Information designers really really really really really don’t like pie charts.
I tend to agree, though I think there’s a limited set of circumstances in which a well-designed pie chart call tell the right story. But I agree that 3D pie charts are universally bad, and I have found a stunning example of a worthless pie chart. In fact, I think I’ve found the worst pie chart ever.*
This information design atrocity was committed by a high profile New York interactive agency that shall remain nameless.**
Pie charts are used to show the approximate proportional relationship of one slice to the whole pie. Critics of pie charts argue that pie charts are not well suited for exact comparisons of slices because it’s difficult to accurately estimate the relative area of each slice. Rotating a pie chart to add 3D effects compounds the problem.***
In this case, the angle of rotation severely skews the chart, making it impossible to distinguish the relative sizes of the slices without the data labels. The 2% and 8% slices look about the same size, as do the 29% and 42% slices.
The problem is compounded by the bands of color that fill the pie. Unlike most pie charts — the ones you can actually read — the fill on this chart is unrelated to the slices. The slices, which represent the data, are rendered as a white overlay with varying degrees of transparency on each slice.
What were they thinking?
Notes:- * This pie chart from Fox is making the rounds. It’s stupid but not a visual train wreck. [↩]
- ** It rhymes with LaserDish. [↩]
- *** Jon Peltier illustrates the case against 3D pie charts using a less extreme example. [↩]
Pie chart? That’s a kidney bean chart.
You have, I assume, seen the *best* pie chart ever?
http://www.seomfg.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pie-i-have-eaten-chart.jpg
I’ve actually used an eaten-portion-of-a pie-chart in a presentation I assembled for one of our executives. He was speaking at the National Restaurant Federation show.
Made me laugh out loud.
i’d be curious to see the chart in context. please?
There’s no way to provide a direct link to it, but you can go to http://fluent.razorfish.com and click to page 10.
thanks
that was edifying
at least the output is kind of easy on the eye.
in my org HR once circulated a spherical pie chart that you could rotate. it was unlegible, and atrocious. and scary in its own unique way…
Spherical…? What were they thinking?
Aaron, I think this is a contender for best chart ever, my kids love it anyway http://www.flickr.com/photos/famewhore/291635623/
I like that one too.
I echo jerome’s sentiment.
Rob, see the link in my reply to Jerome, above.
My collection has some pretty bad pie charts but I have to admit that this one is worse.
Is your collection online somewhere, Naomi?
Sorry, Glen, that I didn’t notice your question till now. Sorry also that it is not online.
This is an absolute beauty. But I’d really like to know where this is from (I don’t get the veiled reference), and perhaps a link if it can be found online.
Robert, see the link in my reply to Jerome, above.
Got it, thanks for the link!
Well you must admit, at least the percentages add up to 100%, which is not always the case…
Sad state of affairs when that’s the best you can say about a pie chart.
Strictly speaking, this should be called a kidney bean chart with two axes. One axis system indicates the angular segments, the other system shows the curved colored bands. Very clever actually.
What’s it show again?
It’s supposed to be a simple pie chart that represents how often people share recommendations online, and the design firm was one of the original high profile web design agencies.
Based on the labels and percentages alone, however, you might think it represents how often you see decent pie charts.