Bullet Chart

The most common use case for the Bullet Graph, an alternate to meters and gauges, is the comparison of one featured measure to one or more related measures within qualitative ranges. The Bullet Graph features one primary measure (e.g., year-to-date revenue), and one or more comparative measures (e.g., a target number, last year’s revenue) displayed on a scale containing two to five qualitative ranges (e.g., poor, good, excellent).

Jump to Horizontal Chart, Vertical Chart or Alternative Variations

Horizontal Chart

Image of Horizontal Chart

Vertical Chart

Image of Vertical Chart

Alternative Variations

Image of Alternative Chart

Bullet Chart

Jump to Standard Bullet Chart, Segmented Primary Measure, Negative Primary Measure, Reversed Ranges, Scale Greater Than Zero, Horizontal Group, or Vertical Group

Standard Bullet Chart

Image of standard bullet chart

  1. Featured Measure Bar: Use a visually prominent fill color for the featured measure bar. See the color palette for color recommendations.

  2. Comparative Measure Line (optional):
    • Display up to two comparative measures using thin lines perpendicular to the featured measure bar.
    • The featured measure bar should appear below comparative measure lines in the case of an overlap.
  3. Qualitative Range Bars (optional):
    • To show the qualitative state of primary and comparative measures, display two to five qualitative ranges (e.g., poor, good, excellent).
    • The qualitative range fill colors should be visually less prominent than the featured and comparative measures. See the color palette for color recommendations.

  4. Quantitative Scale: Display a quantitative scale of equal intervals of measure along a single linear axis. Major tick marks should be displayed at each labeled interval. Minor tick marks can be displayed between major intervals if necessary.

  5. Text Label:
    • The primary measure is labeled here.
    • Text labels should be placed above vertically-oriented graphs and to the left of horizontally-oriented graphs. See the Variations sections for more examples.

  6. Tooltip: Display featured and comparative measures in a hover tooltip.

  7. Legend (optional):
    • Include a legend to define the featured measure, comparative measures, and qualitative ranges.
    • Interactive Legend (optional): Clicking on a series in the legend should toggle the visibility of the series in the graph.

Variations

Segmented Primary Measure

Image of bullet chart segmented callout

  1. Segmented Primary Measure Bar: Display a segmented primary measure to call out actual and projected primary measures.

Negative Primary Measure

Image of bullet chart primary measure callout

  1. Negative Primary Measure: Use of a red fill color for the primary measure bar is recommended to emphasize values considered to be bad when they are low.

  2. Zero Line: Display a vertical line at the zero mark on scales containing negative and positive values.

Reversed Ranges

Image of bullet chart reversed ranges callout

  1. Reversed Qualitative Ranges: Show reversed qualitative ranges for graphs containing measures considered to be good when they are low.

Scale Greater Than Zero

Image of bullet chart scale callout

  1. Primary Measure Dot: Display the primary measure as a dot when the scale starts at a value greater than zero.

Horizontal Group

Image of bullet chart horizontal group callout

  1. Group Label (optional): Include a center-aligned text label above horizontally-oriented graphs.

  2. Graph Label:
    • Position right-aligned text labels to the left of horizontally-oriented graphs.
    • Horizontal divider line (optional): Include a thin horizontal divider line between the group label and graphs below.
  3. Legend (optional):
    • Include a legend to define the featured measure, comparative measures, and qualitative ranges.
    • Interactive Legend (optional): Clicking on a series in the legend should toggle the visibility of the series in the graph.

Vertical Group

Image of bullet chart vertical group callout

  1. Group Label (optional):
    • Include a group label above vertical graph groups.
    • Horizontal divider line (optional): Include a thin horizontal divider line between the group label and graphs below.

  2. Graph Label: Include a graph label below vertically-oriented graphs.

  3. Scale Position: Place the scale on the left or right of vertically-oriented graphs. Scale position should be the same for all graphs in a group.

  4. Legend (optional):
    • Include a legend to define the featured measure, comparative measures, and qualitative ranges.
    • Interactive Legend (optional): Clicking on a series in the legend should toggle the visibility of the series in the graph.