How to Create Packed Bubbles in Tableau

A packed bubble chart is a powerful way to display data when you want to show how different parts contribute to a whole, all in one visually engaging view. Instead of a traditional bar chart or pie chart, these clustered circles use size and color to compare different categories at a glance. This guide will walk you through exactly how to build, customize, and effectively use packed bubble charts in Tableau.

What is a Packed Bubble Chart?

Think of a packed bubble chart as a cousin to the treemap. It displays data in a cluster of circles, where the size of each circle represents a specific measure (like sales revenue or website traffic) and the color can be used to group the circles by a dimension (like product category or region). The "packed" name comes from the way Tableau's algorithm arranges the bubbles to fit efficiently into the view.

For example, you could visualize total sales for different product categories. Each bubble would represent a category, and the bigger the bubble, the higher the sales for that category. You could then use color to see which region generated the most sales for each category.

When to Use a Packed Bubble Chart (and When to Avoid It)

Packed bubble charts are fantastic for quickly identifying the biggest contributors in a dataset and seeing relative proportions. They're visually appealing and can make a large number of categories more digestible than a long bar chart.

Use a packed bubble chart when you want to:

• Show part-to-whole relationships with many categories.
• Quickly highlight the most significant items in a dataset.
• Create a visually striking dashboard component that invites exploration.

However, they have limitations. Because our eyes aren't great at comparing the precise area of circles, it can be difficult to make exact comparisons between bubbles that are close in size.

Avoid using a packed bubble chart if:

• Precise, one-to-one comparisons are necessary (a bar chart is better for this).
• You need to show changes over time (a line chart is the standard here).
• You have negative values, as bubbles cannot represent negative sizes.

Step-by-Step Guide: Creating a Packed Bubble Chart in Tableau

Let's build a packed bubble chart from scratch. For this example, we’ll use Tableau’s sample "Superstore" dataset that comes with the software. Our goal is to visualize sales by product Sub-Category, and we'll color the bubbles by the main Category.

Step 1: Connect to Your Data

First, open Tableau and connect to your data source. In this case, we'll use the pre-loaded Sample - Superstore workbook.

1. On the Tableau start page, under Saved Data Sources, click on Sample - Superstore.
2. Tableau will load the data. Once it's ready, click on Sheet 1 at the bottom of the window to open a new worksheet.

Step 2: Add Your Dimensions and Measures

Now we’ll tell Tableau which data to use for our chart. In the Data pane on the left, you'll see your data organized into Dimensions (qualitative data like names and categories) and Measures (quantitative data like numbers).

1. From the Dimensions pane, find Sub-Category. Drag it and drop it onto the Text mark on the Marks card. You'll see a list of all your sub-categories.
2. Next, from the Measures pane, find Sales. Drag it and drop it onto the Size mark on the Marks card. Your individual text labels will now be sized differently, starting to resemble bubbles.

At this point, you have the basic structure, but it’s still just a collection of different-sized text labels. Let’s turn it into a proper chart.

Step 3: Change the Mark Type to Create the Bubbles

The Marks card controls the visual representation of your data. We need to tell Tableau to draw circles instead of text.

1. On the Marks card, click the dropdown menu that currently says "Automatic" (or "Text").
2. Select Circle from the list. Your text will disappear, and you’ll now see a large cluster of differently-sized circles. These aren’t yet "packed."

Step 4: Using "Show Me" to Quickly Create the Packed View

While we built the basic components manually, the quickest way to arrange the circles into the packed bubble format is by using Tableau’s "Show Me" feature.

1. With your worksheet configured as above (Sub-Category on Text/Label, Sales on Size), look for the Show Me button in the top-right corner of the Tableau window. Click it to expand the panel.
2. In the "Show Me" panel, you will see various chart types. The packed bubble chart icon (a cluster of circles) will be highlighted. Click it.

Tableau will automatically rearrange your view, creating the classic packed bubble layout. You have now officially created a packed bubble chart!

Step 5: Add Color for Deeper Insight

A great bubble chart uses color to add a second layer of information. Let's color-code our bubbles based on their main product Category.

1. From the Dimensions pane, find Category.
2. Drag Category and drop it directly onto the Color mark on the Marks card.

Your chart immediately updates. All the "Office Supplies" sub-category bubbles are one color, "Technology" is another, and "Furniture" is a third. A color legend also appears on the right, making it easy to see which group is which.

Customizing and Formatting Your Chart

A default chart is good, but a well-formatted one is much better. Here’s how to fine-tune your packed bubble chart to make it clearer and more professional.

Improving the Labels

By default, Tableau displays the text you first dropped onto the Marks Card. Let's make sure both the Sub-Category and its corresponding Sales value are showing.

1. From the Measures pane, drag Sales and drop it onto the Label mark. Now both the Sub-Category and the sum of Sales appear inside each bubble.
2. You can format the number by right-clicking the SUM(Sales) pill on the Marks card, selecting Format, and then choosing a format like currency from the pane that appears on the left.

Adjusting Colors

If the default color scheme doesn’t fit your brand or preferences, it’s simple to change.

1. Click on the Color mark on the Marks card.
2. Select Edit Colors....
3. In the dialog box, you can select different color palettes from the dropdown menu (Tableau 20, Orange-Blue Diverging, etc.) and assign specific colors to each category.

Enhancing Tooltips

A tooltip is the small box of information that appears when you hover over a data point. You can customize it to show more relevant details.

1. Click on the Tooltip mark on the Marks card.
2. An editor window will pop up. Here, you can type static text or use the Insert button to add dynamic fields from your data, like Profit or a calculated field like Profit Ratio.
3. For example, you could add "Profit: " and then insert the SUM(Profit) field to provide more context on hover.

Tips for Better Bubble Charts

Now that you know how to build the chart, here are a few extra tips for making them effective.

1. Don’t Overcrowd the View

Packed bubble charts work best with a moderate number of bubbles. If you have hundreds of tiny circles, the chart becomes impossible to read and loses its impact. If your dataset is too large, consider grouping smaller categories into an "Other" category or using a filter.

2. Add Interactive Filters

Empower your audience to explore the data. Drag a dimension like Region or Order Date to the Filters card. Then, right-click the pill in the Filters card and select Show Filter. This adds an interactive control to your worksheet or dashboard, allowing users to drill down into the data themselves.

3. Clearly Label Your Chart

Give your worksheet a descriptive title like "Sales by Product Sub-Category." It seems obvious, but a clear title immediately tells your audience what they are looking at and prevents misinterpretation.

Final Thoughts

Packed bubble charts are an excellent tool in your data visualization toolkit for comparing categories and showing part-to-whole relationships in an appealing way. By following the steps above - starting with text and size, then adding color and customizing labels - you can quickly turn your raw data into an insightful and interactive Tableau chart.

Learning the ins and outs of a tool like Tableau takes time. For many teams, the goal isn't just to build a specific chart but to get answers from their data quickly without a steep learning curve. At Graphed we’re making that possible. We connect directly to your marketing and sales platforms, enabling you to build real-time dashboards and reports simply by asking for what you want in plain English. Instead of dragging and dropping fields, you can just ask, "Show me a chart of sales by product sub-category," and our AI data analyst builds it for you in seconds.