In a 2017 blog post, authors Thomas Neirynck and Peter Pišljar introduce two visualization types in Kibana version 5.5: Region Maps and Gauge charts. Region Maps, or Choropleth maps, use color gradients to represent metric values and can be configured by linking terms aggregation results to GeoJSON FeatureCollections, with warnings available for unmatched items. Users can also add custom GeoJSON layers by configuring the kibana.yml file, though CORS settings may need adjustments. Gauge and Goal charts, while similar in appearance, have different purposes; Goal charts track progress toward a fixed goal, while Gauge charts monitor current values within specified ranges. The authors also note upcoming changes in Kibana's major v6 release, which include increased flexibility in rendering technologies, allowing the use of React or JavaScript instead of Angular, and the separation of visualization configuration from the visualizations themselves, which will require minor plugin edits.