7 Data Visualization Tips and Tricks

Don’t panic, our Smart Slides can help inform your decision. Brad Touesnard of SpinupWP says, ”If you want to compare values, the best format is to use column charts which allow side-by-side comparisons of different values. Column charts are useful for data, such as website views and sessions, that don’t change much on a day-to-day basis. If you want to analyze a trend, line charts can illustrate how values in one or more categories change over the same period of time.

Not only does this give non-designers the tools they need to get started, it also helps presenters structure their data in new and interesting ways. Charts and infographics are the essence of data visualization. They take your most meaningful data sets and display them in more digestible ways. However, if you don’t use the right charts, it can have the opposite effect and make your data even more confusing. Understanding your data means understanding which charts will help drive your point home.

Sample Models for Data Visualization

For example, if you have complex data that belongs to a series of processes, a flowchart would be the best data visualization tool. For each process series, a flowchart will show the individual elements that make up that series. You can check some amazing flow chart types here to better understand how flowcharts work. Data visualization is one of the most important and effective mediums of communication in business today.

• You can also follow our tips to source that data correctly in your content.
• The movements and speed of animated characters can help rein your readers’ focus back in.
• Therefore, a presenter just cannot afford to ignore even the smallest aspect of a PPT like figures or data.
• Now, by reducing and increasing the size of each arc proportionately to data a little arty twist can be given to make it more impactful.
• In fact, the average dashboard, according to our experts, contains 3-5 charts or graphs.

For example, the above chart on endangered species in Africa tells us at a quick glance what animals are endangered and how vulnerable they are. And, honestly, it’s just perfectly fine if the results are not groundbreaking. Consistency and replication in science are very important. If the result is that the water is squeaky clean, then that is just awesome. If the result is that the water is not safe for swimming, well that is important to report and perhaps drive some action. Utilizing digital tools such as blogs, website pages, social media platforms, etc are great ways to get your message out there.

In these cases, your credibility may be on the line, and nobody wants that. Yes, data visualization techniques are worth learning about if you are interested in a career in the field of statistics, like a data visualization engineer or data analyst. Apply your new data visualization methods to open source data sets. Make a climate change visualization using a violin plot, bar plot, or histogram plot. Learn what kinds of data work best with each kind of plot.

Strategically use size to visualize values

You might also use Beautiful.ai’s Elements for special annotations. You can add additional icons, arrows, or text to call out important pieces of information to craft your message in a more meaningful way. Data guru and owner of BEAST Analytics says, “Data visualization helps to bridge the gap between numbers and words.” Harness the power of AI and transform your spreadsheets into powerful and intelligent databases with the help of Polymer Search. Polymer helps you analyze your data deeper than ever before, and allows you to easily manipulate and express your data according to your needs.

Just keep in mind that each platform might have a different audience, and therefore a different narrative! Another good way to communicate information is through a press release or discussion with a local reporter. Getting your data published in the media is a quick way to reach large audiences. Data is about numbers, https://globalcloudteam.com/ certainly, but it is generally used in conjunction with copy to help provide context for the point at hand. That said, in many data visualizations, infographics, and e-books, we see data visualization and copy working against each other instead of together. To start, let’s cover a few general things to keep in mind.

We recommend looking at a variety of charts and graphs to really get a good sense of the information and trends. Since the concept is all about breaking complex data into easy-to-understand visuals, you can expect to find formats like infographics, flowcharts, pictographs, etc. Of course, the format taken will depend on the nature of the data set in question.

And when you’re done, they can also help you share your end product with your clients, colleagues, or target audience. To put it simply, anyone that makes important deductions or that likes to share insightful findings with an audience needs a data visualization approach. Without data visualization, it would be extremely hard for those on the receiving end of information to make sense of data sets. Size can help emphasize poignant information and add contextual clues. In the previous visualization, the endangered animal shapes mimic how large an animal is in relation to others.

Data Visualization Tips For More Effective And Engaging Design

Now, by bringing little arty effects a presenter can make them more likeable. Every business house undertakes studies to analyze market trends and demand graphs. Here visuals of measuring scales can prove handy to lay emphasis on different findings or values of a survey. Data presented using measuring scale supports audience to make a quick and precise assessment. To help you out, here are 10 data visualization techniques or tricks to make your PowerPoint stand out. Most people aren’t professional scientists and don’t directly experience water quality impairment or ecological disruption in a manner that is readily apparent.

Then you present this data in a nice and neat infographics table. Looking at this data visualization table, your audience may not understand the implication of the content. However, when you relate some of the findings to a condition like tooth decay, readers will quickly understand the data set’s relevance. If you don’t know where to start, you can dip your toes in by perusing our inspiration gallery of pre-built presentation and slide templates curated by expert designers. This allows you to explore some of the different use cases for each of the different types of charts and graphs, and get inspired to create your own. If you see something you like, you can customize it with your own content and then toggle between different layouts to see which format fits best.

Color psychology should also be implemented into your data visualization methods whenever possible. By using basic color psychology, you can easily highlight important values, help contextualize data, and even express if different values are desired or not. As always, keeping the design clean and minimal is usually ideal for pie charts. Help your audience understand your chart better by showing fewer, similarly-sized segments, and by keeping your chart as a perfect circle instead of tilting or distorting it. The bar chart expresses values with horizontal or vertical bars on x and y axes.

Bullet charts show progress against a goal by comparing measures and were designed to replace dashboard gauges, meters, and thermometers. Finally, ensure you also stay engaged with the help of AI-based tools like Polymer, and its proactive AI insights and suggestions to help you keep data fatigue at bay. These graphs are useful when presenting a lot of data, since it allows the user to focus on each data point and immediately contextualize it. And you don’t always have to rely on yourself to find the right insights.

Data Visualization Tips and Tricks

Even skipping data or figures calculatedly is not going to serve the purpose. In fact, such a strategy may backfire and perhaps will do more harm than benefit. SlideGeeks added 329 new products (e.g. Completely Researched Decks, Documents, Slide Bundles, etc), which included 1316 slides in total in the past 24 hours. SlideGeeks added 159 new products (e.g. Completely Researched Decks, Documents, Slide Bundles, etc), which included 636 slides in total in the past 24 hours.

Data Visualization Tips and Tricks is a series of standalone lessons on how to do data viz the right way, every time. Learn how to choose the right visualization for your data, and answer the 5 key questions you should ask yourself at the beginning of every project. Matt also teaches you how to understand what others are doing with their own visualizations, ask informed questions, and look with a critical eye at the work of others. Data visualization is the process of creating graphical representations of information, making it easier to understand and draw conclusions from. Common data visualization techniques include pie charts, bar charts, and scatter plots.

Succeed now with the tools you need to make data actionable.

In this blog post, we’ll look at some data visualization principles that make your charting procedures more easily understood. For a more in-depth view, you can also check out our “Principles of Data Visualization — What We See in a Visual” whitepaper. Craft a strong story.The true power of data storytelling relies on your ability to extract and shape a cohesive narrative. Start with this step-by-step guideto find stories in your dataandcraft an effective data narrative. You can also download our free e-book, The Content Marketer’s Guide to Data Storytelling, for more tips on bringing your data to life. 12) Use a single color to represent the same type of data.

Bar Charts

When building in interactivity, make sure viewers know that they can engage with it – perhaps offering subtle instructions for them. Limit the number of views in your visualisation to three or four. If you add too many, the big picture gets lost in the details. Maps are a no-brainer for visualising location-specific questions or aiding geographical exploration.

Remember to intuitively code color intensity according to values as well. Although a line chart does not have to start at a zero baseline, it should be included if it gives more context for comparison. If relatively small fluctuations in data are meaningful (e.g., in stock market data), you may truncate the scale to showcase these variances. There may be more than one way to visualize the data accurately.

Design for a mobile experience

Data visualization allows you to express data to your teams in intuitive and contextualized ways. When done right, data visualization can instantly express even large and complex amounts of data to its audience. In fact, the average dashboard, according what is big data visualization to our experts, contains 3-5 charts or graphs. When you use multiple charts in a dashboard, it is important to mix up the format. To learn about data visualisation best practices, read 10 best practices for building effective dashboards.

Outside of those scenarios, if you’re finding yourself writing down a paragraph or text, that’s probably a hint towards you using a chart or graph instead. Use your text only to express the most basic parts of your charts that can’t be expressed any other way, like when labeling values or explaining discrepancies. It can be hard to keep your audience engaged, especially when showcasing large datasets to users who aren’t too familiar with it. Keeping track of data and how it changes can quickly overwhelm users if they need to put effort into deciphering each visual. Scatter plots place a variable along both vertical and horizontal axis, and use dots to represent each value. This is useful when showing the relationship between variables and identifying trends.

Of course, if you really want to stay on top of your game, make sure you’re up-to-date on best practices for data storytelling at every stage of the process. Some colors stand out more than others, giving unnecessary weight to that data. Instead, use a single color with varying shade or a spectrum between two analogous colors to show intensity.