Book Image

Data Visualization: a successful design process

Book Image

Data Visualization: a successful design process

Overview of this book

Do you want to create more attractive charts? Or do you have huge data sets and need to unearth the key insights in a visual manner? Data visualization is the representation and presentation of data, using proven design techniques to bring alive the patterns, stories and key insights locked away."Data Visualization: a Successful Design Process" explores the unique fusion of art and science that is data visualization; a discipline for which instinct alone is insufficient for you to succeed in enabling audiences to discover key trends, insights and discoveries from your data. This book will equip you with the key techniques required to overcome contemporary data visualization challenges. You'll discover a proven design methodology that helps you develop invaluable knowledge and practical capabilities.You'll never again settle for a default Excel chart or resort to "fancy-looking" graphs. You will be able to work from the starting point of acquiring, preparing and familiarizing with your data, right through to concept design. Choose your "killer" visual representation to engage and inform your audience."Data Visualization: a Successful Design Process" will inspire you to relish any visualization project with greater confidence and bullish know-how; turning challenges into exciting design opportunities.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)
Data Visualization: a successful design process
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Summary


In this chapter, we have learned about the importance of editorial focus and content reasoning—the ability to recognize the most important and relevant stories in your data and the discipline of taking responsibility to optimize the interpreting experience of your intended audience.

We worked through the mechanics of acquiring, preparing, and familiarizing with your dataset. In particular, we highlighted the importance of our own graphical literacy in the task of conducting visual analysis.

We identified numerous physical characteristics of our data that will help us to discover key stories and help inform the types of data questions we may seek to answer in our designs.

Finally, we worked through a demonstration of using visual analysis to make sense of your data, to find stories yourself and then tell those stories to others. We also saw an example of the contrasting visual design solutions used for exploratory and explanatory visualization.

Now that all our preparatory work has been...