The Elements of Data Visualization: Which Chart Works Best To Tell Your Data Story?
Understanding which charts are most useful for your message
As a computer science professor with 20+ years of research, data visualization has become an ever-present component of my everyday life.
With so many chart types out there to choose from, it should be possible to effectively solve almost any task, whether it’s exploratory (i.e. researching and analyzing data to better understand it for yourself) or explanatory (i.e. reporting and communicating data to end users).
But even with this much experience, I am still often left with a tough decision to make.
Which chart should I use to tell the best story for this particular set of data?
We all want to be able to provide that data visualization that is not just good — it’s great!
To start with, we need a solid understanding of all the different chart types at our fingertips — then we can make an informed decision on which is the right chart for the story that we are telling.
Let’s take a look!
