Two radar charts side by side. On the left, the nine values are in descending order, forming a type of snail shell figure. On the right, the nine values are in random order, forming an explosion-like shape. These charts have the same values – just in a different order Two radar charts side by side, illustrating how the ordering of axes in a radar chart dramatically changes the perceived shape — even when the underlying data is identical. Both charts show scores for Jane Doe (blue) and John Doe (pink) across nine dimensions labelled A through I, with values ranging from 0 to 100. Jane Doe's chart shows a compact, roughly rounded shape sitting mostly in the upper half of the radar, suggesting her high scores are clustered around adjacent axes in this arrangement. John Doe's chart shows a jagged, star-like shape with sharp spikes extending outward in several directions and deep indentations between them, creating a visually fragmented appearance. The key insight of this chart is that both shapes represent exactly the same set of values — only the order of the axes differs. This demonstrates a well-known limitation of radar charts: the visual shape is highly sensitive to axis arrangement, which means two identical datasets can look completely different depending on how the axes are ordered. Readers should focus on individual axis values rather than overall shape when interpreting radar charts. Left: Jane Doe Right: John Doe Created with the Radar chart template
Nice reminder and visual representation of the limitations of radar charts, by Flourish 📊
Source: flourish.studio/blog/create-...
