Chart type · Trend
Matrix heatmap
How to read it
Position picks the cell and colour carries the value, so read the legend before the grid. A scanner sweeps the columns, a ring hops between the runner-up cells and locks on the one the clip is about, and its row and column stay lit while the rest dims. In a before/after grid the cells turn to the new values smallest change first, so the biggest mover lands last. In stripes a playhead walks the years with a live reading.
Best for
Two-dimensional patterns, seasonality, streaks, how a grid changed between two dates, and long runs of a single measure.
When not to use it
Exact values matter, or the measure diverges around a midpoint but the ramp runs through a single hue.
The common mistake
A rainbow scale. It invents boundaries the data does not have and falls apart for colour-blind viewers. A close second: comparing two grids on separate colour scales, where an unchanged cell still changes colour.
Examples
No matrix heatmap videos published yet. Browse the rest of the library.
Related chart types
- LineAn animated line reveal for one or more series.
- AreaA filled trend, optionally stacked or shown as shares of 100%.
- 1 videoBar raceHorizontal bars reordering as values change across frames.
- SlopeA two-point before-and-after comparison per item.
- WaterfallStart, contributions, end: each step peels off a running total, and the payoff brackets how far the end landed from the start.
- FunnelA true-width drop-off funnel: a stream of dots spills out at every step, a live counter falls stage by stage, and the leakiest step cracks open at the end.