Visualise relationships with Hierarchy charts

Hierarchy charts help visualise structured relationships, such as how elements are grouped, ranked, or connected. Use them to present things like organisational hierarchies, data segmentation, or population distribution.

In Canva, you can create two types of hierarchy charts: Treemaps and Packed Circles.

Treemaps – Use nested rectangles to compare proportions within categories.
Packed Circles – Use grouped circles to show how categories relate to one another.

How hierarchy charts work

Each group is defined by one or more categories.
Size is based on a numerical value (e.g., revenue, or number of listings). Larger sections represent higher values.
The more grouping columns you add, the more levels (or layers) the chart will display.

Add hierarchy charts

This is the first step in adding hierarchy charts. Afterwards, you can add chart data manually or import it from an external source.

Create or open an existing design.
From the editor side panel, select
Charts. If it's not there, select the Apps tab first, then
Charts.
Under Hierarchy charts, select either the Treemap or Packed Circles chart.

Set up chart data

Data requirements:

1 or more categorical columns to define hierarchy levels
1 numerical column to define size

You can either add your data manually, import it from a spreadsheet, or connect your data source apps.

Add chart data manually

Enter your data into the chart table, then review each part of the chart to make sure it accurately reflects the data in your table

Add data

Select your chart, then click
Edit on the toolbar.
In the side panel, enter your chart values in the Data table. You can also select
Expand data table for a full-screen view of your data.

Add rows and columns

To add a new row, choose a row, then click
(More).
1. Choose between Insert row before or Insert row after.
2. To remove a row, choose Delete row.
To add a new column, choose a column, then click
(More).
1. Choose between Insert column before or Insert column after.
2. To remove a column, choose Delete column.

Note: When editing data on Canva, use the Shift key on your keyboard to select multiple cells, rows, and columns. You can also click and drag to select multiple cells.

Sort data

To sort your chart data, select a column, then click on
(More).
Click Sort table A-Z to sort in ascending order, or click Sort table Z-A to sort in descending order.

Import chart data

Connect to data from Canva Sheets or connect to a data source app. You can also use a CSV, TSV, or XLSX file to import your data. For now, you can only import up to 1000 rows and 100 columns of data.

Select or add a chart, then select
Edit.
From the side panel, click
Import data.
From here, you can choose to:
1. Select Sheets to connect to data from Canva Sheets.
2. Select a data source from the available options: Google Sheets, Salesforce, Google Analytics, HubSpot, World Bank.
3. Upload a CSV, XLSX, or TSV file by selecting
  Upload data.

Tip: After your data loads, you can use

Data Actions to clean and organise it before importing. See Clean imported data with Data Actions below.

4. If you chose a third-party app, sign in to the app (if required) and grant Canva permission to access your data.

5. Choose the specific dataset you want to use from the imported data.

6. Click Done to sync the data with your chart.

Learn more about adding and managing your chart data. You can also format the values for clarity.

Choose which data to display in hierarchy charts

After adding your data, make sure each axis of your radar chart is defined and labeled clearly to represent the categories being compared. You can customise your chart afterwards.

Click on the chart to open the toolbar, then select
Edit.
In the Chart panel, under the Data table, go to Chart Setup.
Under Groups – What values to show click the dropdown menu, and choose the column(s) in the order you want them to appear. For example, the first selection will be the main category, and the second selection will be the subcategories within that.
Under Size, choose the column you’d like to display in the chart’s body. The size of the circles or rectangles is determined by the numerical values in the selected column.
To set the levels of hierarchy, go to the Customise tab, and click on Settings.
Set the number of levels you’d like. It should be less than or equal to the number of Group columns.

Customize hierarchy charts

After choosing which data to display, customize your hierarchy chart by changing the colors of your nested circles or squares, adding filters, or adding a title and subtitle.

Change colours of nested circles or squares

Select your chart.
On the editor toolbar, select the colour tile you’d like to edit. You’ll see colour options on the side panel.
To use colour on your chart, click on a colour tile from the options.
To change the old colour to the new one throughout your design, select Change all.
To add a different colour, under Document colours, click the
rainbow colour tile from the colour panel. Use the
Eyedropper icon to pick the new colour.

Add chart filters

Chart filters are only available on Pro and other paid plans.

Select the Settings dropdown.
Select Add filter.
Select the Select data dropdown to choose a filter category.
Choose a filter style: Buttons or Range slider.
Select the Interactive color tile to change the color of the filter buttons or range slider.
Select Set to save your current filter setup as default view.
Select Remove filter to delete a filter and add a new one. You can add a maximum of 3 filters.

Tooltips for charts

Select the chart to open the toolbar, then select
Edit.
On the Chart panel, select the Customize tab and select Settings.
Turn Tooltips on to show details when you hover over the chart, or off to hide them.

How do I present my hierarchy chart?

Interact with your chart by clicking any of the rectangles or circles. Click on the zoom-in and zoom-out icons on the top-right corner of the chart to view the next or previous level.

I have large data with different categories, what chart can I use instead?

You can use the Flourish App. Check out Add advanced charts via Flourish to learn more.

Not sure where to start? Check out Get started with Canva Charts.

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