diff --git a/astetik/__init__.py b/astetik/__init__.py
index e647fb8..e708c8e 100755
--- a/astetik/__init__.py
+++ b/astetik/__init__.py
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 from .plots.multikde import multikde
 from .plots.compare import compare
 from .plots.multicount import multicount
+from .plots.bar1 import bar1
+from .plots.animate import Animation
 # from .plots.words import words
 
 
@@ -25,4 +27,6 @@
 from .tables.text import text
 # from .tables.timeseries import timeseries
 
-__version__ = "1.1"
+from .utils.transform import boolcols_to_cat
+
+__version__ = "1.9"
diff --git a/astetik/plots/animate.py b/astetik/plots/animate.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..24b51fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/astetik/plots/animate.py
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import glob
+import os
+import numpy as np
+import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+
+from IPython.display import clear_output
+
+
+class Animation():
+
+    '''ANIMATED CHARTS
+
+    Supports dataformat where x and y are compared against each other, and
+    label_col provides the title (e.g. year) for each frame in the animation.
+
+    y and x are used for the legend labels when relevant.
+
+    '''
+
+    def __init__(self, data, x, y, label_col, plot_type, filename='animation',
+                 dpi=72, palette='default'):
+
+        self.plot_type = plot_type
+        self.data = data
+        self.x = x
+        self.y = y
+        self.label_col = label_col
+        self.palette = palette
+        self.filename = filename
+        self.frames = len(data)
+        self.dpi = dpi
+
+        # RUNTIME
+        self._ = self._create_plots()
+        self._ = self._create_gif()
+
+    def _create_plots(self):
+
+        for i in range(self.frames):
+            data = np.array([self.data[self.x][i], self.data[self.y][i]]).astype(int)
+            self.plot_type(data,
+                           labels=[self.x, self.y],
+                           palette=self.palette,
+                           sub_title=self.data[self.label_col][i],
+                           save=True,
+                           dpi=self.dpi)
+            clear_output()
+            plt.show()
+
+    def _create_gif(self):
+
+        gif_name = self.filename
+        file_list = glob.glob('astetik_*.png')
+        list.sort(file_list, key=lambda x: int(x.split('_')[1].split('.png')[0]))
+
+        with open('image_list.txt', 'w') as file:
+            for item in file_list:
+                file.write("%s\n" % item)
+
+        os.system('convert @image_list.txt {}.gif'.format(gif_name)) # magick on windows
diff --git a/astetik/plots/bar1.py b/astetik/plots/bar1.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5cd88d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/astetik/plots/bar1.py
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+# EXCEPTIONAL IMPORT #
+import matplotlib
+matplotlib.use('Agg')
+# ENDS #
+
+import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+from matplotlib.pyplot import rcParams
+import seaborn as sns
+
+from ..style.template import _header, _footer
+from ..utils.utils import _limiter, _scaler
+from ..utils.utils import factorplot_sizing
+from ..style.titles import _titles
+
+
+def bar1(data,
+         x,
+         y,
+         multi_color=False,
+         palette='default',
+         style='astetik',
+         dpi=72,
+         title='',
+         sub_title='',
+         x_label='',
+         y_label='',
+         legend=True,
+         x_scale='linear',
+         y_scale='linear',
+         x_limit='auto',
+         y_limit='auto',
+         save=False):
+
+    '''BAR PLOT
+
+    A 1-dimensional bar graph for the case where there is a single
+    value per label.
+
+    Inputs: 2
+
+    1. USE
+    ======
+    ast.bar1d(data=patients,
+              x='icu_days',
+              y='insurance')
+
+    2. PARAMETERS
+    =============
+    2.1 INPUT PARAMETERS
+    --------------------
+    data :: pandas dataframe
+
+    x :: x-axis data (single value per label)
+
+    y :: y-axis data (labels)
+
+    --------------------
+    2.2. PLOT PARAMETERS
+    --------------------
+    multi_color :: If True, label values will be used for hue.
+
+    ----------------------
+    2.3. COMMON PARAMETERS
+    ----------------------
+    palette :: One of the astetik palettes:
+                'default'
+                'colorblind'
+                'blue_to_red'
+                'blue_to_green'
+                'red_to_green'
+                'green_to_red'
+                'violet_to_blue'
+                'brown_to_green'
+                'green_to_marine'
+
+                Or use any cmap, seaborn or matplotlib
+                color or palette code, or hex value.
+
+    style :: Use one of the three core styles:
+                'astetik'     # white
+                '538'         # grey
+                'solarized'   # sepia
+
+              Or alternatively use any matplotlib or seaborn
+              style definition.
+
+    dpi :: the resolution of the plot (int value)
+
+    title :: the title of the plot (string value)
+
+    sub_title :: a secondary title to be shown below the title
+
+    x_label :: string value for x-axis label
+
+    y_label :: string value for y-axis label
+
+    x_scale :: 'linear' or 'log' or 'symlog'
+
+    y_scale :: 'linear' or 'log' or 'symlog'
+
+    x_limit :: int or list with two ints
+
+    y_limit :: int or list with two ints
+
+    outliers :: Remove outliers using either 'zscore' or 'iqr'
+    '''
+
+    size, aspect = factorplot_sizing(data[x])
+
+    if multi_color == True:
+        n_colors = len(data[x].unique())
+    else:
+        n_colors = 1
+
+    # HEADER STARTS >>>
+    palette = _header(palette,
+                      style,
+                      n_colors=n_colors,
+                      dpi=dpi,
+                      fig_height=None,
+                      fig_width=None)
+    # <<< HEADER ENDS
+    p = sns.factorplot(data=data,
+                       x=x,
+                       y=y,
+                       palette=palette,
+                       aspect=aspect,
+                       size=size,
+                       kind='bar')
+
+    # SCALING AND LIMITS STARTS >>>
+    if x_scale != 'linear' or y_scale != 'linear':
+        _scaler(p, x_scale, y_scale)
+
+    # FOOTER STARTS >>>
+    _titles(title, sub_title=sub_title)
+    _footer(p, x_label, y_label, save=save)
+
+    if data[x].min() < 0:
+        sns.despine(left=True)
diff --git a/astetik/plots/bars.py b/astetik/plots/bars.py
index c3cf922..84ac647 100644
--- a/astetik/plots/bars.py
+++ b/astetik/plots/bars.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ def bars(data,
     A multi-dimension bar plot that takes up to 5 features at a time.
 
     Inputs: 2 to 5
-    Features: At least one continuous (or stepped) variable and results
+    Features: At least one continuous (or stepped) variable and rest
               can be categorical.
 
     1. USE
@@ -116,6 +116,8 @@ def bars(data,
     outliers :: Remove outliers using either 'zscore' or 'iqr'
     '''
 
+    aspect = int(len(data[x].unique()) / 5)
+
     if hue != None:
         n_colors = len(data[hue].unique())
     else:
@@ -137,6 +139,7 @@ def bars(data,
                        col=col,
                        col_wrap=col_wrap,
                        palette=palette,
+                       aspect=aspect,
                        size=4,
                        kind='bar')
 
diff --git a/astetik/plots/corr.py b/astetik/plots/corr.py
index e3b1732..5276452 100644
--- a/astetik/plots/corr.py
+++ b/astetik/plots/corr.py
@@ -133,4 +133,4 @@ def corr(data,
     _titles(title, sub_title=sub_title)
     _footer(p, x_label, y_label, save=save)
 
-    p.set_xticklabels(data, rotation=45)
+    p.set_xticklabels(data)
diff --git a/astetik/plots/count.py b/astetik/plots/count.py
index ee6c5dc..ca16059 100644
--- a/astetik/plots/count.py
+++ b/astetik/plots/count.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 def count(data,
           x,
+          sort=None,
           palette='default',
           style='astetik',
           dpi=72,
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def count(data,
     --------------------
     2.2. PLOT PARAMETERS
     --------------------
-    None
+    sort :: If True, will be sorted based on input values.
 
     ----------------------
     2.3. COMMON PARAMETERS
@@ -95,6 +96,9 @@ def count(data,
 
     aspect = int(len(data[x].unique()) / 5)
 
+    if sort != None:
+        sort = data[x].value_counts().index.values
+
     # HEADER STARTS >>>
     palette = _header(palette,
                       style,
@@ -104,17 +108,18 @@ def count(data,
                       fig_width=None)
 
     p = sns.factorplot(data=data,
-                       x=x,
+                       y=x,
                        palette=palette,
                        size=4,
                        aspect=aspect,
                        kind='count',
                        legend=legend,
-                       legend_out=False)
+                       legend_out=False,
+                       order=sort)
 
     # FOOTER
     _titles(title, sub_title)
-    _thousand_sep(p, p.ax)
+    _thousand_sep(p, p.ax, y_sep=False)
     _footer(p, x_label, y_label, save=save)
 
     p.set_xticklabels(None, rotation=90)
diff --git a/astetik/plots/line.py b/astetik/plots/line.py
index 46105e5..fca2e5d 100644
--- a/astetik/plots/line.py
+++ b/astetik/plots/line.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import numpy as np
+import pandas as pd
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
-from matplotlib.dates import HourLocator
+from matplotlib import ticker
 
 from ..style.formats import _thousand_sep
 from ..style.style import params
@@ -164,7 +165,8 @@ def line(data,
                                   func=interval_func,
                                   freq=interval)
 
-    markers = ["o", "+", "x", "|", "-", ",", ".", "^", "v"]
+    markers = ["o", "+", "x", "|", "1", "8", "s", "p",
+               "o", "+", "x", "|", "1", "8", "s", "p"]
     # <<< END OF PLOT SPECIFIC
 
     # START OF HEADER >>>
@@ -205,7 +207,8 @@ def line(data,
 
     # DATETIME FORMAT
     if time_frame != None:
-        date_handler(data[x[0]], ax, time_frame)
+        data[y] = pd.to_datetime(data[y])
+        date_handler(data[y], ax, time_frame)
 
     # LIMITS
     if x_limit != None or y_limit != None:
@@ -217,7 +220,6 @@ def line(data,
     _footer(p, x_label, y_label, save=save)
 
     if legend != False:
-        plt.legend(x, loc=1, ncol=lines)
-    if y != None:
-        hours = HourLocator()
-        ax.xaxis.set_minor_locator(hours)
+        plt.legend(x, loc=1, ncol=1, bbox_to_anchor=(1.15, 1.0))
+
+    ax.xaxis.set_major_locator(ticker.MaxNLocator(nbins=8))
diff --git a/astetik/plots/overlap.py b/astetik/plots/overlap.py
index d10cc18..96e50f5 100644
--- a/astetik/plots/overlap.py
+++ b/astetik/plots/overlap.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import seaborn as sns
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+import matplotlib.patches as mpatches
 
 from ..style.titles import _titles
 from ..style.template import _header
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ def overlap(data,
             y,
             label_col,
             sort=None,
+            limit=None,
             transform_func=False,
             palette='default',
             style='astetik',
@@ -67,6 +69,8 @@ def overlap(data,
     sort :: either True or False for ascending sort based on the
             x-axis data.
 
+    limit :: limit the number of items to be shown
+
     transform_func :: If not False, the selected function such as
                       'mean' will be used to group by the label_col.
                       Available functions:
@@ -151,19 +155,25 @@ def overlap(data,
     sns.barplot(data=data,
                 x=x,
                 y=label_col,
+                orient='h',
                 color=palette[0])
 
     sns.barplot(data=data,
                 x=y,
                 y=label_col,
+                orient='h',
                 color=palette[1])
 
     # # # # PLOT ENDS # # # #
+    if legend != False:
+        x_patch = mpatches.Patch(color=palette[0], label=x)
+        y_patch = mpatches.Patch(color=palette[1], label=y)
+        ax.legend(handles=[x_patch, y_patch], ncol=1, loc="upper right", frameon=True)
 
-    ax.legend(ncol=2, loc="lower right", frameon=True)
     ax.set(ylabel=y_label, xlabel=x_label)
     sns.despine(bottom=True)
     ax.xaxis.set_major_locator(plt.MaxNLocator(5))
 
     _thousand_sep(p, ax)
-    _titles(title, sub_title=sub_title)
+    if len(title) + len(sub_title) < 0:
+        _titles(title, sub_title=sub_title)
diff --git a/astetik/plots/pie.py b/astetik/plots/pie.py
index 1f9fe27..bf0332e 100644
--- a/astetik/plots/pie.py
+++ b/astetik/plots/pie.py
@@ -1,13 +1,15 @@
 import pandas as pd
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 
+from ..style.style import params
+from ..utils.exceptions import MissingLabel
 from ..style.titles import _titles
 from ..style.template import _header, _footer
 
 
 def pie(data,
-        x,
-        quantile_cut=None,
+        x=None,
+        labels=None,
         palette='default',
         style='astetik',
         dpi=72,
@@ -24,7 +26,11 @@ def pie(data,
 
     '''PIE PLOT
 
-    A classic pie chart.
+    A classic pie chart. If dataframe is given as input, column sums
+    will be automatically used as values. If you want to use a given
+    row of data instead, indicate it using data.iloc[4] in the case of
+    wanting to use the 5th row. If array is given as input, provide labels
+    separately.
 
     Inputs: 1
     Features: 1 categorical or continuous
@@ -44,9 +50,7 @@ def pie(data,
     --------------------
     2.2. PLOT PARAMETERS
     --------------------
-    quantile_cut :: An int value for the number of buckets data will be cut.
-                    This will always yield an evenly split pie, and is useful
-                    for showing the IQR ranges for a given feature.
+    NONE
 
     ----------------------
     2.3. COMMON PARAMETERS
@@ -95,22 +99,35 @@ def pie(data,
 
     '''
 
-    # PLOT SPECIFIC START >>>
-    if quantile_cut != None:
-        data = data.copy(deep=True)
-        data[x] = pd.qcut(data[x], quantile_cut)
-        n_colors = len(data[x].unique())
+    if x != None:
+
+        # more than single column
+        try:
+            data[x].shape[1]
+            labels = data[x].sum().index.values
+            data = data[x].sum().values
+
+        # single column
+        except IndexError:
+            labels = data[x].value_counts().index.values
+            data = data[x].value_counts().values
+
     else:
-        n_colors = len(x)
-    data = data.sort_values(x)
-    labels = data[x].value_counts().index.values
-    data = data[x].value_counts().values
-    # << PLOT SPECIFIC END
+        try:
+            data.shape[1]
+            labels = data.sum().index.values
+            data = data.sum().values
+        except IndexError or ValueError:
+            pass
+
+    n_colors = len(data)
 
     # HEADER STARTS >>>
     palette = _header(palette, style, n_colors, dpi)
     # <<< HEADER ENDS
 
+    p, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 8))
+
     # # # # # # PLOT CODE STARTS # # # # # #
     p = plt.pie(x=data,
                 colors=palette,
@@ -121,8 +138,13 @@ def pie(data,
     # # # # # # PLOT CODE ENDS # # # # # #
 
     # LEGEND STARTS >>>
-    if legend != False:
-        plt.legend(p[0], labels, loc='center left', bbox_to_anchor=(1.1, 0.5))
+
+    try:
+        if legend != False:
+            plt.legend(p[0], labels, loc='center left', bbox_to_anchor=(1.1, 0.5))
+    except TypeError:
+        MissingLabel("Looks like you didn't provide 'label' parameter for legend")
+
     # <<< LEGEND ENDS
 
     # START OF TITLES >>>
diff --git a/astetik/plots/scat.py b/astetik/plots/scat.py
index 1694c2c..a9f9881 100644
--- a/astetik/plots/scat.py
+++ b/astetik/plots/scat.py
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ def scat(data,
          legend=True,
          x_scale='linear',
          y_scale='linear',
-         x_limit='auto',
-         y_limit='auto',
+         x_limit=None,
+         y_limit=None,
          outliers=False,
          save=False):
 
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ def scat(data,
         n = len(data[hue].unique())
     else:
         n = 1
+        legend = False
 
     if size == None:
         size = 8
@@ -152,4 +153,4 @@ def scat(data,
     _thousand_sep(p, ax)
     _footer(p, x_label, y_label, legend, n, save)
 
-    p.set(xscale='linear')
+    ax.xaxis.set_major_locator(plt.MaxNLocator(5))
diff --git a/astetik/style/color_picker.py b/astetik/style/color_picker.py
index 4b60a02..38a58d7 100644
--- a/astetik/style/color_picker.py
+++ b/astetik/style/color_picker.py
@@ -70,19 +70,54 @@ def color_picker(palette, center='light', n_colors=10, show=False):
     return out
 
 
-def color_blind():
+def color_blind(mode='colorblind'):
 
     '''COLOR BLIND COLORS
 
     Provides a color palette that is colorblind friendly.
     '''
 
-    colors = [[0, 0, 0],
-              [230/255, 159/255, 0],
-              [86/255, 180/255, 233/255],
-              [0, 158/255, 115/255],
-              [213/255, 94/255, 0],
-              [0, 114/255, 178/255]]
+    if mode == 'colorblind':
+
+        colors = [[0, 0, 0],
+                  [0, 73/255, 73/255],
+                  [0, 146/255, 146/255],
+                  [255/255, 109/255, 182/255],
+                  [255/255, 182/255, 119/255],
+                  [73/255, 0, 146/255],
+                  [0, 109/255, 219/255],
+                  [182/255, 109/255, 255/255],
+                  [109/255, 182/255, 255/255],
+                  [182/255, 219/255, 255/255],
+                  [146/255, 0, 0],
+                  [146/255, 73/255, 0],
+                  [219/255, 209/255, 0],
+                  [36/255, 255/255, 36/255],
+                  [255/255, 255/255, 109/255]]
+
+    elif mode == 'colorblind6':
+        colors = [[0, 0, 0],
+                  [230/255, 159/255, 0],
+                  [86/255, 180/255, 233/255],
+                  [0, 158/255, 115/255],
+                  [213/255, 94/255, 0],
+                  [0, 114/255, 178/255]]
+
+    elif mode == 'colorblind1':
+        colors = [[222/255, 188/255, 146/255],
+                  [251/255, 175/255, 148/255],
+                  [131/255, 215/255, 142/255],
+                  [225/255, 191/255, 147/255],
+                  [250/255, 109/255, 81/255],
+                  [101/255, 170/255, 53/255],
+                  [204/255, 146/255, 68/255],
+                  [221/255, 51/255, 48/255],
+                  [95/255, 130/255, 24/255],
+                  [149/255, 115/255, 32/255],
+                  [164/255, 23/255, 30/255],
+                  [61/255, 105/255, 22/255],
+                  [119/255, 81/255, 24/255]]
+
 
     return colors
 
diff --git a/astetik/style/random_colors.py b/astetik/style/random_colors.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff7fcbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/astetik/style/random_colors.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import numpy as np
+
+
+def randomcolor():
+
+    ''' PICKS COLORS RANDOMLY
+
+    '''
+
+    colors = []
+    for i in range(20):
+        colors.append(list((np.random.randint(0, 255, 3) / 255)))
+
+    return colors
diff --git a/astetik/style/template.py b/astetik/style/template.py
index 6f32199..ec86bb9 100644
--- a/astetik/style/template.py
+++ b/astetik/style/template.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import time
+from datetime import datetime
 
 import seaborn as sns
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
@@ -6,6 +7,7 @@
 from ..style.color_picker import color_picker, color_blind, _label_to_hex
 from ..utils.utils import _n_decider
 from ..style.style import styles, default_colors
+from ..style.random_colors import randomcolor
 
 
 def _header(palette,
@@ -15,13 +17,20 @@ def _header(palette,
             fig_width=None,
             fig_height=None):
 
-    if style != 'astetik':
+    if palette == 'random':
+        palette = randomcolor()
+
+    elif style != 'astetik':
         plt.style.use(style)
 
     n = _n_decider(n_colors)
 
-    if palette == 'colorblind':
-        palette = color_blind()
+    try:
+        if palette.startswith('colorblind'):
+            palette = color_blind(palette)
+    except AttributeError:
+        palette = palette
+
     else:
         try:
             palette = color_picker(palette=palette, n_colors=n)
@@ -68,6 +77,8 @@ def _footer(p,
 
     # SAVING THE PLOT
     if save != False:
-        time_stamp = time.strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S')
+
+        dt = datetime.now()
+        time_stamp = time.strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S_' + str(dt.microsecond))
         filename = "astetik_" + time_stamp + ".png"
         plt.savefig(filename, dpi=72)
diff --git a/astetik/style/titles.py b/astetik/style/titles.py
index 9fc4791..6f25bce 100644
--- a/astetik/style/titles.py
+++ b/astetik/style/titles.py
@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@ def _titles(title,
     NOTE: At the moment works with one dimensional data.
 
     '''
-
-    title = title.replace(' ', '\,')
-
-    plt.title(r"$\bf{" + title + "}$" + '\n' + sub_title,
-              loc=location,
-              fontsize=fontsize,
-              fontname=fontname,
-              weight='normal',
-              y=1.03,
-              color="grey");
+    if len(title) + len(sub_title) > 0:
+        title = title.replace(' ', '\,')
+
+        plt.title(r"$\bf{" + title + "}$" + '\n' + sub_title,
+                  loc=location,
+                  fontsize=fontsize,
+                  fontname=fontname,
+                  weight='normal',
+                  y=1.03,
+                  color="grey");
diff --git a/astetik/utils/datetime.py b/astetik/utils/datetime.py
index 7f2fc82..8371319 100644
--- a/astetik/utils/datetime.py
+++ b/astetik/utils/datetime.py
@@ -2,17 +2,23 @@
 
 from matplotlib.dates import HourLocator, DayLocator, MonthLocator, YearLocator, MinuteLocator, SecondLocator
 from matplotlib.dates import DateFormatter
+from matplotlib import ticker
 
 
-def _time_freq(time_data, divider1, divider2, ):
-    out = round((time_data.time_stamp.max() - time_data.time_stamp.min()).days / divider2)
-    return round(out / divider1)
+def _time_freq(time_data, divider1, divider2):
+
+    out = (time_data.max() - time_data.min()).days
+    print(out)
+    out = round(out / divider2 / divider1)
+    print(out)
+    return out
 
 
 def date_handler(time_data, ax, time_frame):
 
+    ax.xaxis.set_major_locator(ticker.MaxNLocator(nbins=8))
+
     if time_frame == 'year':
-        ax.xaxis.set_major_locator(YearLocator(_time_freq(time_data, 10, 365)))
         ax.xaxis.set_major_formatter(DateFormatter('%Y'))
 
     elif time_frame == 'month':
diff --git a/astetik/utils/exceptions.py b/astetik/utils/exceptions.py
index 8dc2c86..7139ca2 100644
--- a/astetik/utils/exceptions.py
+++ b/astetik/utils/exceptions.py
@@ -1,2 +1,5 @@
 class MissingParameter(Exception):
     """This error is raised when something goes wrong due to missing parameter"""
+
+class MissingLabel(Exception):
+    """This error is raised when something goes wrong due to missing labels"""
diff --git a/astetik/utils/load_data.py b/astetik/utils/load_data.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..32447ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/astetik/utils/load_data.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import pandas as pd
+
+
+def read():
+
+    def csv(filename):
+        out = pd.read_csv(filename, sep=',', encoding='latin-1', error_bad_lines=True)
+        return out
diff --git a/astetik/utils/transform.py b/astetik/utils/transform.py
index 78e85e8..355eb5f 100644
--- a/astetik/utils/transform.py
+++ b/astetik/utils/transform.py
@@ -135,21 +135,26 @@ def mean_zero(data, retain=None):
 
     '''
     # avoiding transformation of y, labels, etc
-    if retain is not None:
-        col_temp = pd.DataFrame(data[retain])
-        data = data.drop(retain, axis=1)
 
-    # storing the temp values
-    data_mean = data.mean(axis=0)
-    data_std = data.std(axis=0)
+    data = data.copy(deep=True)
 
-    # transforming the data
-    data = data - data_mean
-    data = data / data_std
+    try:
+        col_list = list(data.columns)
+    except AttributeError:
+        col_list = list(pd.DataFrame(data.columns))
 
-    # putting retained cols as first columns
     if retain is not None:
-        data = pd.merge(col_temp, data, left_index=True, right_index=True)
+        col_list.remove(retain)
+
+    for col in col_list:
+
+        # storing the temp values
+        data_mean = data[col].mean(axis=0)
+        data_std = data[col].std(axis=0)
+
+        # transforming the data
+        col_data = data[col] - data_mean
+        data[col] = col_data / data_std
 
     return data
 
@@ -172,3 +177,26 @@ def _groupby(data, by, func):
     temp = data.groupby(by)
 
     return groupby_func(data=temp, func=func)
+
+
+def boolcols_to_cat(data, labels, other_label='NA'):
+
+    '''CONVERT BOOLEAN COLS TO CATEGORICAL
+
+    Returns a single categorical label seqeuence
+    that is produced from 2 or more boolean columns.
+
+    '''
+
+    c = len(data)
+    l = ['~'] * c
+
+    for i in range(c):
+        for label in labels:
+            if data[label][i] == True:
+                l[i] = label
+                break
+
+    l = [label.replace('~', other_label) for label in l]
+
+    return l
diff --git a/astetik/utils/utils.py b/astetik/utils/utils.py
index 43f1fe9..26f4f84 100644
--- a/astetik/utils/utils.py
+++ b/astetik/utils/utils.py
@@ -287,3 +287,25 @@ def multicol_transform(transform, data, x=None, y=None, func=None, freq=None):
     out[y] = temp[y]
 
     return out
+
+
+def factorplot_sizing(data):
+
+    '''COMPUTE SIZE AND ASPECT
+
+    This is for the sole purpose of standardizing
+    the factorplot sizing so that bar thickness
+    is same regardless of the number of bars in the figure.
+    '''
+    items = len(data)
+
+    # choose these first
+    width = 9                  # larger the wider
+    thickness = 3               # smaller the thicker
+
+    # compute the values
+    value = items + 2.5
+    size = value / thickness
+    aspect = (width / size)
+
+    return size, aspect