Right PowerPoint Chart Custom Animation for different Chart types

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Custom animation makes it easy for a chart to be understood. Not all custom animation effects give a professional feel when applied to charts. In this article, we will learn the preferred custom animation type for different types of charts.

The purpose of custom animating a chart:

The main purpose of animating a chart is to accentuate the nature of the chart. Sometimes the animation shows the way data is arranged. The key point to remember is – never to use custom animation as a decorative element on your slides. If a custom animation doesn’t add value to the chart, it is better not to include it.

Use ‘Wipe’ animation for line and bar charts:

Wipe animation is a subtle effect that doesn’t crave for audience attention. So, it is a useful option to use in business presentations. The direction of wipe gives a cue to the way the chart displays information.

A line chart shows ‘trend over time’. The timeline moves from left to right. So, it is only natural that the direction of the wipe moves from left to right.

Right animation for line chart

The animation makes the chart looks like it is drawing itself.

A bar chart is usually oriented from left to right. ‘Wipe Right’ animation applied to bar chart follows the natural orientation of the chart. That is why the animation appears appropriate.

Right animation bar chart

Use ‘Wipe Up’ animation to Column and Area charts:

Applying the same logic we discussed earlier, the columns in a column chart point upwards. So, a wipe animation to the upward direction follows the natural orientation. The animation also helps us get a feel for the height of different columns easily.

Right animation for column charts

When we apply ‘Wipe Up’ animation to area charts, the chart gives a feeling of getting filled up from the bottom. That is a simple way to get a feel for the area occupied by different categories of items.

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Use ‘Wheel’ animation for Pie charts:

A pie chart looks like a wheel with spokes. So, ‘Wheel’ animation suits the chart type perfectly. You can have each segment to appear on click for added drama.

Right Animation for Pie Chart

Use ‘Zoom’ animation for Radar charts:

The axis for Radar Charts is placed in the center. The numbers increase from the core to the fringes. So, ‘Zoom’ animation follows the direction in which the numbers are placed in the axis.

Right Animation for radar charts

Use ‘Fade’ animation for Bubble charts:

The emphasis for bubble charts is the ‘placement’ of those bubbles on the chart. ‘Fade’ animation indicates the placement in a subtle fashion, while allowing the presenter to explain the significance of each bubble as it appears.

Right Animation for Bubble Chart

Thus, with a little bit of application, we can find the right kind of animation that adds value to our charts.

Here is a video capturing the information shared in this article:

Another way to impress your audience:

Using the right custom animation for charts is one way to impress business audience. Another way to impress them is to use high quality graphics and diagrams for business presentations. However, it takes a lot of time and effort to create high quality graphics and diagrams from scratch.

That is why we came up with our ‘ Advanced Animation templates pack for PowerPoint’. The animated templates not only serve as inspiration, but also help you create professional looking animated slides in minutes.

Why waste time animating your slides from scratch, when you have such useful solutions available off the shelf? Please browse through our animated templates collection to see how the pack can change the way you create your business presentations forever.

Browse through the graphics section of the pack here >>

If you found this article useful, please leave us a comment below. You can find 200+ articles on this site on Advanced PowerPoint use.

Related: 2 Rules for Clarity in PowerPoint Charts and Graphs

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