Data visualization-giving story to your data
Data is now the most valuable resource in the world, beating out oil, according to The Economist. The human brain has much harder experience in understanding data that is complex and has numbers and text encoded in it when comparing it to the visual graphics. Data, when displayed in graphics, is usually easy to grasp and decision making, pattern developing becomes faster. Charts, graphs, maps, dashboards — data visualization can help identify issues and deficits, choosing the best product and business operation strategy, forecasting sales volume and stock prices, fine-tuning project management, and resource administration, and so forth.
Data visualization has come a long way. From simple cave drawings depicting the success of a hunt to the intricate dashboards, we have today connecting to millions of rows of data.
Visualization is ultimately a great way to let your data speak.
Data visualization being very important we need to make sure that we use the correct form of visualization so that the message delivered is loud and correct along with being accurate. Data is only valuable when you know how to visualize it and give it meaning.
HOW TO TELL STORY THROUGH YOUR DATA?
Understand the data before visualizing it. Charts, maps, area maps, histograms, etc. All the forms of graphics can be used but they vary according to the data to be sent to the user. Think about the message that is to be sent to the user. Data that is displayed can be of the following
Distribution: A graph or a chart that is used to show the distribution over time helps in identifying trends.
Composition: These types of charts are used to display change over time in a particular area.
Relationship: connection or relations between the two entities are shown in these types of graphics.
Comparison: The most used way to display datasets that compare items or showing differences.
TYPES OF CHARTS & SELECTING THEM
Line, bar, column & area charts are used to represent the change in time whereas pyramids and pie charts display parts of a whole entity. While scatter plots and treemaps are helpful when there is a lot of data to be shown
1. Line chart
A line chart is a graphical representation of an asset’s historical price action that connects a series of data points with a continuous line. This is the most basic type of chart used in finance and typically only depicts a security’s closing prices over time. Line charts can be used on any timeframe, but most often using day-to-day price changes.
How to use it?
· Labeling axis
· Removing distracting colors.
· Avoid comparing more than 5–6 lines.
2. Area chart
Area Graphs are Line Graphs but with the area below the line filled in with a certain color or texture. Area Graphs are drawn by first plotting data points on a Cartesian coordinate grid, joining a line between the points and finally filling in space below the completed line.
Like Line Graphs, Area Graphs are used to display the development of quantitative values over an interval or period. They are most commonly used to show trends, rather than convey specific values.
How to use it?
· Make it easy to use.
· Avoid more overlapping areas
· Avoid too many comparisons of datasets.
· Give proper context with correct labels and legends.
3. Pie charts
The most useful form of the chart where it shows the division into sectors that each represents a proportion of the whole. Pie charts are a useful way to organize data to see the size of components relative to the whole and are particularly good at showing percentage or proportional data. While pie charts are popular data representations, they can be hard to read, and it can be difficult to compare data from one pie chart to another. Pie charts are a useful way to visualize information that might be presented in a small table. Representing data in percentages and the total sum of segments divided is equal to 100%.
How to use it?
· Make sure segments add up to 100%.
· Keep it clean, clear and consistent.
· Avoid 3d imagery or shearing your pie chart.
4. Bar charts & column charts
These types of charts are used to compare various types of data. The easiest to create and understand. It is a way of summarizing a set of categorical data (continuous data can be made categorical by auto-binning). The bar chart displays data using several bars, each representing a particular category. The height of each bar is proportional to a specific aggregation
How to use it?
· Label the axis.
· Avoid using too many colors again.
· Put the label values on bars
· Provide scale
5. Treemaps
Treemaps show a part of wholes. Displaying hierarchical information as a cluster of rectangles. The size of each rectangle displays the size while color can represent a number. Treemaps allows you to view trends and make comparison quickly
How to use it?
· Start with clear data and clear message.
· Use contrasting colors very important
· Label each category very clearly
6. Tables
Tables display data in rows and columns. They make it easy to compare pairs of related values and display quantitive information.
They can be used at your ease by selecting the proper way to fit your data in your table. The least you can do is to give a proper alignment and colors to format to draw viewers special attention to certain cells.
Overview of different forms of charts is well explained that are mostly used. Pick the right one to give weight to your data.
Suggestions and addons are accepted in the comments below.
