Pictogram

Pretty much every site that allows customers to rate products or services (like Yelp and Amazon) use pictograms to show the results of their five-star rating system.

What is a pictogram?

A pictograph, or pictogram, is a graphical composition to represent a word, idea, or chart with symbols to represent values.

1. Collect Data: First step is obviously collecting the data of the category you want to represent. Collect your data by appropriate means. And then make a list or table of the data.

2. Pick your symbol: Pick a symbol or picture that accurately represents your data. If you are drawing a pictograph to represent TV sets sold then a symbol of a basketball would be highly confusing! So pick your symbol carefully.

3. Assign a Key: You must set a numerical value that one symbol will represent. This numerical value must be written along with the pictograph. Example one symbol of a TV represents 500 TV sets. This is the key of the pictograph.

4. Draw the pictograph: Final step is drawing your pictograph. Draw the two columns that represent the category and the data. Then draw the actual symbols that represent the frequencies. Remember that the symbols can be drawn as fractions as well if the frequency is not a whole number.

Emphasize the steps to follow when drawing pictograms.