sequebar

Sequebar is a term used in information design and digital art to describe a visual encoding that represents ordered data through a sequence of bars. The concept combines the idea of a bar chart with sequential data, using bar lengths, colors, or positions to denote successive elements. The etymology is a blend of 'sequence' and 'bar', with no single authoritative origin; it arose in online discussions and experimental interfaces in the 2010s and 2020s.

In practice, a sequebar can take multiple forms: horizontal or vertical arrangements, stacked or adjacent bars, and often with interactive features such as tooltips or brushing to highlight subsequences. It is sometimes used in time-series dashboards to display events in order or to visualize steps in a workflow, as well as in music or multimedia interfaces to indicate steps in a sequence.

Advantages include compactness and immediate readability for short sequences, and the ability to compare the length or intensity of consecutive items at a glance. Limitations include reduced readability for long sequences, potential ambiguity when bars are too similar in length, and accessibility concerns for color-coded schemes.

Variants exist in which bars encode different attributes (length, height, opacity) or use color gradients to encode progress or confidence. Sequebars are not standardized and are typically found in experimental projects, prototypes, or niche dashboards rather than in formal statistical graphics.

See also: bar chart, sparkline, timeline, barcode, sequence diagram.