Pick a chart type from the question you are asking and the shape of your data, with types to avoid

After: what comes back

The first lines of a real run on that input. Nothing here is edited by hand.

Chart chooser: trend, 1 categories, 36 points, 7 series

Ranked:
1. Line chart: 36 ordered points: connected lines show direction and rate, which is the whole question.
2. Small multiples of lines: 7 series would tangle in one frame; give each its own panel with a shared y-scale.
3. Sparkline in a table: For dashboards where trend is context beside a number, not the main event.
4. Stacked area (only if parts add to a meaningful total): Good for share of a total through time; only the bottom layer is easy to read.
5. Cycle plot: If seasonality matters: one small line per month or weekday across years.

Avoid:
- Pie charts
- Dual axes that make two series appear correlated
- Connecting categories that have no order
- One chart with more than six lines
... full output on the tool page