The Component Comparison and its different alternatives

As we discussed in the essential article on Component Comparison, it represents a situation. You need to show an item as a mix of two or more elements. The usual words used with it are: % of Total, Share of, Mix of, Component of, Includes X. You can find it in the world around you every day. Last week, we talked about the Treemap Chart. Today, we take a look at Sankey Charts.

Sankey Chart – Is already almost 130 years old

The Sankey chart, also known as a Sankey diagram, is named after Irish Captain Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey. He created the first known diagram in 1898. The diagram was used to illustrate the energy efficiency of a steam engine. His chart featured arrows. The widths of the arrows were proportional to the flow of energy. This made it easy to visualize losses and efficiencies within the system.

Over time, the Sankey diagram has evolved into a widely used tool for visualizing flows. It is applied across various domains, including energy, finance, supply chain, and user behavior analytics. The width of the flow arrows in Sankey charts is proportional to the quantity they represent. This emphasizes the magnitude and direction of flows through a network or process.

Practical Examples from the Corporate World

Sankey charts are widely used in the corporate world. They provide a powerful way to visualize complex flows of resources, information, or processes. These flows are common in business environments. Here are the main reasons for their widespread use.

Corporations often manage complex systems, including supply chains, financial flows, energy usage, and customer journeys. Sankey charts simplify these by clearly showing how quantities move through stages or departments, making complexity understandable at a glance.

By showing the relative importance of different flows, decision-makers can prioritize resource allocation, investments, or process improvements with confidence.

From finance and marketing to operations and IT, Sankey charts assist different departments in analyzing flows. They track money, products, customers, or information. This makes them a versatile corporate tool.

Practical Tips to Reduce the Disadvantages

There are always creative ways to help yourself avoid the pitfalls, depending again on the story you choose to tell. Not every piece of data is essential, and not everything needs to be visible or communicated. I have added some tips I’ve learned during my professional journey on the right side of the image below.

Are there other alternatives?

Of course, in the future post I am going to talk about:

• Various other visually appealing alternatives!

Visualizations we have already talked about:

• 100% Stacked Column Chart
• 100% Bar Chart
• Pie Chart
• Doughnut Chart
• Area Chart
• Mekko Chart
• Treemap Chart

Summary

The Sankey chart has a long history as a powerful visualization tool. It illustrates the magnitude and path of flows within complex systems. Its major strength lies in making visible the distribution, bottlenecks, and conservation of flow quantities with intuitive, proportional arrows. Sankey charts have considerable visual power.

However, they require careful design to avoid clutter and confusion. This is particularly important with large datasets or audiences unfamiliar with flow diagrams. When used appropriately, especially in energy, finance, and web analytics, Sankey charts provide compelling insights.

These insights are actionable. They reveal system dynamics that other chart types cannot easily match.

There is always a chart for your story. You need to understand the basic concepts, principles, and language used. This helps you choose what you need to persuade, inform, inspire, or entertain correctly.

For a free downloadable resource, click the Chart Decision Tree and Compare Visual Guide.

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