Sankey charts have been around for many years, but they’ve only recently started to gain popularity due to their ability to powerfully visualize complex flows and connections. In this article, we will discuss what Sankey charts are, their various applications, and how to create them.
What are Sankey Charts?
Sankey charts, named after the Scottish engineer, Captain Robert T. Sankey, represent flows or transitions between nodes or categories, with the width of the lines indicating the magnitude of the flow. The chart is typically used to show material flow in industrial systems or energy flow in a power grid, network flow in complex systems, and to visualize data in a variety of different applications such as financial flows, information flows, and more.
Applications of Sankey Charts
Sankey charts are incredibly versatile and can be used in a wide range of applications:

1. Energy systems: Visualize energy flows in power grids or energy consumption patterns in different industries.
2. Supply chains: Show materials or products moving between different stages of production.
3. Information flows: Illustrate the movement of data between different systems, platforms, or websites.
4. Financial flows: Display the distribution of investments, transactions, or cash flow in a financial system.
5. Environmental flows: Show the distribution of resources, such as water or air, between different areas or sectors.

Creating Sankey Charts
Creating Sankey charts can be accomplished using a variety of tools, ranging from basic charting libraries to specialized software. Some common libraries include:

1. Plotly: Offer customizable Sankey charts with various design options.
2. D3.js: A powerful data visualization library that allows for highly interactive Sankey charts.
3. Matplotlib: A popular Python library that provides a more traditional Sankey chart style.

To create a Sankey chart, you’ll need three pieces of information:

1. Sources: The initial categories or nodes where the flow starts.
2. Targets: The nodes or categories where the flow ends.
3. Flows: The quantities or values being passed between the source and target nodes.

Once you have this data, you can use a charting library to create a Sankey chart that accurately represents the flows being studied. By adjusting properties such as color, width, and layout, you can create a visually appealing chart that accurately conveys the data being presented.

Example: Sankey Chart for Business Processes
Consider a company that wants to visualize its various departments and their contributions to the overall revenue stream. By using a Sankey chart, the company can easily see which departments have the most significant impact on revenue, as well as how revenue flows between different departments.
To create the Sankey chart, the company would first need to gather data on the revenue generated by each department, as well as the percentages that each department contributes to the overall revenue. This data would then be used to create a Sankey chart that visually represents the flows of revenue between departments.
The final chart would show the departments in the left-hand column, their corresponding contribution percentages in the middle column, and the revenue flows to the right-hand column. The width of the arrows connecting each department would indicate the relative size of the contribution to the overall revenue.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Sankey charts are a powerful tool for visualizing complex flows and connections in a variety of different applications. From energy systems to financial processes, Sankey charts provide a unique way to illustrate data, highlighting the most significant flows and connections in a visually appealing and easily understandable way. By learning how to create and use Sankey charts, you can take your data visualization skills to the next level.

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.