May 25, 2026
The Big Beautiful Bar Chart: Build It in Tableau with Map Layers
Community
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data visualization
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datafam
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dataviz
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Makeover Monday
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map layers
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next level tableau
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tableau
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tableau tip
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Workout Wednesday
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In this video, I show you how to build what I call the Big Beautiful Bar Chart in Tableau. It combines colored bars, a budget reference line, donut charts, and clean labels all in one view using Map Layers. It looks stunning and it tells a complete story.
Here's what you'll learn:
- How Map Layers work and why they unlock chart types Tableau can't build any other way
- How to set up your data with a five-point scaffold to draw filled rectangles as bars
- How to use LOD expressions instead of table calculations (and why it matters for Map Layers)
- How to add a dotted budget line, sales labels, region labels, and a percentage label as separate layers
- How to control mark interactivity, opacity, and alignment across multiple layers
By the end, you'll have a chart that looks like it took hours but follows a repeatable process you can apply to any dataset.
If you can build this, you're already operating at a high level. Next Level Tableau is where analysts like you go to push further, work alongside the best in the datafam, and get direct access to live training with me every week.
Join us at nextleveltableau.com/nlt
May 12, 2026
The Marimekko Alternative
how to
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Marimekko chart
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nested calculations
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percent of total
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reference lines
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running totals
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Table calculations
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tableau
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Stacked bars are fine. But once you need to compare proportions across groups AND show the actual totals, they start to break down. This is the chart that replaced it.
In this tutorial, you'll build a Marimekko alternative in Tableau that shows the proportional breakdown of each group by light conditions — with the total count for each group displayed directly on the chart. It's a technique straight from a Next Level Tableau class, and once you build it, you won't go back.
What you'll learn:
- How to set up the base chart and sort groups by volume
- Building a running total calculation and placing it on columns
- Using fixed size with right-alignment to create the Marimekko bar effect
- Nesting a running total inside a percentage-of-total calculation and why two separate table calculations are required
- Configuring compute-by settings for both the column axis and the size shelf
- Adding a reference line from the Analytics pane to show group totals
- Formatting so the totals sit cleanly above the bars without clutter
If you're comfortable with table calculations and want a more powerful alternative to the stacked bar, this one belongs in your toolkit.
To follow along, download the workbook and data at https://nlt.kit.com/marimekko.
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