Pictographs are graphs where pictures or symbols are used to represent the various points and data on the graph, along with a key. They are usually used in schools to impart basic education in graphs to students who are just beginning to get a grasp of graphs. However, they are challenging and pictographs need some amount of technical expertise as well.

The most crucial element of a pictograph is the key which will provide a list of all the pictures or symbols used and their corresponding data. A pictograph is incomplete without the key and special attention must be provided to ensure that the key is absolutely accurate and spot on.

Pictographs are easy to understand as they use pictures in order to convey the basic information. However, they do have a tendency to become clumsy and overcrowded and hence, care should be taken to create a neat and compact pictograph.

Pictographs are also not very accurate. For example, in a pictograph if the image of one orange represents ten oranges on the graph, then representing one or two oranges becomes extremely difficult. Thus they are not flexible and hence, pictographs are not commonly used for different kinds of graphs.