Sunburst
nested spend
Nested hierarchy, radially. Prettier than an icicle, harder to compare.
- Format.d3
- Length97 lines
- Includesnone
The source
97 lines of D3 JavaScript, and uses only the bundled D3 build. Copy it, or open the template inside Gnomon and render it as it is.
// Sunburst — a treemap that keeps the hierarchy legible.
// Angle is proportional to value, so a ring segment's width is its share of
// the parent. Good for "where does the money go" at two or three levels.
const data = {
name: 'Portfolio',
children: [
{ name: 'Customer', children: [
{ name: 'Quote Engine', value: 1240 },
{ name: 'Broker Portal', value: 890 },
{ name: 'Customer Portal', value: 1120 },
{ name: 'Contact Centre', value: 1680 },
{ name: 'Campaign Manager', value: 260 },
]},
{ name: 'Policy', children: [
{ name: 'Policy Admin Core', value: 4820 },
{ name: 'Legacy Ledger', value: 1360 },
{ name: 'Underwriting', value: 1140 },
{ name: 'Risk Scoring', value: 520 },
]},
{ name: 'Claims', children: [
{ name: 'Claims Handling', value: 2140 },
{ name: 'Fraud Detection', value: 680 },
{ name: 'Supplier Network', value: 410 },
]},
{ name: 'Enterprise', children: [
{ name: 'Data Lakehouse', value: 1840 },
{ name: 'BI & Reporting', value: 720 },
{ name: 'Cloud Platform', value: 2960 },
{ name: 'Network Core', value: 1340 },
]},
],
};
const radius = Math.min(width, height) / 2 - 20;
const root = d3.partition().size([2 * Math.PI, radius])(
d3.hierarchy(data)
.sum(d => d.value || 0)
.sort((a, b) => b.value - a.value),
);
const color = d3.scaleOrdinal(
data.children.map(c => c.name),
theme.palette,
);
const topOf = d => d.ancestors().find(a => a.depth === 1)?.data.name ?? '';
const arc = d3.arc()
.startAngle(d => d.x0)
.endAngle(d => d.x1)
.padAngle(0.005)
.padRadius(radius / 2)
.innerRadius(d => d.y0)
.outerRadius(d => d.y1 - 1);
const svg = d3.select(container).append('svg')
.attr('viewBox', [-width / 2, -height / 2, width, height])
.attr('width', width)
.attr('height', height)
.attr('font-family', 'system-ui, sans-serif')
.attr('font-size', 10);
svg.append('g')
.selectAll('path')
.data(root.descendants().filter(d => d.depth))
.join('path')
.attr('d', arc)
.attr('fill', d => color(topOf(d)))
// Leaves sit lighter than their parent ring so the levels separate
// without needing a second colour scale.
.attr('fill-opacity', d => d.depth === 1 ? 0.95 : 0.6)
.attr('stroke', theme.background)
.attr('stroke-width', 0.5);
// Label only segments with room for text — an unreadable label is worse
// than none, and rotated 4px slivers are what make sunbursts look cheap.
svg.append('g')
.attr('pointer-events', 'none')
.attr('text-anchor', 'middle')
.attr('fill', theme.foreground)
.selectAll('text')
.data(root.descendants().filter(d => d.depth && (d.x1 - d.x0) > 0.06))
.join('text')
.attr('transform', d => {
const angle = (d.x0 + d.x1) / 2 * 180 / Math.PI - 90;
const r = (d.y0 + d.y1) / 2;
return `rotate(${angle}) translate(${r},0) rotate(${angle > 90 ? 180 : 0})`;
})
.attr('dy', '0.35em')
.text(d => d.data.name);
svg.append('text')
.attr('text-anchor', 'middle')
.attr('fill', theme.muted)
.attr('font-size', 12)
.text(`£${d3.format(',')(root.value)}k`);Render this offline
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Others in D3 visualisations
- Sankey — request flowFlow with volume. The best chart here for "where does it all go".
- Chord — service interactionWho talks to whom, when the traffic is bidirectional.
- Arc diagram — dependenciesNodes on one axis, arcs above. Readable where a force graph is not, provided the ordering means something.
- Adjacency matrix — couplingAdjacency matrix. Unfashionable, and better than a force graph for dense dependencies.
- Edge bundling — module importsHierarchical edge bundling. For import graphs big enough that straight edges become a hairball.
- Icicle — nested spend (linear)A sunburst unrolled flat. Harder to love, much easier to compare siblings.
- Circle packing — nested sizeCircle packing. Nested size when the nesting matters more than reading exact areas.
- Treemap — portfolio costNested size. Good for cost, storage, lines of code.
- Tidy tree — structureA tidy tree. The default for anything with one parent per node.
- Radial tree — structure (radial)The same tree bent into a circle. Fits more depth on a slide, costs you easy comparison.
- Dendrogram — clusteringClustering, with join height carrying the distance. Not merely a tree with curves.
- Indented tree — file/spec outlineA file or spec outline. The chart that looks like the thing it describes.
- Force graph — service mapService map. Use for clusters, not for reading individual edges.
- Force graph — disjoint clustersForce graph that keeps unconnected clusters apart rather than flinging them off screen.
- Force graph — radial tiersForce layout pinned to rings, so tier is a position instead of a colour legend.
- Directed graph — call directionDirected edges with arrowheads. For when direction is the question, not just adjacency.
- Force tree — blast radiusBlast radius from one node: what breaks if this goes.
- Calendar heatmap — daily activityDaily activity over a year: deploys, incidents, commits.
- Streamgraph — shifting mixShifting composition over time. Good for the mix, poor for reading any single value.
- Gantt — delivery roadmapDelivery roadmap, rendered from data.
- Radar — capability scoringCapability scoring across axes. Fine for one subject, misleading with four overlaid.
- Bullet chart — target vs actualTarget against actual, in one line. The chart a gauge wishes it were.
- Beeswarm — distribution by groupEvery point, grouped, without the overplotting a strip plot suffers.
- Horizon chart — many series, little spaceMany series in little space. Takes a moment to learn, then very dense.
- Slope chart — before and afterBefore and after, two points, one line each. Devastatingly clear.
- Parallel coordinates — multi-criteriaMulti-criteria comparison: for option analysis.
- Box plot — latency distributionLatency distribution. The chart that shows the tail a mean hides.
- Grouped bar — category comparisonCategory comparison. Unglamorous, and usually the right answer.
- Multi-line — metrics over timeMetrics over time. Keep it under about five series, or switch to horizon.