Visualization Patterns

Use the pattern that best supports the decision, not the one that looks most impressive. If the input is not an obvious chart request, start with references/input-triage.md to map it to a pattern family.

Step 0 — Name the Comparison Before Picking a Pattern

Every quantitative chart encodes one of five basic comparison types (Zelazny's discipline). Name the comparison first; only then pick a pattern. This prevents choosing a chart shape before understanding what is actually being compared.

Comparison Type	You Are Saying	Pattern Families
Component (share of a whole)	"X is n% of the total"	Market share / adoption, Stacked composition
Item (ranking)	"A is bigger / better than B"	Gap visualization, Benchmark table, Investment / scale
Time series	"X is rising / falling / flat"	Time-series growth, Before-after, Waterfall, Small multiples, Gantt
Frequency distribution	"Most cases fall in this range"	Distribution chart, Heatmap matrix
Correlation	"X moves (or does not move) with Y"	Scatter / correlation, 2x2 framework

Qualitative structures (process, hierarchy, cycle, decision logic) skip this table and go straight to the structural patterns below.

Rendering Support

The bundled renderer (scripts/render_slide_spec.py) turns specs into SVG for the patterns marked ✓ SVG below (16:9 canvas only). Patterns marked spec-only produce a structured spec or an image-generation prompt — not a rendered file. Say which you are delivering; never imply a spec-only pattern will render.

Core Strategy Patterns

Pattern	Renderer	Use When	Strategic Question
Time-series growth	✓ SVG	Showing adoption, revenue, usage, or performance over time	Is momentum accelerating or stalling?
Gap visualization	✓ SVG	Comparing current vs. target or leader vs. laggard	How large is the gap and why does it matter?
Before-after comparison	✓ SVG	Demonstrating intervention impact	What changed and is it enough to justify action?
Market share / adoption	spec-only	Showing penetration or composition	Where is the center of gravity?
Investment / scale infographic	spec-only	Comparing operating scale, investment, or capacity	Who has the scale advantage?
Timeline	spec-only	Showing sequence, milestones, regulation, or rollout	What must happen, and when?
Contrast diagram	spec-only	Comparing regions, strategies, or operating models	Where are the structural differences?
2x2 strategic framework	✓ SVG	Positioning players or options across two drivers	Which position is attractive or exposed?
Competitive benchmark table	✓ SVG	Comparing multiple players across criteria	Who leads on the dimensions that matter?
Waterfall chart	✓ SVG	Explaining bridge, variance, or cumulative change	What drives the delta?
Cover slide	✓ SVG	Opening a deck or section	What is this argument about?
Executive summary strip	✓ SVG	Compressing 3-5 takeaways into a decision memo visual	What should the executive remember?

Universal Patterns

These patterns extend the skill beyond board slides to reports, proposals, training materials, technical docs, and explainers. They follow the same style system and quality rubric.

Pattern	Renderer	Use When	Reader Question
Process flow	✓ SVG	Showing steps, handoffs, or a workflow	What happens, in what order, and who owns each step?
Funnel	✓ SVG	Showing staged conversion or attrition	Where do we lose the most, stage by stage?
Cycle diagram	spec-only	Showing recurring loops or feedback systems	What sustains or breaks this loop?
Hierarchy / tree	spec-only	Showing org structures, taxonomies, or breakdowns	How is this organized, and where does X sit?
Pyramid	spec-only	Showing layered arguments, priorities, or maturity levels	What is the foundation and what sits on top?
Concept / system map	spec-only	Showing how entities, ideas, or components relate	How do the parts interact?
Gantt / roadmap	✓ SVG	Showing workstreams, phases, and dependencies over time	Are we on track, and what blocks what?
Heatmap matrix	✓ SVG	Showing intensity across two categorical dimensions	Where are the hot spots?
Scatter / correlation	✓ SVG	Showing relationship between two continuous variables	Do these move together, and who are the outliers?
Distribution chart	✓ SVG	Showing spread, concentration, and outliers	What is typical, and what is extreme?
Small multiples	✓ SVG	Comparing one metric's trend across many segments on a shared scale	Does the pattern hold everywhere, or only in some segments?
Stacked composition	spec-only	Showing how composition shifts across items or time	What is the mix, and how is it changing?
KPI scorecard	✓ SVG	Showing many metrics with status at a glance	What is healthy and what needs attention?
Decision tree	spec-only	Showing branching logic, eligibility, or escalation rules	Given my situation, what do I do?
Flow / allocation (Sankey-style)	spec-only	Showing how a quantity splits and flows between stages	Where does the volume actually go?
Checklist / maturity grid	spec-only	Showing completion or capability levels against a standard	What is done, and what is the next level?
Annotated map	spec-only	Showing geographic concentration or coverage	Where is this happening?

Pattern Notes

Time-Series Growth

Use a line or bar chart with direct labels, restrained gridlines, and one annotation that explains the inflection or strategic implication.

Gap Visualization

Use horizontal bars when contrast matters more than exact trend. Keep the larger comparator visually dominant and label the gap in business terms.

Before-After Comparison

Use paired bars or paired scorecards. Include the absolute delta and, when useful, the relative improvement. Do not hide the baseline.

Market Share / Adoption

Use a donut only when part-to-whole composition matters and there are few segments. Use ranked bars when precise comparison matters more than composition.

Investment / Scale Infographic

Use side-by-side columns with comparable metrics. Avoid unmatched vanity numbers unless the mismatch is the argument.

Timeline

Use evenly spaced nodes for conceptual phases and proportional spacing for actual dates. Call out dependencies and decision gates.

Contrast Diagram

Use mirrored columns with the same row labels to make asymmetry obvious. Avoid strawman comparisons.

2x2 Strategic Framework

Label axes in business language, not abstract nouns. Put quadrant implications in the chart, not only in surrounding text.

Competitive Benchmark Table

Rank the criteria by decision relevance. Use numeric alignment, leader highlighting, and clear caveats for subjective scores.

Waterfall Chart

Use for bridges from one value to another. Positive and negative movements must be visually distinct and additive.

Cover Slide

Use restrained typography, title, subtitle, date, audience, and confidentiality marker if needed. Avoid decorative chart previews.

Executive Summary Strip

Use three to five insight blocks. Each block should combine a claim, proof point, and implication in one compact unit.

Universal Pattern Notes

Process Flow

Use left-to-right or top-to-bottom boxes with labeled arrows. Mark owners, inputs, and outputs where they change. Highlight the bottleneck or failure point in blue, not every step.

Funnel

Keep stage widths proportional to real values and label both absolute counts and stage-to-stage conversion rates. Annotate the single largest drop.

Cycle Diagram

Use 3-6 nodes in a closed loop with directional arrows. Label what flows between nodes, not just node names. Mark the reinforcing or breaking point.

Hierarchy / Tree

Limit visible depth to three levels per visual; link to detail views for deeper structures. Keep sibling order meaningful (size, priority, or sequence), not arbitrary.

Pyramid

Use 3-5 layers with the governing claim or foundation clearly anchored. State what qualifies an item for each layer; a pyramid without layer criteria is decoration.

Concept / System Map

Limit to roughly 12 nodes per view. Use line styles to distinguish relationship types (depends on, feeds, blocks) and add a small legend. Cluster related nodes spatially.

Gantt / Roadmap

Show plan vs. actual when tracking, not just plan. Mark dependencies and decision gates explicitly. Use one row per workstream, not per task, in executive views.

Heatmap Matrix

Use a single-hue intensity ramp for non-negative intensity data. When values carry sign (variance, YoY change, deviation from target), use a diverging ramp anchored at zero — blue for positive, red for negative, neutral at zero — so the sign is visible in the color, not only in a minus sign. The renderer switches automatically when the data spans zero. Label the extremes with actual values and order rows and columns by a meaningful sort so the pattern is visible.

Scatter / Correlation

Label outliers and the quadrant or trend that carries the message. State correlation honestly; never imply causation in the headline without support.

Distribution Chart

Show the shape (histogram or summary bands) plus the marker that matters: median, target, or threshold. Note sample size.

Small Multiples

Use one shared scale across all panels — per-panel scales silently exaggerate flat segments. Highlight at most one or two panels; the value of the pattern is the honest side-by-side density, not per-panel decoration. This is the analytical, high-density counterpart to one-message slides.

Stacked Composition

Use 100% stacked bars when share matters and absolute stacked bars when scale matters. Limit to 5-6 segments; group the rest as "Other" with a note.

KPI Scorecard

Group metrics by theme, show value, trend, and target per metric, and reserve color for status against target. Limit to what fits one glance; link the rest.

Decision Tree

Phrase each branch as a yes/no or small-choice question a reader can answer about their own case. Every leaf must be an action, not another question.

Flow / Allocation (Sankey-Style)

Keep band widths proportional and totals reconciled between stages. Label the largest flows directly; aggregate small flows.

Checklist / Maturity Grid

Define each level or check objectively enough that two readers score the same way. Show current state and target state in the same visual.

Annotated Map

Use a map only when geography itself is the message; otherwise ranked bars by region are clearer. Annotate the few locations that carry the story.

Structural / Deck Patterns

These patterns are deck furniture, not chart types: they open, orient, transition, and close a deck so the argument-carrying content slides do not have to. They follow the same style system, but none of them encode data — do not reach for one when the reader's question is quantitative; go back to the comparison-type gate instead.

Pattern	Renderer	Use When	Reader Question
Section divider (小扉)	✓ SVG	Opening a new act inside a deck (e.g. "Where to play", "How to win")	What phase of the argument am I entering now?
Agenda	✓ SVG	Orienting the reader before the first content slide, or marking progress mid-deck	What will this deck cover, and where are we right now?
Bullet list (action-title)	✓ SVG	Stating constraints, context, or risks that are true but not yet a chart	What are the plain facts I need to hold before the next visual?
Closing (takeaways / next steps)	✓ SVG	Ending a deck with the decision ask, owners, and timing	What do I need to remember, and what happens next?
Quote	✓ SVG	Grounding a claim in a verbatim customer or stakeholder statement	Is this actually happening, in someone else's words?
End cover (裏表紙)	✓ SVG	Closing a deck	Who do I follow up with?

Structural Pattern Notes

Section Divider (小扉)

Full-bleed navy, same family as cover. Use one per act, not per slide — a deck with a divider every two slides has no acts, just decoration. Carry the running section list so the reader always knows where they are; keep it out if it would overflow the available width rather than shrink it into illegibility.

Agenda

State what the deck covers in the reader's language, not a table of contents copied from slide titles. If the deck is long enough to revisit the agenda mid-deck, mark current once and only once — a "you are here" needs a single unambiguous marker, not a running theme.

Bullet List (Action-Title Text Slide)

This is the fallback for a true statement that is not a comparison, trend, or relationship — use it deliberately, not because a chart felt like too much work. Keep the top-level list to what a reader can hold in one glance (six items is already a lot); a seventh point is a sign the slide should split in two. At most one bullet earns the strongest emphasis — if the whole slide feels like the takeaway, the takeaway is not stated yet.

Closing (Key Takeaways / Next Steps)

Separate what happened (takeaways) from what happens next (next_steps) — do not blend a summary bullet and an action item in the same list, the reader needs to know which is which. Every next step needs an owner; "next steps" without owners is a wish list, not a plan. The call_to_action line is the one sentence a reader should still remember a week later — state the decision being asked for, not a recap.

Quote

Use only a real, attributable statement — never a fabricated or composited quote presented as verbatim. If the source cannot be named specifically (a customer under NDA, an anonymized interview), attribute by role and context instead of inventing a name. One quote per slide; a wall of testimonials dilutes the one voice that was supposed to carry the room.

End Cover (裏表紙)

The quietest slide in the deck — a closing mark and a way to follow up, not a second closing argument. Do not repeat the takeaways here; that is what closing is for.