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Quick answers
When should I pick Pie & donut?
When the story is: two to five parts that sum to a meaningful whole.
When should I avoid Pie & donut?
Skip it in cases like: many similar slices, 3-D pie, or comparing two pies.
Who invented or popularised it?
Playfair 1801; Florence Nightingale’s coxcomb is a polar cousin, 1858
What does it encode?
angle (and area) of a circle slice
Is it OK in ads?
Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.
Will a teacher accept it?
Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present.
Pie & donut encodes values as angle (and area) of a circle slice. Playfair 1801; Florence Nightingale’s coxcomb is a polar cousin, 1858.
In reports, ads and assignments it fits two to five parts that sum to a meaningful whole. Skip it when many similar slices, 3-D pie, or comparing two pies.
Parts
- Mark — The core mark of Pie & donut is angle (and area) of a circle slice.
- Scale — The scale must show zero (or a declared break) and units.
- Axis — Axis titles name the variable, not a mood.
- Legend — A legend is weaker than a direct label. Write beside the mark when you can.
- Label — Numbers are optional. If comparison is the job, label the ends only.
- Grid — Keep the grid faint. Data should own the ink.
- Annotation — One annotation sentence. Date the source.
- Frame — A thin frame. Never a 3-D box.
Variants
- Pie chart — Variant 1 of Pie & donut (Pie chart). Same encoding, different layout.
- Donut chart — Variant 2 of Pie & donut (Donut chart). Same encoding, different layout.
- Part-to-whole — Variant 3 of Pie & donut (Part-to-whole). Same encoding, different layout.
- Pie & donut 4 — Variant 4 of Pie & donut (Pie & donut 4). Same encoding, different layout.
Labels
- Axis — On Pie & donut, make Mark readable.
- Legend — On Pie & donut, make Scale readable.
- Label — On Pie & donut, make Axis readable.
- Grid — On Pie & donut, make Legend readable.
- Annotation — On Pie & donut, make Label readable.
Pie & donut: honour angle (and area) of a circle slice, and switch when many similar slices, 3-D pie, or comparing two pies.