Like the previous post on Coloured Bar Delta, this is inspired by a chart from Visualising Financial Data. This time this is inspired by the Fold-over Stack.
What is Fold-over Stack?
A visual method to show the net results of multiple quantities.
The Fold-Over Stack (Figure 8-27) consolidates six data sets into one chart: The stacked additions, shown in three shades of blue, incorporate the Additions by Source table. In addition, the triangular shape has the flexibility to accumulate either positive or negative values. The inverted yellow triangle provides a dual indicator of deductions and the net change.
Consolidating six charts into one not only saves space but presents relationships efficiently. The techniques used in the chart include:
Alignment—Layering and aligning the data sets to yearly markers.
Stacking—Stacking the data within the triangular bar. Part Area chart, the volume of blues and yellow add and subtract to the net.
Folding—Capping the positive values by bending the triangle down. The fold separates the positive and negative values.
Pointing―The tip of the triangle acts as a pointer to the resulting net change.
My Chart Experiment
I am suggesting a Fold-Over Bar that can be seen in the opening image. Instead of pyramid-like shaped polygons, my version uses bars. The dots that represent the final value is also replaced by a line. This post simplifies the Fold-Over Bar, using only values from Sales and Profit from the Sample Superstore data.
Pro
The pros and cons are quite similar to the ones mentioned in my post Coloured Bar Delta.
- The triangles can be distracting and an overlapping or stacked bar chart is more user- and viewer-friendly.
- The lines on the Fold-Over Bar like the dots show, thus, reducing the noise on the chart. Minimal design with rectangles and lines can be less heavy on the viewers' eyes. The Fold-Over Stack always looks like it is showing negative values due to the downward orange triangles.
- Having what is meant to be "additions" and "subtractions" on the same bar can be confusing. Perhaps, the triangular bars on the original have the effect to alleviate the problem.
Step 1: Make the (Stacked) Bar Chart
- Drag and drop the pill for the duration as Discrete to Rows
- Drag and drop the Sales and Profit pills into Columns
- Drag and drop Measure Values to Profit then remove all pills except Profit and Discount for actual Profit without Discount and add borders to the bars differentiate
- Make the pills in Columns Dual Axis and then Synchronise Axis
- Make Sales grey using the Colour in the Marks Card
- Make Profit your colour of choice with formulas for positive and negative
- Make sure the Marks card is for Bar
- Make sure Analysis > Stack Marks > On
- Go to Analytics > Reference Lines
- Drag to Reference Lines to Cells
- Go to Line > Format the line you want
- Go to Value > Choose Sum for Profit or Measure Values if you are using Measure Values
Step 3: Publish your Fold-Over Bar!
Conclusion
All in all, creating the Fold-Over Bar is similar to the Coloured Bar Delta, but with extra steps and thinking. Using Tableau to experiment with such charts also presents a problem as Tableau is not built to make these charts. Nonetheless, the trials and errors have been fun with Tableau.
Below is what the Fold-Over Bar looks like if the profits are negative.
.png)