#WOW2025 | Week 38 | Can you build an L-Shaped bar chart?

Tableau, Workout Wednesday / By

Introduction

Sometime ago, I came across this post by Sarah Pallett ( X | LinkedIn ) introducing the idea of L-Shaped bar charts…

… and I thought it would make a perfect WOW challenge (as it gave me an excuse to build a version myself).

Click to open in Tableau Public

Requirements

  • Size 1000 x 800
  • Display L-shaped bars depicting Sales per Sub-Category, ordered by Sales descending.
  • Label the end of the bar with the Sales value and % of Sales
  • Label the inside of the bar with the Sub-Category
  • Colour the bars based on the Category (I used the Hue Circle colour palette, but feel free to use your own) 
  • Match tooltips and formatting. 

Sarah blogged her solution here: https://sarahpallett.com/index.php/2024/09/23/l-shaped-bars-fresh-take-on-a-bar-charts/

Dataset

This challenge uses Sample Superstore data (2025 version) , but any version will do. A copy can be downloaded here.

Attribute

When you publish your solution on Tableau Public make sure to take the time and include a link to the original inspiration.  Also include the hashtag #WOW2025 in your description to make it searchable!

Share

After you finish your workout, share on Twitter and/or LinkedIn using the hashtag #WOW2025 #Tableau and tag @WorkoutWednsday

Solution

Interactive

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