Cross, spider, comb and marimekko charts

Cross, spider, comb and Marimekko charts make different strategic comparisons visible. Together they can show positioning on selected attributes, performance across many criteria, the importance of those criteria and the interaction of market size with share.

When to use it

Use the charts to compare product attributes, Assessing customer purchasing criteria or Deriving key success factors, selecting the display that matches the question.

Origins

This is a family of displays rather than one invented model. Cross plots and radar or spider charts grew from multivariate statistical graphics. John Hartigan and Beat Kleiner introduced the mosaic display underlying the Marimekko form in the early nineteen eighties, and Michael Friendly later expanded its statistical interpretation. “Marimekko,” often shortened to “Mekko,” evokes the rectangular patterns of the Finnish design company. The comb chart is a practical strategy display that places attribute performance beside attribute importance.

What it is

The memorable names hide four distinct visual jobs.

Each can express product attributes or purchasing criteria and compare the firm with alternatives.

A cross chart positions competing offers on two selected attributes; a more formal multivariate extension is multidimensional scaling.

A spider, radar or web chart compares several attributes around a common radial scale, often against a best-in-class profile.

A comb chart, sometimes described as a strategy canvas, presents similar scores linearly and can show the relative importance of each attribute more clearly.

A Mekko, Marimekko or area chart varies rectangle width and height, making it useful for displaying market size and market share simultaneously.