🥰 This one is definitely in my top 5 of favourite chart types: a matrix chart!

🤔 What is it? A matrix chart is similar to a heatmap, and it has the same compact design. But rather than relying on color differences, we use bubbles with different sizes to show the data. It is cleaner and less visually cluttered than a heatmap, making it easier to fit in a stylish report design.

⚠️ Potential downside: this chart type works well only when there is sufficient variation between the data points. Otherwise it will be hard to see small differences between the bubble sizes.

💡 Worth noting: not everyone uses the term ‘matrix chart’. Some people prefer ‘proportional area chart’, or in this specific example – because the horizontal axis represents time – a ‘bubble timeline’. I like the term ‘matrix chart’ because it is a visual matrix of data, and it is also how RAWGraphs – my favourite tool to create these charts – calls it.

🐟 Example from the report ‘Toekomstvisie voor de kustvisserij 2024’ (Vision for the future of inshore fishing 2024) that we made for ILVO earlier this year.