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A chord diagram is a graphical method of displaying the inter-relationships between data in a matrix. The data is arranged radially around a circle with the relationships between the points typically drawn as arcs connecting the data together.
Contents
The format can be aesthetically pleasing, making it a popular choice in the world of data visualization.
Name
Chord diagrams get their name from terminology used in geometry. A chord of a circle is a geometric line segment whose endpoints both lie on the circle. Chord diagrams are also known as radial network diagrams and may sometimes be referred to as a type of circular layout.
Hierarchical Edge Bundling
While a small amount of data could be represented in a circular diagram using straight lines to show the interconnections, a diagram featuring numerous lines would quickly become illegible. To reduce the visual complexity, chord diagrams employ a technique called hierarchical edge bundling.
History
This type of diagram was used in 2007 by the New York Times infographic Close-Ups of the Genome