Choosing the right chart usually depends on what question the data needs to answer.

A simple way to decide:

• Bar charts → comparing values across categories

• Line charts → showing trends over time

• Scatter plots → identifying relationships between variables

• Pie charts → showing proportions (when categories are few)

• Heatmaps → highlighting patterns or intensity across many variables

In practice, the goal is clarity. A good visualization should make the key insight obvious without forcing the viewer to interpret too much.