The Chart Maker

Alignment chart maker

An alignment chart maker for the labelled grid everybody knows: nine cells running lawful good to chaotic evil, or any grid you like from two by two up to a hundred a side. Name the rows and columns, drop a picture or a line of text into every cell, then export the whole thing as one image.

Also known as: alignment chart generator, alignment chart creator, alignment meme maker, character alignment chart, lawful good chart.

How to make an alignment chart

  1. Set the size of the grid. A new chart opens at three rows by three columns, which is the shape the meme is usually drawn in. The grid size control takes it anywhere from two by two up to a hundred by a hundred, and you can resize later without losing what is already in the cells.
  2. Name the rows and the columns. Type over the placeholder labels. For the classic version the rows read lawful, neutral and chaotic and the columns read good, neutral and evil, but the axes are yours: cheap to expensive, useful to useless, early to late.
  3. Fill the cells. Each cell takes an image, a line of text, or both, plus an optional description underneath. Cells can be highlighted to mark a favourite, or hidden so the chart stays a guessing game until somebody reveals them. Nothing has to be filled in order, and empty cells are fine to leave until last.
  4. Download it, or give it a link. Export the finished grid as a PNG, or publish it here to get a page and a link. A published chart page carries the row, column and cell labels as real text, so it can be read and searched rather than only looked at, and anyone who opens it can start their own version from it.

What you can do

  • Any grid from two by two up to a hundred by a hundred, resized whenever you like, with large grids scrolling smoothly instead of freezing the page.
  • Row labels, column labels and axis labels, with text that shrinks to fit its box instead of spilling over the edge.
  • Every cell takes an image, text, or an image with a description written over or under it.
  • Hidden cells that stay covered until they are revealed, which turns a finished chart into something people can guess at.
  • Cell highlights for calling out a winner, plus per cell colours, borders and styles.
  • Background images with cover, contain and tile fits, a focal point, a scrim to keep text readable, and gridlines drawn from an image of your own.
  • 34 bundled fonts, so the chart can look like a rulebook, a poster or a group chat.
  • Pan and zoom, undo and redo, and a draft that survives a browser reload, because a hundred cell grid is not a five minute job.
  • Paste an export code from the Reddit alignment chart app and carry an old chart straight into the editor.
  • Export a PNG, or publish the chart as its own page with a link other people can open and remix.

Make your own alignment chart

People and personality types

The version most people meet first: friends, coworkers, family, the group chat, each one placed in the cell that fits them best. Text cells are enough, though photographs make it land harder.

Food and drink

Sauces, cereals, cheeses, chain restaurants, ways to make tea. Food charts travel because the axes can be silly ("cheap to expensive" against "would serve to guests") and everyone has a counter-argument.

Pop culture and fandoms

Every character in a show, every player in a squad, every album in a discography. One image per cell, nine cells, and the whole take fits in a single picture that reads at phone size.

School and work

Subjects, teachers, meeting types, software, coffee machines. A grid is a gentler way to say what everybody already thinks than a ranked list is, because the axes carry the judgement instead of a number.

How people play games

Not the characters, the players: the one who never revives anyone, the one who reads every item description, the one who quits at the first loss. Behaviour grids are the most remixed kind on the site.

Everyday habits

How people load a dishwasher, queue, answer texts, or pack a suitcase. Small domestic axes make surprisingly good charts, because the reader recognises themselves in one of the cells and immediately wants to argue about which one.

Common questions

What is an alignment chart?

A grid whose rows and columns each stand for a scale, so every cell is the meeting point of two ideas. The best known version comes from tabletop roleplaying: lawful, neutral and chaotic down one side, good, neutral and evil across the other, giving nine positions from lawful good to chaotic evil. The joke format keeps the shape and swaps the labels for anything at all.

Do I need an account?

No. The editor opens immediately, images upload without signing in, and the export button works either way. An account only exists so published charts follow you between devices.

How big can the grid be?

From two by two up to a hundred rows by a hundred columns. Past about twelve hundred cells the editor renders only the part you are looking at, so a very large chart still scrolls smoothly on a phone, and a very large chart can be shared through a framed region rather than as an unreadable wall of thumbnails.

Can I put my own pictures in the cells?

Yes. Any cell can hold an uploaded image, with an optional label and description, and you can mix image cells and text cells in the same chart.

Can I hide cells and reveal them later?

Yes. A cell can be set to stay covered, which is how people run a chart as a guessing game: publish it, let readers argue about what is underneath, then reveal it.

Can I bring a chart over from the Reddit app?

Yes. Export the chart to a code in the Reddit alignment chart app, paste it into the import page here, and it opens as an editable draft with the cells, labels and styling intact.

How do I share the finished chart?

Two ways. Export a PNG and post the picture anywhere, or publish the chart here and share the link, which gives it a page with the labels as real text and a copy button for anyone who wants their own version.

What is the difference between an alignment chart and a tier list?

A tier list sorts things into ranked rows, best at the top, worst at the bottom, so it answers one question. An alignment chart crosses two scales, so a cell says two things at once: not just how good something is, but what kind of thing it is. If your argument has one axis, a tier list is faster. If it has two, this is the format.

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