Chart Pattern · Reference
Horizontal Bar (Ranking)
Sorted descending · category labels left
Top 10 products by revenue
Horizontal bars sorted descending · top item highlighted in green · others in muted blue
✓ When to use
- Comparing 10–15 categories with names of variable length
- You want to show ranking order clearly
- Labels won't fit horizontally on a vertical axis
✗ Avoid when
- Showing distribution of a numeric variable — use vertical bar (histogram)
- Time series — line is always better
- >15 categories — switch to a Pareto with cumulative line
★ Best practice
- Always sort descending — ranking is the message
- Highlight the leader (single color), mute the rest
- Right-align value labels to the bar end
- Use horizontal whenever names are longer than 1 word