Area Charts

Area charts are data visualizations best used for showing cumulated totals using numbers or percentages over time. They are basically line charts that are filled in to provide a deeper view of multiple series of data.

Like traditional line charts, area charts are set against a common scale and are ideal for showing trends in data over time. You might also add a trend line or goal line to illustrate performance in a certain period against a set benchmark.

Area charts are one of many types of data visualizations used to organize and present data in a way the audience can understand and take action on. To ensure visualizations have real business value, it’s important to know which types of visualizations are best suited for a given data set.