This document discusses data visualization and provides guidance on creating effective visualizations. It defines visualization as conveying information through visual representations to enable viewers to gain insight into data. The goals of visualization are outlined as answering questions, making decisions, seeing context, finding patterns, and communicating insights. Key aspects of creating visualizations like using the right chart type, removing unnecessary elements, and focusing on truth, functionality, beauty and insight are covered.
This document discusses data visualization and provides guidance on creating effective visualizations. It defines visualization as conveying information through visual representations to enable viewers to gain insight into data. The goals of visualization are outlined as answering questions, making decisions, seeing context, finding patterns, and communicating insights. Key aspects of creating visualizations like using the right chart type, removing unnecessary elements, and focusing on truth, functionality, beauty and insight are covered.
representations of abstract data to reinforce human cognition; thus enabling the viewer to gain knowledge about the internal structure of the data and casual relationships in it.” Visualization Goals
• Answer questions (or discover
them) • Make decisions • See data in context • Support graphical calculation • Find patterns • Present argument or tell a story • Inspire How Najib Razak spend his day on Twitter 3 Functions of Visualization • RECORD: Store information • ANALYZE: Support reasoning about information • COMMUNICATE: Convey information to others Visualization Wheel Visualization Wheel • Abstraction – Figuration: Boxes and charts (abstraction) or real-world physical objects (figuration) • Functionality – Decoration: No embellishments (functionality) or artistic embellishments (decoration) • Density – Lightness: Must be studied in depth (density) or understandable at a glance (lightless) • Multidimensional – Unidimensional: Different aspects of phenomenon (multidimensional) or single or few items of phenomenal (unidimensional) Visualization Wheel • Originality – Familiarity: Novel methods of visualization (originality) or established and well understood methods of visualization (familiarity) • Novelty – Redundancy: Explaining each item once (novelty) or encoding multiple explanations of the same phenomenon (redundancy) Qualities of a Great Visualization • Truthful • Avoid deception, misleading your audience • Functionality • Beauty • Insightful • Enlightening • A combination of the previous four, but with a social ethical responsibility Practical Considerations • Beware of pie charts! • Stay away from pie charts. A bar chart is almost always the right choice Practical Considerations • A line chart is better at showing trends Practical Considerations • Lines won’t do that well if you are trying to show a part/whole relationship Remove to improve Remove backgrounds Remove redundant labels Remove borders Reduce colors Remove special effects Lighten labels Direct label Direct label Before vs. After Bad Visualization Bad Visualization Good Visualization Good Visualization