Data Visualization

Data Visualization Skill

Degree of freedom: MIXED. Chart type and encoding [HIGH freedom]; existing-library/token probes and a11y fallback [LOW freedom — run exactly].

How to reason

1. Observe — existing chart library, tokens, data shape
2. Interpret — reuse a component vs new chart type
3. Classify — line / bar / area / donut / sparkline / table-fallback
4. Severity — inaccessible or empty-state-less chart outranks a missing gradient

Worked example

Observe: package.json has recharts; no src/components/charts; tokens define --primary. Interpret: reuse Recharts + tokens, not D3. Classify: ResponsiveContainer line chart + sr-only table; skeleton while loading. Verify: resizes; screen-reader table present; no second chart library.

Self-critique before reporting

• Existing lib — grepped package.json; did not add a second chart library
• Accessible — sr-only table or text alternative present
• States — loading + empty handled
• Right owner — event taxonomy → audit-analytics; empty/loading frames → audit-ui-states

Create beautiful, accessible, and interactive data visualizations for dashboards and reports.

Product-event coverage ("are we tracking the right events?") is audit-analytics, not this skill. Empty/loading chart frames are audit-ui-states.

Check existing first [LOW freedom — run exactly]

Before creating ANY visualization, verify:

1. Check for existing chart libraries:

cat package.json | grep -i "recharts\|chart\|d3\|visx\|nivo\|tremor"
rg "LineChart|BarChart|PieChart" --type tsx -l | head -10

2. Check for existing chart components:

ls -la src/components/charts/ src/components/dashboard/ 2>/dev/null
rg "ResponsiveContainer|Chart" --type tsx | head -10

3. Check for design tokens:

cat tailwind.config.* | grep -A10 "chart\|colors"

Why: Use existing chart library and styling conventions.

Recharts (Recommended for React) [HIGH freedom]

Line Chart

'use client'
import {
 LineChart,
 Line,
 XAxis,
 YAxis,
 CartesianGrid,
 Tooltip,
 ResponsiveContainer,
 Legend,
} from 'recharts'

const data = [
 { month: 'Jan', revenue: 4000, users: 2400 },
 { month: 'Feb', revenue: 3000, users: 1398 },
 { month: 'Mar', revenue: 2000, users: 9800 },
]

export function RevenueChart() {
 return (
 <ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={350}>
 <LineChart data={data}>
 <CartesianGrid strokeDasharray="3 3" className="stroke-muted" />
 <XAxis
 dataKey="month"
 className="text-xs fill-muted-foreground"
 tickLine={false}
 axisLine={false}
 />
 <YAxis
 className="text-xs fill-muted-foreground"
 tickLine={false}
 axisLine={false}
 tickFormatter={(value) => `$${value}`}
 />
 <Tooltip
 content={<CustomTooltip />}
 cursor={{ stroke: 'hsl(var(--muted))' }}
 />
 <Legend />
 <Line
 type="monotone"
 dataKey="revenue"
 stroke="hsl(var(--primary))"
 strokeWidth={2}
 dot={{ fill: 'hsl(var(--primary))' }}
 activeDot={{ r: 6 }}
 />
 <Line
 type="monotone"
 dataKey="users"
 stroke="hsl(var(--secondary))"
 strokeWidth={2}
 dot={{ fill: 'hsl(var(--secondary))' }}
 />
 </LineChart>
 </ResponsiveContainer>
 )
}

function CustomTooltip({ active, payload, label }: any) {
 if (!active || !payload) return null

 return (
 <div className="rounded-lg border bg-background p-2 shadow-sm">
 <p className="text-sm font-medium">{label}</p>
 {payload.map((entry: any, index: number) => (
 <p key={index} className="text-sm" style={{ color: entry.color }}>
 {entry.name}: {entry.value}
 </p>
 ))}
 </div>
 )
}

Bar Chart

'use client'
import { BarChart, Bar, XAxis, YAxis, ResponsiveContainer, Cell } from 'recharts'

const data = [
 { name: 'Mon', value: 12 },
 { name: 'Tue', value: 19 },
 { name: 'Wed', value: 3 },
 { name: 'Thu', value: 5 },
 { name: 'Fri', value: 2 },
]

export function WeeklyChart() {
 return (
 <ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={200}>
 <BarChart data={data}>
 <XAxis
 dataKey="name"
 tickLine={false}
 axisLine={false}
 className="text-xs fill-muted-foreground"
 />
 <YAxis hide />
 <Bar
 dataKey="value"
 radius={[4, 4, 0, 0]}
 className="fill-primary"
 >
 {data.map((entry, index) => (
 <Cell
 key={index}
 className={index === data.length - 1 ? 'fill-primary' : 'fill-primary/60'}
 />
 ))}
 </Bar>
 </BarChart>
 </ResponsiveContainer>
 )
}

Area Chart with Gradient

'use client'
import { AreaChart, Area, XAxis, YAxis, ResponsiveContainer } from 'recharts'

export function GradientAreaChart({ data }: { data: any[] }) {
 return (
 <ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={200}>
 <AreaChart data={data}>
 <defs>
 <linearGradient id="colorValue" x1="0" y1="0" x2="0" y2="1">
 <stop offset="5%" stopColor="hsl(var(--primary))" stopOpacity={0.3} />
 <stop offset="95%" stopColor="hsl(var(--primary))" stopOpacity={0} />
 </linearGradient>
 </defs>
 <XAxis dataKey="date" hide />
 <YAxis hide />
 <Area
 type="monotone"
 dataKey="value"
 stroke="hsl(var(--primary))"
 strokeWidth={2}
 fill="url(#colorValue)"
 />
 </AreaChart>
 </ResponsiveContainer>
 )
}

Pie/Donut Chart

'use client'
import { PieChart, Pie, Cell, ResponsiveContainer, Label } from 'recharts'

const COLORS = [
 'hsl(var(--primary))',
 'hsl(var(--secondary))',
 'hsl(var(--accent))',
 'hsl(var(--muted))',
]

export function DonutChart({ data, total }: { data: any[]; total: number }) {
 return (
 <ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={200}>
 <PieChart>
 <Pie
 data={data}
 cx="50%"
 cy="50%"
 innerRadius={60}
 outerRadius={80}
 paddingAngle={2}
 dataKey="value"
 >
 {data.map((_, index) => (
 <Cell key={index} fill={COLORS[index % COLORS.length]} />
 ))}
 <Label
 value={total}
 position="center"
 className="fill-foreground text-2xl font-bold"
 />
 </Pie>
 </PieChart>
 </ResponsiveContainer>
 )
}

Sparklines (Mini Charts) [HIGH freedom]

'use client'
import { LineChart, Line, ResponsiveContainer } from 'recharts'

interface SparklineProps {
 data: number[]
 color?: string
 height?: number
}

export function Sparkline({ data, color = 'hsl(var(--primary))', height = 40 }: SparklineProps) {
 const chartData = data.map((value, index) => ({ index, value }))

 return (
 <ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={height}>
 <LineChart data={chartData}>
 <Line
 type="monotone"
 dataKey="value"
 stroke={color}
 strokeWidth={1.5}
 dot={false}
 />
 </LineChart>
 </ResponsiveContainer>
 )
}

// Usage in stats card
<div className="flex items-center justify-between">
 <div>
 <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Revenue</p>
 <p className="text-2xl font-bold">$45,231</p>
 </div>
 <div className="w-20">
 <Sparkline data={[10, 15, 8, 22, 18, 25, 30]} />
 </div>
</div>

Stat Cards with Trends [HIGH freedom]

import { ArrowUpIcon, ArrowDownIcon } from 'lucide-react'
import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'

interface StatCardProps {
 title: string
 value: string
 change: number
 trend: 'up' | 'down'
 sparklineData?: number[]
}

export function StatCard({ title, value, change, trend, sparklineData }: StatCardProps) {
 return (
 <div className="rounded-xl border bg-card p-6">
 <p className="text-sm font-medium text-muted-foreground">{title}</p>
 <div className="mt-2 flex items-baseline justify-between">
 <p className="text-3xl font-semibold">{value}</p>
 <div className={cn(
 'flex items-center text-sm font-medium',
 trend === 'up' ? 'text-green-600' : 'text-red-600'
 )}>
 {trend === 'up' ? (
 <ArrowUpIcon className="mr-1 h-4 w-4" />
 ) : (
 <ArrowDownIcon className="mr-1 h-4 w-4" />
 )}
 {Math.abs(change)}%
 </div>
 </div>
 {sparklineData && (
 <div className="mt-4">
 <Sparkline
 data={sparklineData}
 color={trend === 'up' ? 'rgb(22 163 74)' : 'rgb(220 38 38)'}
 />
 </div>
 )}
 </div>
 )
}

Real-time Data Updates [HIGH freedom]

'use client'
import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
import { LineChart, Line, ResponsiveContainer, YAxis } from 'recharts'

export function RealtimeChart() {
 const [data, setData] = useState<{ time: number; value: number }[]>([])

 useEffect(() => {
 const interval = setInterval(() => {
 setData((prev) => {
 const newPoint = {
 time: Date.now(),
 value: Math.random() * 100,
 }
 // Keep last 20 points
 const updated = [...prev, newPoint].slice(-20)
 return updated
 })
 }, 1000)

 return () => clearInterval(interval)
 }, [])

 return (
 <ResponsiveContainer width="100%" height={100}>
 <LineChart data={data}>
 <YAxis domain={[0, 100]} hide />
 <Line
 type="monotone"
 dataKey="value"
 stroke="hsl(var(--primary))"
 strokeWidth={2}
 dot={false}
 isAnimationActive={false}
 />
 </LineChart>
 </ResponsiveContainer>
 )
}

D3.js for Custom Visualizations [HIGH freedom]

'use client'
import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
import * as d3 from 'd3'

export function CustomD3Chart({ data }: { data: { label: string; value: number }[] }) {
 const svgRef = useRef<SVGSVGElement>(null)

 useEffect(() => {
 if (!svgRef.current || !data.length) return

 const svg = d3.select(svgRef.current)
 const width = svgRef.current.clientWidth
 const height = svgRef.current.clientHeight
 const margin = { top: 20, right: 20, bottom: 30, left: 40 }

 svg.selectAll('*').remove()

 const x = d3
 .scaleBand()
 .domain(data.map((d) => d.label))
 .range([margin.left, width - margin.right])
 .padding(0.1)

 const y = d3
 .scaleLinear()
 .domain([0, d3.max(data, (d) => d.value) || 0])
 .nice()
 .range([height - margin.bottom, margin.top])

 // Bars
 svg
 .selectAll('rect')
 .data(data)
 .join('rect')
 .attr('x', (d) => x(d.label) || 0)
 .attr('y', height - margin.bottom)
 .attr('width', x.bandwidth())
 .attr('height', 0)
 .attr('fill', 'hsl(var(--primary))')
 .attr('rx', 4)
 .transition()
 .duration(750)
 .attr('y', (d) => y(d.value))
 .attr('height', (d) => y(0) - y(d.value))

 // X Axis
 svg
 .append('g')
 .attr('transform', `translate(0,${height - margin.bottom})`)
 .call(d3.axisBottom(x).tickSize(0))
 .selectAll('text')
 .attr('class', 'fill-muted-foreground text-xs')

 }, [data])

 return <svg ref={svgRef} className="w-full h-64" />
}

Accessibility [LOW freedom — run exactly]

// Always include ARIA labels and descriptions
<div role="img" aria-label="Revenue chart showing monthly data from January to December">
 <ResponsiveContainer>
 <LineChart data={data} aria-hidden="true">
 {/* Chart content */}
 </LineChart>
 </ResponsiveContainer>

 {/* Screen reader alternative */}
 <table className="sr-only">
 <caption>Monthly Revenue Data</caption>
 <thead>
 <tr><th>Month</th><th>Revenue</th></tr>
 </thead>
 <tbody>
 {data.map((d) => (
 <tr key={d.month}>
 <td>{d.month}</td>
 <td>${d.revenue}</td>
 </tr>
 ))}
 </tbody>
 </table>
</div>

Validation [LOW freedom — do not skip]

After creating visualizations:

1. Responsive → Charts resize properly on all screens
2. Accessible → Screen reader alternatives provided
3. Performance → Large datasets use virtualization/sampling
4. Loading states → Skeleton shown while data loads
5. Empty states → Meaningful message when no data
6. Color contrast → Meets WCAG guidelines
7. Tooltips → Provide detailed data on hover