---
title: "Map - Bubble, Categorical and Labels"
description: "The map component gains three ways to show data: bubbles sized by value, categorical coloring by group, and per-region value labels."
url: "https://www.imejis.io/changelogs/map-bubble-categorical-labels"
image: "https://www.imejis.io/og/components/map-bubble.jpg"
published: "2026-08-02"
author: "imejis"
---

# Map - Bubble, Categorical and Labels

## Three new ways to read a map

The map started as a choropleth: shade each region by a number. That answers "how much, where," but not every question is a number on a color ramp. So the map now does three more things, and they all work on the same seven basemaps.

### Bubble mode

Set `mode: "bubble"` and the map draws a flat basemap with a circle at each region's center, sized by value. Circles are area-proportional, so a value twice as large looks twice as big, not twice as wide. It's the right pick when a count matters more than a shade, like stores per state or users per country.

```http
POST https://render.imejis.io/v1/<design-id>
{ "map.mode": "bubble",
  "map.data": [
    { "id": "US", "value": 920 },
    { "id": "DE", "value": 700 },
    { "id": "IN", "value": 480 }
] }
```

### Categorical coloring

Set `colorMode: "categorical"` and add a `category` to each row, and the map colors regions by group instead of by a numeric scale. Think sales regions (Americas, EMEA, APAC), plan tiers, or status. Colors come from a built-in palette, or pass your own in `colors`, and the legend lists the categories.

### Region labels

Turn on `showLabels` to print each region's value (or its name, with `labelField: "name"`) right on the map. Labels are drawn inside the SVG with a subtle outline, so they stay put and stay legible when you export a PNG or SVG.

### Try them

All three are in the editor's Map panel and in the free [map maker](/tools/map-maker), with a live playground on the [map component page](/components/map). Mix and match: a bubble map colored by category with labels on is a single design.