Charts will never go out of fashion. These industrious graphics have been in use since before computers were even a thing, and remain popular even today as technology quickly changes around us. And all of this is for good reason. Charts are a wonderful way to summarize information, and they appeal to our brains which rely almost solely on visual memory.

But just because charts remain relevant it doesn’t mean they haven’t changed. Javascript has allowed them to be dynamic, and new designs help them portray information more efficiently. So today we’ll take a look at a chart that will change your world: The Heatmap.

What is a Heatmap?

While JavaScript column charts gave new life to those classic bars that we’ve come to know and love, there were still limitations at play. Today column charts can update in real-time and be more accurate, but they are still limited to their medium. If there are too many variables the chart will become too cluttered. And now that our screens become smaller and smaller, space is more of a commodity than it ever was.

This is where JavaScript Heatmap charts come in. Like their column brethren, Java allows these charts to be dynamic and to be easily integrated into any application. However, heatmaps innovate when it comes to the way they handle space. Heatmaps are a grid instead of a series of columns, with every square presenting a variable. While this could run the risk of becoming cluttered too easily, heatmaps have a clever way to work around this: They are color-coded.

The intensity of the color will vary based on its value, and it’s consistent across the entire chart. This means that visually we can identify patterns and averages before we even consider the numbers. And this allows us to pack so much information in next to no space. A good heatmap can sum up an entire presentation, so you should add them to your repertoire

What’s the best software for Heatmaps?

If you are looking for software that is optimized to design heatmaps we recommend SciChart. SciChart’s software is designed to make it easy to build heatmaps and any other kind of chart on JavaScript. On top of this their software is so robust that their charts are some of the fastest in the entire market. You get the best of both worlds with Sci Chart: A great visual design that is clear and intuitive, and a powerful program that can tackle anything for you.