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Pie & donut

Studio

A seductive part-to-whole shape — powerful in ads, dangerous when slices multiply. Work. two to five parts that sum to a meaningful whole.

At a glance
Score intensity

Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.

Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology

Quick answers

When should I pick Pie & donut?

When the story is: two to five parts that sum to a meaningful whole.

When should I avoid Pie & donut?

Skip it in cases like: many similar slices, 3-D pie, or comparing two pies.

Who invented or popularised it?

Playfair 1801; Florence Nightingale’s coxcomb is a polar cousin, 1858

What does it encode?

angle (and area) of a circle slice

Is it OK in ads?

Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.

Will a teacher accept it?

Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present.

Start with this section - Studio

Pie & donut encodes values as angle (and area) of a circle slice. Playfair 1801; Florence Nightingale’s coxcomb is a polar cousin, 1858.

In reports, ads and assignments it fits two to five parts that sum to a meaningful whole. Skip it when many similar slices, 3-D pie, or comparing two pies.

Studio

Make shapes, diagrams and charts in the browser. Download SVG or PNG — nothing is uploaded.

Open studio → From a file Icons library

Work

Ads

School

Steps

  1. Steps 1 — Write the claim in one sentence.
  2. Steps 2 — Check that Pie & donut fits the claim. If not, switch.many similar slices, 3-D pie, or comparing two pies
  3. Steps 3 — Draw it flat in Excel or Google Sheets or PowerPoint.
  4. Steps 4 — Direct labels, faint grid, claim-title.
  5. Steps 5 — Check greyscale and a color-blind simulator.
  6. Steps 6 — Add source, period, units; export SVG/PDF.

Pie & donut: honour angle (and area) of a circle slice, and switch when many similar slices, 3-D pie, or comparing two pies.

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