❌ Venn diagram? You can do better!


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πŸ‘‹ Hi!

Today, let's talk about Venn diagrams and more importantly, what to use instead!

But before we dive in, a quick heads-up. Less than 48 hours remain to join my Matplotlib Journey project! πŸš€
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If you want to get better at data visualization, there’s only one way: practice. And that’s exactly what this course is about.

You'll tackle dozens of exercises and work with real-life datasets at the end of each module to apply what you’ve learned.

Here’s just a glimpse of the plots shared by students in the Discord channel to get feedback on both code and design!

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Ok, back on the main topic πŸ™ˆ

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What is a Venn diagram?

A Venn diagram visualizes relationships between sets using overlapping circles to show shared and unique elements.

It typically looks like this:

Venn diagrams work well for 2 or 3 groups! But beyond that, they become unreadable.
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The issue is combinatorial explosion: the number of combinations grows way too fast.
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With more than three groups, the diagram quickly becomes a cluttered mess, making it impossible to extract meaningful insights:
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A better option: Upset Plot

The UpSet Plot is a powerful alternative that scales well with many groups.

It has a bar chart at the top that shows the size of each group combination. Then the X-axis grid indicates which groups contribute to each bar.

It's much clearer than a cluttered Venn diagram! Take a moment to study the figure:

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Origin & Implementation

The UpSet plot was introduced in 2014 and quickly gained traction.
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You can build it using one of those tools:

  • In R, use the {upsetR} package to build one. I even wrote an example in the R Graph Gallery.
  • In Python, there’s the UpSetPlot package (though I haven’t used it personally).
  • In JavaScript, you can use upsetjs.

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And that's it for today!

I hope you discovered a new chart type and more importantly, that you'll get to use it someday! ☺️

Before I go, here’s one of the latest testimonials for Matplotlib Journey I got. I hope it can motivate you to join the course in the remaining 48h!
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All the best,

Yan
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​PS: Not happy with the course? I’ll refund you right away, no questions asked!

PPS: A lot of people have asked if the course is suitable for beginners. The answer is yes!

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Yan Holtz

​Find me on X, LinkedIn, or check my Homepage​

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πŸ‘‹ By the way, here is how I can help!

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  • Master R: Join my productive R workflow online course, already helping hundreds to excel in R, Quarto, and GitHub.
  • Team Training: Hire me to train your team on Data Visualization and Programming.
  • Engaging Talks: Book me for short, impactful talks on Data Visualization and Programming.

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Check yan-holtz.com or hit reply any time! I love hearing from you.

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