"The pie or sector chart makes a comparison of various components with each other and with the whole. However, this type should be used sparingly, especially when there are many segments. It is not only difficult to compare area segments, but most difficult to label them properly. When there are many divisions of the data, a bar chart would give greater clarity." (Mary E Spear, "Charting Statistics", 1952)
"A drawing can show a true picture of both the situation as a whole and its separate components at a glance, and do the job better than could figures or the spoken word. In its essence, a chart is a medium of communication conveying a thought, an idea, a situation from one mind to another and not a work of art or a statistical table. The simpler, the more direct it is, the better it will perform that service which is its sole function." (Anna C Rogers, "Graphic Charts Handbook", 1961)
"Without adequate planning, it is seldom possible to achieve either proper emphasis of each component element within the chart or a presentation that is pleasing in its entirely. Too often charts are developed around a single detail without sufficient regard for the work as a whole. Good chart design requires consideration of these four major factors: (1) size, (2) proportion, (3) position and margins, and (4) composition." (Anna C Rogers, "Graphic Charts Handbook", 1961)
"A pie chart is comprised of a circle that is divided into segments by straight lines within the circle. The circle represents the total or whole amount. Each segment or wedge of the circle represents the proportion that a particular factor is of the total or whole amount. Thus, a pie chart in its entirety always represents whole amounts of either 100% or a total absolute number, such as 100 cents or 5,000 people. All of the segments of the pie when taken together (that is, in the aggregate) must add up to the total." (Robert Lefferts, "Elements of Graphics: How to prepare charts and graphs for effective reports", 1981)
"If you want to dramatize comparisons in relation to the whole. use a pie chart. If you want to add coherence to the narrative, the pie chart also helps because it depicts a whole. If your main interest is in stressing the relationship of one factor to another, use bar charts. If you wish to achieve all these effects. you can use either type of chart. and decide on the basis of which one is more aesthetically or pictorially interesting." (Robert Lefferts, "Elements of Graphics: How to prepare charts and graphs for effective reports", 1981)
"The bar graph and the column graph are popular because they are simple and easy to read. These are the most versatile of the graph forms. They can be used to display time series, to display the relationship between two items, to make a comparison among several items, and to make a comparison between parts and the whole (total). They do not appear to be as 'statistical', which is an advantage to those people who have negative attitudes toward statistics. The column graph shows values over time, and the bar graph shows values at a point in time. bar graph compares different items as of a specific time (not over time)." (Anker V Andersen, "Graphing Financial Information: How accountants can use graphs to communicate", 1983)
"There was a controversy [in the 1920s][...]about whether the divided bar chart or the pie chart was superior for portraying the parts of a whole. The contest appears to have ended in a draw. We conclude that neither graphical form should be used because other methods are demonstrably better." (William Cleveland & Robert McGill, "Graphical Perception: Theory, Experimentation, and Application to the Development of Graphical Models", Journal of the American Statistical Association 79, 1984)
"Area graphs are generally not used to convey specific values. Instead, they are most frequently used to show trends and relationships, to identify and/or add emphasis to specific information by virtue of the boldness of the shading or color, or to show parts-of-the-whole."
"The unique thing you get with a pie chart is the concept of there being a whole and, thus, parts of a whole. But if the visual is difficult to read, is it worth it?" (Cole N Knaflic, "Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals", 2015)
"Form simplification means simplifying relationships among the components of the whole, emphasizing the whole and reducing the relevance of individual components by standardizing and generalizing relationships. This results in an increased weight of useful information (signal) against useless information (noise)." (Jorge Camões, "Data at Work: Best practices for creating effective charts and information graphics in Microsoft Excel", 2016)
"The problem is that a pie chart does one thing well, and most people don’t use it for that one thing. Specifically, they’re great at giving you a fast and accurate estimate of the part-to-whole relationship for two of the slices. Other than that, pie charts are terrible. [...] The same strengths and shortcomings that apply to the pie chart also apply to the donut chart." (Steve Wexler, "The Big Picture: How to use data visualization to make better decisions - faster", 2021)
"Cohesion means ideas work together to build a unified whole, which helps conversation interlink in purposeful ways, and the basic parts adhere to grammar." (Vidya Setlur & Bridget Cogley, "Functional Aesthetics for data visualization", 2022)
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