How to create a chart on Looker Studio

In the modern world of business and data, the ability to visualize information clearly and intuitively is indispensable. Looker Studio is a powerful tool in this field. In this article, we will explore useful methods and tips so you can create a chart on Looker Studio in the most effective way, bringing the highest practical value to your work.

Create a chart on Looker Studio

You need to add a data source to Looker Studio first before you can create a chart on Looker Studio. On the Looker Studio toolbar, there are many ways to create a chart as follows:

Method 1: Click Add a chart and select a chart you need.

Create a chart on Looker Studio using the Add a chart button
Create a chart on Looker Studio using the Add a chart button

Method 2: Click Insert and select a chart you need.

Create a chart on Looker Studio using the Insert button
Create a chart on Looker Studio using the Insert button

Method 3: Click the Community Visualizations icon and select a chart you need.

Create a chart on Looker Studio using the Community visualizations icon
Create a chart on Looker Studio using the Community Visualizations icon

If you don’t know which chart to choose, read the article about choosing the right chart for your data.

Change dimensions and metrics

To change data fields in dimensions and metrics on Looker Studio, drag a field you want into the dimension or metric area. You can drop over an existing field to replace that field. Depending on the chart, the dimension or metric can contain multiple data fields or not.

Change dimensions and metrics to suit the chart's goals
Change dimensions and metrics to suit the chart’s goals

Note: If your data has many date fields, select a suitable field for the Date Range Dimension. When you use the Date range control as a filter, the chart will be affected by the date of that field.

Sort data

By default, Looker Studio sorts the dimension (x-axis) according to the descending metric, which is useful when you want to view the chart in a ranking style. However, in other cases, such as data over time, you can change the data arrangement of the chart to make it more suitable.

Arrange the x-axis to suit the chart's target
Arrange the x-axis to suit the chart’s target

Setup drill down for the chart

You don’t need to create a chart on Looker Studio multiple times to change one dimension. Use the drill-down feature, which allows you to change dimensions when hovering over the chart, to view a chart by day, week, or month. However, you must instruct viewers how to use drill-down.

Setup drill down to change dimensions quickly
Setup drill down to change dimensions quickly

Setup the breakdown dimension

The dimension breakdown function helps you compare data by each small category in any dimension. It helps us understand the contribution proportion of each category to the total.

Setup a breakdown dimension to compare each category
Setup a breakdown dimension to compare each category

Format the chart

This section helps you redecorate the chart to suit your aesthetic taste. Depending on the chart, there will be different options in this section. Some options that you often encounter and are interested in are:

  • Color.
  • Font.
  • Background color.
  • Borders and shadows.
  • Display labels (number per data point).
  • Show titles of the x-axis and y-axis.
  • Displays the Grand total for the Table.
The Style section helps format the chart to your liking
The Style section helps format the chart to your liking

Conditional formatting

If you create a Table on Looker Studio, conditional formatting will help viewers focus on lines that need attention and detect abnormalities quickly.

Conditional formatting to highlight data in a table
Conditional formatting to highlight data in a table

During my work, I realized that although creating a chart on Looker Studio will help make dashboards come alive, Tables, and especially Pivot tables on dashboards, are still necessary for viewers to explore detailed data. than. See also how to create a percentage of column pivot table in Looker.

Add separate filters if necessary

Private filters do not impact other charts; they only function on one chart. In situations like making a distinct chart for a city or eliminating NULL data, they are very helpful.

Create separate filters for the chart if necessary
Create separate filters for the chart if necessary

Conclusion

There are still many other settings to explore when creating a chart on Looker Studio. The parts that Hieu guides above are quite enough for you to draw many professional charts on your dashboard. The important thing is your aesthetic taste and how to combine other inserted elements such as Text, Rectangle, and Image.

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Hieu Tran Ngoc Minh

Hieu Tran Ngoc Minh

I am currently working as a Data Analyst; before that, I worked in Digital Marketing. Blogging is a joy, helping me share my knowledge and experiences from life and work. You can donate to me here.

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