Sankey charts are a type of flow diagram that visually represent quantities that move between different points in a system. The name comes from the Scottish engineer Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey, who used this type of diagram in the late 19th century to demonstrate the energy losses in steam engines. Over time, the Sankey chart has evolved into a powerful tool for data visualization that can be used in a variety of fields, from economics and environmental science to engineering and even social media marketing.
Creating a Sankey chart involves several steps. The first step is to gather the data that you want to visualize. This could be in the form of a table or a spreadsheet, where each row represents a flow between two points, and the columns contain the names of the points and the quantity of the flow. Once you have your data, you can use a data visualization software or tool to create the chart. There are many software options available, such as Microsoft Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, and open-source tools like Plotly, and R language, which have specific libraries to create Sankey charts.
Creating a Sankey chart in Microsoft Excel is relatively straightforward. You can use the “Insert” tab and select the “Sankey Diagram” option. You will then need to select the data range from your spreadsheet and choose the direction of the flow, among the default settings Excel provides. There are also several add-ins available that can increase the functionality and improve the aesthetics of your Sankey charts in Excel.
In Tableau, you can drag and drop fields to the “Columns”, “Rows”, and “Color” shelves, making it fairly intuitive to create a Sankey chart. This allows you to filter, group, and customize the chart to suit your specific needs. Additionally, Tableau provides some useful visualizations such as heatmaps to analyze the intensity of flows between the different categories.
PowerBI is known for its simplicity and user-friendly interface when dealing with complex data. To create a Sankey chart in PowerBI, you need to use the pivot table feature to organize your data and then select the Sankey chart option to visualize your flows. This method enables you to create interactive and dynamic visualizations, which can be displayed as a dashboard or embedded in reports.
In Plotly, a popular open-source library for Python, you can use Sankey() to create Sankey charts. The charts can then be embedded in HTML pages, dashboards, and more. Plotly is known for its extensive customization options, allowing you to change colors, fonts, and layout to fit your specific needs.
Sankey charts can be used in a variety of applications. Here are some examples:
1. Economic Analysis: Sankey charts can show the flow of goods and services between different sectors of an economy. For example, the chart can depict imports and exports, revenue streams, or capital flows as part of supply chains management and forecasting.
2. Environmental Science: These charts make it easy to visualize energy flow in ecological systems, such as water and nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas emissions in ecosystems or urban areas. They can also represent energy consumption in cities and visualize the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
3. Engineering: In infrastructure projects, Sankey charts can demonstrate the flow of materials in a construction project, including the costs, resources, and environmental impacts. They can also be used to illustrate the energy efficiency and environmental performance of a manufacturing process.
4. Social Media Marketing: In the context of social media platforms, Sankey charts can represent user interactions and information flow, such as page views, clicks, and shares between different types of content, or identify influencers in a network of followers.
5. Healthcare: Sankey diagrams can show patient flows in hospitals or clinics, track the spread of diseases, or illustrate the route of treatment paths for specific illnesses.
When creating a Sankey chart, there are several best practices to consider. First, simplify the data and avoid overcrowding the chart by including only the most significant flows. Choose proper colors to make the chart more distinguishable and intuitive. Add labels and tooltips to provide context and allow viewers to explore deeper information. Lastly, make sure the chart is readable and easy to understand, enabling the audience to quickly recognize the major flows, key nodes, and patterns within the system.
SankeyMaster
SankeyMaster is your go-to tool for creating complex Sankey charts . Easily enter data and create Sankey charts that accurately reveal intricate data relationships.
