[Lens] Orientation chart page

explore-analyze/toc.yml

@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ toc:
           - file: dashboards/create-dashboard-of-panels-with-ecommerce-data.md
   - file: visualize.md
     children:
+      - file: visualize/choose-your-chart.md
       - file: visualize/supported-chart-types.md
       - file: visualize/visualize-library.md
       - file: visualize/manage-panels.md

explore-analyze/visualize/choose-your-chart.md

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+---
+mapped_pages:
+ - https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/kibana/current/chart-types.html
+applies_to:
+ stack: ga
+ serverless: ga
+products:
+ - id: kibana
+---
+
+
+# Choose your chart [choose-your-chart]
+
+
+Use this guide to pick the most effective visualization.
+### OPTION A
+
+
+**I want to visualize trend in time**
+
+
+| My data | My goal | Best choice | Why |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| I have one data series  |  I want to track time-based changes to quickly spot issues rather than perform detailed analysis.  | Line chart, Bar chart | Ideal for spotting small changes day‑to‑day changes (or across any time period).  |
+|                         |  I want to show overall intensity             | Heatmap           | Great for quickly assessing periods of high vs. low activity. |
+| I have more data series |  I want to show differences among data series | Line chart, Grouped Bar chart, Heatmap        | Keeping lines close or bars grouped enables quick, across-series comparison. |
+|                         |  I want to show the sum of the data series    | Stacked Bar chart, Area chart  | Ideal for aggregating values into a single total to see overall behavior. |
+
+
+**I have one or more values to display**
+
+
+| My data | My goal | Best choice | Why |
+| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------| ----------------- | --- |
+| I have one value        |  I want to display a single value             | Metric chart, Bullet      |  Ideal for showing a single value, for example a KPI. To compare against targets, consider a Gauge in bullet style.  |
+| I have more values      |  I want to display the sum of the values as part of something     | Bar chart        | Great for fast comparison and clear ranking across series |
+|                         |  I want to show their cumulative value        | Treemap chart, Pie chart, Single Stacked bar chart      | Also called “part‑to‑whole” charts, they show how an item compares to, and contributes to, the whole.
+
+
+### OPTION B
+
+
+| **Chart type** | **Use when you want to...** |
+| --- | --- |
+| Line chart | Show how a metric changes over time or another continuous dimension. |
+| Area chart | Show change over time while emphasizing cumulative magnitude or part-to-whole stacking. |
+| Bar chart | Compare values across discrete categories or show distributions with histogram buckets. |
+| Metric chart | Highlight a single KPI or a small set of critical numbers. |
+| Table chart | Present precise values, rankings, or multi-metric details in a compact layout. |
+| Pie chart | Show simple part-to-whole composition with a small number of categories (generally ≤ 5). |
+| Treemap chart | Visualize hierarchical part-to-whole across categories and subcategories. |
+| Mosaic chart | Compare part-to-whole across two categorical dimensions in a tiled layout. |
+| Gauge chart | Show progress toward a target or status against thresholds for a single metric. |
+| Heat map chart | Reveal patterns by magnitude across two binned dimensions using color. |
+| Region chart | Show geospatial patterns by coloring regions based on aggregated values (choropleth). |
+| Waffle chart | Show part-to-whole as a grid of equal cells where filled cells represent proportion. |
+| Tag cloud chart | Emphasize the most frequent terms; font size reflects relative magnitude. |
+| Legacy metric chart | Maintain existing legacy panels; prefer the modern Metric chart for new visuals. |
+
+
+## Best practices
+
+
+- Keep composition simple
+ - Prefer Donut/Pie only with a few categories; otherwise use Treemap, Waffle, or Bar.
+- Customize the appearance
+ - Adjust the appearance options as suggested in [Customize the visualization display](./lens.md#configure-the-visualization-components)
+- Be thoughtful with color
+ - Use consistent, meaningful color mapping for categories. Check [Assign colors to terms](./lens.md#assign-colors-to-terms).
+- Mind accessibility
+ - Ensure contrast and avoid relying on color alone to convey meaning.
+- Show uncertainty and gaps appropriately
+ - For time series, choose how to handle missing values. See options in [Visualization appearance](./lens.md#customize-visualization-appearance).
+- Choose the right level of precision
+ - Use Tables for exact values; use charts to reveal patterns and trends at a glance.
+
+
+## Next steps in Lens
+
+
+Create and refine a visualization: [Create visualizations](./lens.md#create-the-visualization-panel).