An innovative graphic can sometime work well for a particular type of data. If your data are of a non-standard type, you may be able to devise a novel way to clearly display them.
Napoleon's invasion of Russia
The diagram below was published by Charles Joseph Minard in 1861.
The diagram portrays Napoleon’s disastrous campaign of 1812-1813 when his army invaded Russia. After laying siege to Moscow, Napoleon was forced to retreat by the harshness of the Russian winter. The width of the band describes the number of surviving soldiers during the invasion and retreat. It effectively illustrates where the soldiers died during the campaign. The temperature graph at the bottom shows the temperatures during the retreat.