Sparklines
Tiny charts embedded in text, tables, or KPI cards. Edward Tufte's invention.
- No axes, no labels, no gridlines
- Show shape/trend only
- Width: 80-150px, height: 20-40px
- Highlight: min, max, latest value, or trend direction
- Color: single color, or green/red for positive/negative
Where to Use
- KPI cards (trend line below the number)
- Table cells (showing each row's trend)
- Inline in text (stock price mention with visual)
- Dashboard headers (context for the primary metric)
Small Multiples
Same chart repeated for different segments, enabling comparison.
- Same scale across all multiples (critical for fair comparison)
- Same dimensions and axes
- Sorted meaningfully (alphabetical, by value, by trend)
- Grid layout (3-4 columns)
- Label each clearly but minimally