Line area graph
This visualisation presents the number of foreign high school students in the US in 2008 and contrast it with the number of US students going abroad. The total volume of students is represented by the area covered by the lines.
Source:
Interactive features
None
Benefits & pitfalls to avoid
- Line-charts imply that data is continuously changing. If your data is discrete you might consider a bar-chart instead.
- Using pictures to show data values can be misleading, where different images have different areas or volumes. Wider images can lead users to think that the data values are larger, even where height is the only dimension used to represent data values.
Create your own
- Area charts can be created in a range of standard data applications such as Excel.
- Pictorial versions of standard charts can be created in a range of standard data applications such as Excel For example in Excel, setup the chart and 'Format data series -> Fill' with Pattern or texture fill, and select a file image to use as a pictorial (you'll need to have setup the image first).