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composite family
small-multiples
Many small charts of the same type, repeated for different categories.
A grid of mini charts where each cell uses identical encoding for a different category. Tufte's "small multiples" — the eye scans for differences in pattern across cells.
When to use
Many entities to compare with same metric over time. Better than spaghetti-line at 8+ series.
When NOT to use
You only have 2–3 entities (overlay them on one chart instead).
Rhetorical roles
- compare
- evolve
Variants & related
Required primitives
- shared-axis-scale
Optional primitives
- has_legend
- has_data_labels
Common anti-patterns
- scale-mismatch-risk
Disambiguation rules
- Grid of mini charts, all with identical x/y axes.
- If charts have different encodings per cell, it is not small-multiples.