PROPORTIONAL SYMBOL

one circle per category, AREA proportional to value. Needs: 2-7 categories with positive values of very different magnitude.

magnitudecomparison

DL-01 AGRAW

Use when

magnitudes spanning orders where bars would dwarf the small ones
impressionistic size comparison with exact values printed

Do not use when

precise comparison (areas are read poorly; values must be printed)
more than 7 symbols

See instead

values are within one order of magnitude: CH-MAG-01
precise reading matters: CH-RNK-01

Alternatives

CH-RNK-01 (precise comparison)
CH-MAG-01 (similar magnitudes)

Rules

AREA encodes the value; radius = sqrt(value/max) x r_max, never linear radius
every value printed: the symbol impresses, the number informs
one highlight maximum

Never do this

radius-proportional scaling (the classic double-count lie)
unprinted values
more than 7 symbols

QA before delivering

area-true scaling
values printed
highlight <= 1
unit once
source present

Data shape

title	action title with a number
source	bottom-left always
unit	on first value
categories	[{label, value, highlight?}]

Sample data (golden)

{
  "title": "One yard holds 6,400 items, four times any other",
  "eyebrow": "STOCK BY YARD",
  "source": "Source: sample dataset v1, 2026-07-12",
  "unit": "items",
  "categories": [
    {
      "label": "Yard A",
      "value": 6400,
      "highlight": true
    },
    {
      "label": "Yard B",
      "value": 1500
    },
    {
      "label": "Yard C",
      "value": 900
    },
    {
      "label": "Port store",
      "value": 450
    },
    {
      "label": "Site bins",
      "value": 120
    }
  ]
}