Explain chart encodings with direct labels or a clear, consistent key.
A legend connects a visual encoding to its meaning. Use one when readers cannot identify a series or category from the chart itself. It should explain the data, not force people to memorize a set of colors.
Liquidify does not export a chart legend. These principles apply to the legend supplied by a separately chosen renderer or authored by the application.
Direct labels can reduce the need to look back and forth when a chart contains a few clearly separated series. A legend can be useful when labels would overlap or when several charts use the same encoding.
Keep the key close to the relevant chart and visible at the point of interpretation. Do not hide essential series meanings behind a hover interaction. If a compact layout moves the legend, preserve its association with the chart and its reading order.
Figure in preparation
Connect a series to its name
Compare direct labels with a matching legend without changing the dataset or encoding.
Use the same series names, colors, shapes, and line patterns in the plot and key. A legend that shows only a color swatch cannot explain a chart whose important distinction is a dashed line or a point shape.
Choose an order that helps readers connect entries with the plotted data, such as the visible series order or a stable category order. Keep it stable across related views unless the task calls for an explicit sort. Do not silently rename a series when space becomes limited.
Use concise labels with enough context to distinguish the entries. Put the common unit in the chart's descriptive content instead of repeating it in every label when that remains clear. See Axes and labels.
A static legend explains an encoding; it does not imply that its entries are controls. If entries can show or hide series, make that behavior discoverable and expose each entry's selected state through an appropriate semantic control.
The application must connect the selection to the data, keep focus usable, and explain the resulting view. Retain enough context to recover when every series is hidden. Ensure that hiding a series does not silently change the scale in a way that makes comparisons misleading.
Use keyboard-accessible controls and a visible focus indicator. Do not place click handlers on decorative swatches and assume that they become accessible. A chosen Liquidify control can manage its documented interaction, but it does not filter a chart automatically.
Check whether readers can match each key entry to its marks using names, shapes, or patterns. Accessible descriptions should identify the series and values rather than relying on instructions such as “read the blue line.”
Use Color palettes for redundant encodings and Filtering for application-owned selection behavior. Consult the component catalog before choosing surrounding controls.