In this chapter, we have started our journey through the data visualization methodology. The emphasis has been on the importance of planning, preparation, and scoping our project, before we embark on any design work. Without this early work we could undermine the effectiveness and efficiency of our eventual design process: something any designer can ill afford to allow.
We have seen how data visualization is a means of facilitating the discovery of patterns and relationships that exist within data. These are insights that would otherwise be practically impossible to draw from data in its raw state.
The importance of establishing the purpose of our visualization project was the key part of this first stage. Specifically, we highlighted the distinction between functional intent and tonal intent.
Within these characteristics we described the difference between visualizations that are functionally seeking to explain, explore, or exhibit data. Furthermore, we saw the significance in potential...