Chart Pattern · Reference

Three-Line Trend

Actual · Target · Last Year (visual hierarchy)

Monthly revenue — actual vs target vs last year

Three series, three weights · actual is bold, target is dashed (reference), last year is muted (context)

✓ When to use

  • Period-over-period comparison with multiple references
  • You want one number to dominate (this year), and others to support
  • Trend matters more than absolute level

✗ Avoid when

  • You only have one series — just use a single line
  • You have many years of history — overplotting becomes mess
  • Series cross frequently — sparkline-per-row may be clearer

★ Best practice

  • Reserve full color and 2.5px weight for the headline series only
  • Target = dashed (it's the reference, not what happened)
  • Last year = muted gray (context, not focus)
  • Annotate the year-end gap with a delta callout