Data Visualization

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t

understand it well enough.
 Question 2
1. Which product category has the largest
revenue?
2. Which channel has the largest revenue?
3. Which promotion has the largest revenue?
Time!
 “If no one remembers the numbers then you have not communicated”
– Robert Kosara

“Fundamentally, Data Visualization is not about technology but about Questions and
Answers” – Jeff Heer

“More often than not, the presentation of quantitative information fails to communicate
information clearly and efficiently” – Stephen Few

“Visualization doesn’t happen on a page or on a screen. It happens in the viewer’s

brain” – Robert Spence

“By visualizing information, we turn it into…a sort of information map. And when you’re lost
in information, an information map is kind of useful.” – David McCandless

“Most dashboards…deliver only a fraction of the insight that is needed

to monitor the business.” – Stephen Few
 Gold Fish Effect

12 2000
9 Goldfish

2012
8
Forget own

7%
25%
Birthday

teens who forget major details

of close friends and relatives
 Spreadsheet Overdose
Customers use Matrix
or Table 90% of the
time, when building
and presenting Online
Analytics
Excel Syndrome
1. Problem
2. Solution: Spreadsheet
3. Another problem
4. Solution: Bigger spreadsheet
5. GOTO 1
 Links

• Baby Name Wizard

–http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager
• •Origin of Species – Edits –http://benfry.com/traces/
• •Netflix Queues
–http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/10/nyr
egion/20100110-netflix-map.html?ref=nyregion
• •Unemployment Visualization (NYTimes)
–http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/06/bus
iness/economy/unemployment-lines.html
 Data visualization
• Data visualization is the visual presentation of data
or information.
• The goal of data visualization is to communicate data
or information clearly and effectively to readers.
• Typically, data is visualized in the form of a chart, 
infographic, diagram or map. 
• For exploration, discovery, insight
• Interactive component provides more insight as
compared to a static image
 Data visualization: what you need to know

• 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual – a

testament to the power and potential of data visualization.
• People are 30 times more likely to absorb high-quality
infographics than plain text.
• Studies suggest that if a scientific claim is presented in only
words or numbers, 68% of people will deem the information to
be accurate and truthful. But if the same insights or metrics
are presented in a simple graph, the number rises to 97%.
• A business intelligence strategy that leverages data
visualization will provide an ROI of $13.01 back on every dollar
spent.
 Data visualization
• The field of data visualization combines both
art and data science.
• While a data visualization can be creative and
pleasing to look at, it should also be functional
in its visual communication of the data
Why is Data Visualization so important?

Data Visualization
Action
Learnin
g
Story
Telling
Visualizi
ng
Informa
tion
Data
 why
• A study by SH!FT Disruptive Learning
demonstrated that we typically process images
60,000 times faster than a table or a text, and
that our brains typically do a better job
remembering them in the long term.
• That same research detected that after three
days, analyzed subjects retained between 10%
and 20% of written or spoken information,
compared with 65% of visual information.
 Types

• Scientific Visualization –
– Structural Data – Seismic, Medical, ..
• Information Visualization
– No inherent structure – News, stock market, top grossing
movies, facebook connections
•Visual Analytics
– –Use visualization to understand and synthesize large
amounts of multimodal data – audio, video, text, images,
networks of people ..
SCIETIFIC
Information Visualization
 Visual Analytics
• Integration of interactive visualization with
analysis techniques to answer a growing range
of questions in science, business, and analysis.
• Making sense of multimodal data -audio clips,
video, photographs, transcripts,
John Snow’s Cholera Map
•Snow used a spot map to illustrate how cases of cholera clustered around the pump
 Charles Joseph Minard 1869
Napoleon’s March

According to Tufte: “It may well be the best statistical graphic ever drawn.”
5 variables: Army Size, location, dates, direction, temperature during retreat
http://www.bbc.co.uk/truthaboutcrime/crimemap/
 USED for
• Data visualizations often use elements of
visual storytelling to communicate a message
supported by the data. 
• Making data engaging and easily digestible
• Identifying trends and outliers within a set of data
• Telling a story found within the data
• Reinforcing an argument or opinion
• Highlighting the important parts of a set of data
data engaging and easily digestible
• Data visualization allows us to frame the data
differently by using illustrations, charts,
descriptive text, and engaging design.

• Visualization also allows us to group and

organize data based on categories and
themes, which can make it easier to break
down into understandable chunks. 
Identify trends and outliers
 Tell a story
within the
data
Designers use
techniques like 
color theory,
illustrations, design 
style and visual cues to
appeal to the emotions
of readers, put faces to
numbers, and introduce
a narrative to the data. 
 Reinforce an argument or opinion

• When it comes to convincing

people your opinion is right, they
often have to see it to believe it.
An effective infographic or chart
can make your argument more
robust and reinforce your
creativity. 
• For example, you can use a 
comparison infographic to
compare sides of an argument,
different theories,
product/service options, pros
and cons, and more. Especially if
you’re blending data types.
Highlight an important point in a set of data

Designers use visual cues to

direct the eye to different
places on a page. Visual cues
are shapes, symbols, and
colors that point to a specific
part of the data visualization,
or that make a specific part
stand out.
For example, in this data
visualization, contrasting
colors are used to emphasize
the difference in the amount
of waste sent to landfills
versus recycled waste:
Make books, blog posts, reports and videos more engaging
 Types of Visualization
• Generally speaking, data visualizations usually fall under these main
categories:
• Infographics - An infographic is a collection of imagery, charts, and
minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a topic. 
• Charts - in the simplest terms, a chart is a graphical representation of
data. Charts use visual symbols like line, bars, dots, slices, and icons to
represent data points.
• Diagrams-Similar to a chart, a diagram is a visual representation of
information. Diagrams can be both two-dimensional and three-
dimensional. 
• Maps-A map is a visual representation of an area of land. Maps show
physical features of land like regions, landscapes, cities, roads, and
bodies of water. 
 Inforgraphics
• Statistical infographics
• Informational infographics
• Timeline infographics
• Process infographics
• Geographic infographics
• Comparison infographics
• Hierarchical infographics
• List infographics
• Resume infographics
 Charts
• Some of the most common types of charts are:
• Bar charts
• Line charts
• Pie charts
• Bubble charts
• Stacked bar charts
• Treemaps
• Word clouds
• Pictographs
• Area charts
• Scatter plot charts
• Multi-series charts
 Diagrams
• Some of the most common types of diagrams are:
• Flowcharts
• Mind maps
• Venn diagrams
• Tree diagrams
• SWOT analysis
• Fishbone diagrams
• Histograms
• Wireframes
• Site maps
• Use case diagrams
Maps
A common type of map
you have probably
come across in your
travels is a choropleth
map.
Choropleth maps use
different shades and
colors to indicate
average quantities. 
For example, a
population density
map uses varying
shades to show the
difference in
population numbers
from region to region:
 Types
• Scientific Visualization – Structural Data –
Seismic, Medical
• Information Visualization – No inherent
structure – News, stock market, top grossing
movies, facebook connections
• Visual Analytics – Use visualization to
understand and synthesize large amounts of
multimodal data – audio, video, text, images,
networks of people
 5 factors that influence data visualization choices:

• Audience. It’s important to adjust data representation to the specific target audience. For
example, fitness mobile app users who browse through their progress can easily work with
uncomplicated visualizations. On the other hand, if data insights are intended for researchers
and experienced decision-makers who regularly work with data, you can and often have to go
beyond simple charts.
• Content. The type of data you are dealing with will determine the tactics. For example, if it’s
time-series metrics, you will use line charts to show the dynamics in many cases. To show the
relationship between two elements, scatter plots are often used. In turn, bar charts work well
for comparative analysis.
• Context. You can use different data visualization approaches and read data depending on the
context. To emphasize a certain figure, for example, significant profit growth, you can use the
shades of one color on the chart and highlight the highest value with the brightest one. On
the contrary, to differentiate elements, you can use contrast colors.
• Dynamics. There are various types of data, and each type has a different rate of change. For
example, financial results can be measured monthly or yearly, while time series and tracking
data are changing constantly. Depending on the rate of change, you may consider dynamic
representation (steaming) or static visualization techniques in data mining.
• Purpose. The goal of data visualization affects the way it is implemented. In order to make a
complex analysis, visualizations are compiled into dynamic and controllable dashboards that
work as visual data analysis techniques and tools. However, dashboards are not necessary to
show a single or occasional data insight.