Line & line

Two lines on one chart. Ideal for contrasting data sets that have a similar time frame.

Grouped column & line

Shows information about different sub-groups within each main category, with an added line to show trends or changes over time.

Stacked column & line

Scatter (plot)

This chart type shows relationships and correlations between variables and highlights outliers in your data.

Hierarchy (funnel)

A funnel chart is similar to a pie chart but displays values as progressively decreasing proportions. Typically, a funnel chart is used to illustrate a process that starts at 100% and ends with a lower percentage (e.g. sales or registrations).