The Sunburst Chart is a type of hierarchical data visualization that displays data in a radial layout, where each level of the hierarchy is represented by a ring or circle. The central circle represents the root node of the hierarchy, with its immediate children forming the segments of the first ring around it. Each subsequent ring represents the next level of the hierarchy, with segments divided into sub-segments as needed.

• Hierarchy: Sunburst Charts are particularly effective at visualizing hierarchical data structures, such as organizational charts, file system directories, or categorical breakdowns.
• Radial Layout: The chart is laid out radially, with each level moving outward from the center. This layout helps in clearly distinguishing levels of the hierarchy.
• Segmentation: Segments within each ring represent different categories or nodes at that level of the hierarchy. The size of each segment can represent a quantitative value, such as the number of items or the total value associated with that category.
• Interactive: Often, Sunburst Charts are interactive, allowing users to drill down into segments to explore deeper levels of the hierarchy. Clicking on a segment usually expands it to take up the full radius of the chart, effectively making the selected segment the new root node for further exploration.
• Color Coding: Colors are often used to distinguish between different categories or to show relationships among different segments.

Sunburst Charts are especially useful when you want to display a lot of hierarchical information in a compact space and allow users to navigate through the data intuitively. They can be a good alternative to tree diagrams or nested pie charts, especially when the data has multiple levels and many categories.

The Sunburst Chart Generator can help you easily create and customize sunburst charts. It allows you to input hierarchical data directly and provides options to adjust the appearance of the chart, including color schemes, labels, and themes, to enhance readability and aesthetics. Once the chart is customized to your liking, it can be exported as an image, such as PNG, for use in presentations, reports, or websites.