Top 10 Useful Tips to Help You Make the Most Stunning Bar Graph

Do you have data about the several different items or categories? Are you looking to make graph of the several categories data?

If yes, bar graph will be the best choice to turn that unformatted raw data into a visual graph. With a bar graph, you don’t have to spend hours to understand the data manually. You just need take a look at the visual bar graph and then you will understand the comparison and relation among those different categories data without doing any effort. For example, user base of the different social media platforms. In these types of situations you can try the bar graph and it will work like a charm for you. Let’s have a look on some the most common bar graph and the best bar graph maker to create stunning bar graphs.

• Part 1. Most Common Types of Bar Graph
• Part 2. The Top 10 Tips to Make Stunning Bar Graph
• Part 3. The Best Online Bar Graph Maker

Part 1. Most Common Type of Bar Graph

Bar Graph, as the name implies, is a set of bars used to show data about categorical variables in a simple and visualized manner. It has two axes, X and Y, and the one which contains number is called scale. The other axis hosts bar and it is usually the length of a bar that shows the value of a category; the longer the bar is, the higher the value.

Though there are different types of bar graphs relaying complex data into visualized graph, the ones that we mostly use are:

Double Bar Graph

With a bar graph, we usually show data about different categories. When there are two sub categories of a main category then double bar graphs are very useful. These bars represent the two types of data with different colors.

Stacked Bar Graph

Like double bar graph, stacked bar also shares sub-categories of a main categories. But instead of sharing them side by side, the sub categories are stacked over each other. Hence the name, Stacked Bar. There are several stacked bar graph maker available over internet which easily create stacked bars online without any software installation. These stacked bar graph makers offers you mostly all kinds of options what you need to design the graphs such as colors, font, icon etc.

Segmented Bar Graph

A segmented bar is similar to Stacked Bar where sub-categories are stacked over. The only difference is that every individual bar shares an equal discrete value. You can use the online segmented bar graph maker websites to create the segmented bar graphs.

Horizontal Bar Graphs

Horizontal Bar Graphs are also very popular among the companies and private users. These graphs represent the data with the horizontal bars. In these graphs the length of the horizontal bars will be equal to the data entered by you and the bars will be shows from the left to right. You can read these bars very easily. Title of the bars will tell you what the graph is about and the vertical axis of the graph will tell you about the categories of data which is usually represented by the color.

Part 2. The Top 10 Tips to Make Stunning Bar Graph

Bar graph as mentioned earlier simplifies complex data about different categories. But if it is done wrong, your readers will then scrunch their eyebrows in total confusion. For instance, a lot of people make simple mistakes in choosing a graph style. They use stacked bar, for example, where the data could be easily visualized using Horizontal graph. Same is true for choosing a right Axis.

Many people keep their readers in a state of wondering with a faulty Axis. So let us share the top 10 tips to write a stunning bar graph that will say exactly what you want it to say.

No.1 KISS – Keep It Super Simple

The very first purpose of making Bar Graph is to share complex data in a simple visualized content so anyone can understand it. And therefore the general rule of thumb for bar graph is “clear – concise – and crispy.”

Use minimal graphs to share your data. If a simple horizontal graph could relay the message, then don’t make it hard for your readers by using a Segmented graph, or using too many data labels and legends. Just keep it simple and make your readers’ lives easier.

No.2 Use Right Axis

A bar graph is often called X and Y graph and it pretty much implies the importance of X and Y axis.

Use the lowest value to start your Y axis as it makes it easier to interpret the data value of the categories. And in your X axis, always make sure to use data labels in horizontal manner. The graph could vertical, but labels in horizontal makes it lot easier to read.

No.3 Sort Everything Intuitively

Like the name of your axis, the other part of your bars and columns needs to be organized as well. Use descending order, for example, when constructing a double graph.

The distance between your bars should not be random either. Keep it half the width of your category bars and use alphabetic order when arranging them.

No.4 Avoid 3-D

No doubt, 3D is best for visual images, but it’s not always true, especially for Bar graph.

The fancy effects of 3D might give your readers a wrong interpretation about a data, so it is safe to use 2D for making graph.

No.5 Use Right Colors

It’s needed to use different colors when making a Stacked bar or grouped bar. But for a general bar, a single consistent color better relays the message without creating any distraction for the readers.

No.6 Say No to Grid

Grids are great to highlight incremental differences. But in Bar graph, it is the overall trend readers are interested in. So unless you want to make things hard for your audience, it’s wise to say no to grid.

No.7 Have a Title

Sure everyone knows what your bar is about. But it makes it hard to stay along with the data if the title is missing at the top. So highlight it in bold.

No.8 Ditch Decimal

Use decimal and percentage at the same time and your Y axis will have a fat and healthy look. Your readers, however, will find it hard to comprehend your data at first glance. So if you want to hook your readers on instant, then ditch decimal and use only percentage.

No.9 Tick for a Template

Online is filled with templates, so to give your readers a new taste, use different templates every time you create a graph. Using plain bar graph made from Excel will not be that much appealing to your readers. Give them a new style and they will give their ultimate attention in return.

No.10 Use a Bullet Proof Tool

It’s hard sometimes to ensure that you are avoiding all the errors and using essentials tips to power up your Bar Graph. And therefore, having a tool can help you set everything on auto-pilot. Visme, for instance, is a great a tool that allow you create a perfect bar graph with auto correction for the axis width, fonts, labels, columns, templates, and so on. So in case you don’t want to take risk of making mistakes, then automate your graph with a bullet proof tool.

Part 3. The Best Online Bar Graph Maker

Founded back in 2012, Visme has revolutionized the way graphs are constructed. It has built a quick drag-drop system to create 20 different types of graphs using hundreds of different templates, icons, and animation clips. You just select the graph type for your project and Visme will create it in minutes.

How to Use Visme to Create Bar Graph

Step 01:

Log in with your Visme account. If you don't have an account yet, please regiester for a Visme account. It's free.

Step 02:

From the main dashboard of your account, select “create a new project” and wait until you are being directed to the editing page.

Step 03:

Now select Infographic and choose a template from list of templates. After looking all templates simply click on the “Edit” button to select any template.

Step 04:

The in-built graph maker will then be launched and a menu bar pop-up at the left side. Look for the “Data” tab and the click on the “Chart” button.

Step 05:

Making bar graph is an easy job as all you do is to create some bars and add data in the right side in next to the selected graph. You just need to enter data in bar graph maker and then you graph will be ready to add on the template.

Step 06:

Once your graph is ready, click the “Insert” button and then the graph will be added on your template. After adding bar graph using bar graph maker you can apply animation, effects and other settings on the graphs.

Conclusion:

Making bar graph is an easy job as all you do is to create some bars and attach numbers to them. But making a meaningful graph requires a dedicated effort and careful approach. Having a useful tool on your side surely makes it easier to use your efforts to craft the best possible graph.

Check out the official website of Visme and see the bundles of styles and widgets it has in its library to make your graph more appealing and easy.