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Honest question here (and I hate how I feel compelled to preface with that): In what situations are the "circle stats"/circular representation of a bar graph us

Honest question here (and I hate how I feel compelled to preface with that): In what situations are the "circle stats"/circular representation of a bar graph useful? Aside from its aesthetic appeal, it doesn't seem very functional.

callmeed 14y ago
If I were to guess, it'd be because dashboards in general are en vogue right now and this is a nice way to fit it in a (more or less) square area.
risratorn 14y ago
Apart from the aesthetics it also reads like a gauge so it's fairly easy to spot progress or high values. To be honest, I think gauge like controls/graphs have become so popular on dashboard because their physical world counterparts all featured gauges. Check the dashboards of an airplane or nuclear facility for example. You could call it skeuomorphism if you want. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph)
RBerenguel 14y ago
I read somewhere that the human brain is better wired to see changes in angles rather than in heights: this is why speedometers are circular. So having in circles some stat that changes in real time or very frequently (I think there should also be a mark for the previous measurement if it is not real time) makes sense.
- TeMPOraL 14y ago
  I found a citation for something opposite. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_chart#Use.2C_effectiveness_and_visual_perception http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_chart#Use.2C_effectiveness_... > Further, in research performed at AT&T Bell Laboratories, it was shown that comparison by angle was less accurate than comparison by length. Also, my guess is that speedometers are circular because of technology available at the time first cars were built. I think I'd much rather see a bar as a speed indicator. I guess it could be tested; anyone knows any racing game which allows to switch between standard speedometer and some kind of speed bar?
  - EdwardMSmith 14y ago
    Just anecdata, but most purpose-built racing dashboards use a linear tachometer (vastly more critical in a racing situation than a speedometer) instead of a circular tachometer. It may just be a packaging thing, though.
emillon 14y ago
Also, they are filled at 100%, which is quite an arbitrary number for relative values.
jalfresi 14y ago
They arn't. Stephen Few wrote a really good book a few (ha!) years back called 'Information Dashboard Design' (0596100167) which addressed the issue of circular dials and gauges. Here is a good essay on the subject by Stephen Few (http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/08-21-07.pdf http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/08-21-07.pdf). Basically, it boils down to the same arguments put forward by Tufte et al. It is far easier to compare horizontal or vertical positions than radial values.
grey-area 14y ago
If you want to chart values over time or compare values obviously a bar chart or line graph is going to work better. However these gauges at the top are not replacing a bar chart, as they each only show one value in isolation - that'd be a pretty simple bar chart. When you're showing one value, and at most might have targets to show in relation to it, a radial chart is just as good IMHO, and lets you put other info in the centre (like the figure in numerals for example). The closest tabular representation would be the weekly stats at the bottom. I think they make a nice compliment to the other graphs on the page, and do not sacrifice usability for aesthetic appeal given that there are other styles of chart used where appropriate (for example the time series of visits etc.).

callmeed 14y ago

If I were to guess, it'd be because dashboards in general are en vogue right now and this is a nice way to fit it in a (more or less) square area.

risratorn 14y ago

Apart from the aesthetics it also reads like a gauge so it's fairly easy to spot progress or high values. To be honest, I think gauge like controls/graphs have become so popular on dashboard because their physical world counterparts all featured gauges. Check the dashboards of an airplane or nuclear facility for example. You could call it skeuomorphism if you want. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeuomorph)

RBerenguel 14y ago

I read somewhere that the human brain is better wired to see changes in angles rather than in heights: this is why speedometers are circular. So having in circles some stat that changes in real time or very frequently (I think there should also be a mark for the previous measurement if it is not real time) makes sense.

TeMPOraL 14y ago
I found a citation for something opposite. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_chart#Use.2C_effectiveness_and_visual_perception http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_chart#Use.2C_effectiveness_... > Further, in research performed at AT&T Bell Laboratories, it was shown that comparison by angle was less accurate than comparison by length. Also, my guess is that speedometers are circular because of technology available at the time first cars were built. I think I'd much rather see a bar as a speed indicator. I guess it could be tested; anyone knows any racing game which allows to switch between standard speedometer and some kind of speed bar?
- EdwardMSmith 14y ago
  Just anecdata, but most purpose-built racing dashboards use a linear tachometer (vastly more critical in a racing situation than a speedometer) instead of a circular tachometer. It may just be a packaging thing, though.

emillon 14y ago

Also, they are filled at 100%, which is quite an arbitrary number for relative values.

jalfresi 14y ago

They arn't. Stephen Few wrote a really good book a few (ha!) years back called 'Information Dashboard Design' (0596100167) which addressed the issue of circular dials and gauges. Here is a good essay on the subject by Stephen Few (http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/08-21-07.pdf http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/08-21-07.pdf). Basically, it boils down to the same arguments put forward by Tufte et al. It is far easier to compare horizontal or vertical positions than radial values.

grey-area 14y ago

If you want to chart values over time or compare values obviously a bar chart or line graph is going to work better. However these gauges at the top are not replacing a bar chart, as they each only show one value in isolation - that'd be a pretty simple bar chart. When you're showing one value, and at most might have targets to show in relation to it, a radial chart is just as good IMHO, and lets you put other info in the centre (like the figure in numerals for example). The closest tabular representation would be the weekly stats at the bottom. I think they make a nice compliment to the other graphs on the page, and do not sacrifice usability for aesthetic appeal given that there are other styles of chart used where appropriate (for example the time series of visits etc.).