Information Visualization For Easier Analysis
Many of us experience an overflow of information on a regular basis. We may be said to live in the “information age,” where facts and data seem to fly at us from left and right. There may be a lot of information we use to make decisions and understand the world around us, but how does our mind process it? How can we learn to prioritize the things that matter to us the most? One way to achieve this goal may be through a process known as information visualization, which can be defined as presenting information in a visual way, such as with a graph or drawing. Information visualization can help you break down large tasks and ideas into smaller ones, track your progress toward goals, and more. A licensed therapist may help you incorporate information visualization into your life in a way that works for you.
What is information visualization?
Information visualization generally refers to the practice of using visual means, like charts, tables, and drawings, to showcase information in a way that can be easy to understand and manipulate.
Charts, diagrams, and other visualizations make data analysis easier
You may be familiar with information visualization techniques at school or in the workplace. Creating spreadsheets, tables, graphs, and other visual tools to interpret abstract or numerical information may be something we do often. This technique makes large amounts of information into a format that is much easier to understand and analyze.
Application to daily life
Applying this idea to daily life can be a little less straightforward, though. There can be lots of ways to take advantage of information visualization. You might create a mood or inspiration board, chart your progress toward goals, or draw out a representation of your emotions. How you use visualization can be up to you.
How information visualization can be used
Information visualization can be useful in many parts of our lives, especially when it comes to communicating something that seems to be impossible to explain through words alone.
Information visualization conveys emotions
For instance, if someone wants to present information, be it a journalist, your boss, or someone giving a speech, trying to communicate everything through words alone can be tricky, if not impossible. Conveying the emotions felt by bystanders who have witnessed a major event in words, for instance, may be far less impactful on an audience than showing images or video footage of the event in question.
Information visualizations present findings, analysis, or data more effectively
Visualization can help people present their data or findings more effectively as well. If someone has written an article about how a city has crumbling infrastructure, a map may be useful to show the magnitude of the problem. Maps, in general, can serve as a great example of information visualization. Verbal instructions regarding how to get somewhere might be confusing or subject to error, but seeing the route to a location on a map may make more sense.
Charts, diagrams, and interactive visualization can help draw comparisons
Information visualization allows easy comparison and makes the detection of similarities and differences faster. Charts, diagrams, line graphs, and interactive visualizations are often used to compare data points in many fields.
Information graphics make content design for digital marketing
Writing large amounts of figures and facts in a company’s content may not be attractive to potential customers. Information graphics organize these facts into a visual format that is more pleasing and easier to understand, thus making the products more visible online.
How you can take advantage of information visualization
Whether it be on the job or in your personal life, learning how to use visual tools to make sense of information can be an effort worth pursuing. Many people find that seeing something visually, rather than just reading it, helps them better process and understand its meaning.
Practices like these can take a subject that seems overly complicated and break it down into more manageable pieces.
Seeking professional help
Techniques like information visualization can help you take charge of different things in life, but doing so isn’t always easy, nor may it always be something you feel equipped to do on your own. Speaking to a licensed mental health professional like a therapist may help you discover how to take advantage of this method and others to organize, plan, and reflect on the things you care about most.
Online therapy
A convenient way to receive support and advice may be through online therapy. Because you can meet with a provider at a time and from a location that makes sense for your schedule, online therapy can make it simple to incorporate time dedicated to this goal into your routine.
Although more research may be needed regarding the efficacy of online therapy for information visualization skills, a large body of evidence supports the idea that online therapy is typically just as effective as in-office therapy. Therapy can be an excellent way to improve various skills and address any mental health-related concerns you may be experiencing.
Takeaway
What are the challenges of information visualization?
While information visualization can be helpful in many situations, it is not without its challenges. Any visualization you or anyone else creates may be subject to human error. For example, if you’re sketching your living room to figure out how to rearrange your furniture, you may not accurately account for the dimensions of the room and the couch dimensions, so things might not fit in real life the way they do on paper.
Some visualizations may take a large amount of information and compress it down into an easy-to-understand visual tool, like a chart or graph. Because there is so much information, you can run the risk of oversimplifying, leaving out core pieces of information because you’re more focused on the visual aspect. Doing so can have significant effects on decision-making, leaving datasets designed to help people make decisions lacking critical information.
Under what circumstances is information visualization not useful?
Information visualization may not be useful if you’re dealing with a large amount of information, and simplifying it into a drawing, chart, or other visual tool risks losing some details. It may also have limited use for qualitative research as it is generally more quantitative.
Despite its potential drawbacks, data visualization can effectively translate knowledge and help people carry out analysis and make decisions. When you do need to visualize data, consider experimenting with different methods and the number of values you choose to display.
What makes an information visualization successful?
This technique can be helpful when you’re trying to communicate something, but words aren’t quite enough. For example, if you’re putting together a presentation about things to do in a city, a map showing where everything is can make the information easier to access and understand. When intuitively designed, successful data visualization can prompt the discovery of new information.
What information is necessary before designing visualization?
Before designing a visualization, knowing exactly what information you have and how you want to display it can be helpful. For example, should you make a chart, graph, video, or diagram? Which would serve the information better? How would each affect the visual perception of the data?
Another thing you can consider is your goal in presenting the information. Are you trying to educate someone else or a group of people? Or are you trying to process data for yourself to help you make a decision? What you’re trying to accomplish can make a big difference in how you design a visualization.
What makes the information visualization inefficient or ineffective at communicating the data?
How you present data can play a big part in how effective the visualization is. Would information visualization examples like pie graphs or bar graphs make the information harder to understand? Maybe a line graph would have been a better option because line graphs may show relevant connections more clearly. Effective visualizations will present the data so that it’s easy to understand, so you can get across the point you’re trying to make or look at the data and come to a reasonable conclusion.
Overall, the graphic design you use to present data should be optimally used to make information clear and easy to understand. Furthermore, you should avoid adding too many variables and excess information to a single graphic, which can reduce the impact of your work. These are some of the key aspects of visualization design principles.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when creating data visualizations?
Some mistakes that can affect the quality of data visualizations may include not presenting the information clearly and concisely, using the wrong type of visualization to present the data set, creating visuals that are too cluttered or difficult to understand, and distorting the data you’re presenting.
Some tips to remember when creating statistical graphics include:
- Note that color contrast impacts human perception, and proper color choices can make information easily understandable allowing users to identify the key information
- Avoid overloading your computer graphics with excess information, using multiple graphics to communicate key takeaways instead
- Provide proper context for your data, such as descriptive text, labels, titles, and units
- Use the right type of scientific visualization for your data, remembering that each has different features and trade-offs
You can practice spotting good vs deceptive data visualization by evaluating the visualizations used in news stories. The big data available today can allow people to find almost any data to support their claims, even if they don’t have malicious intent. Look for misleading color choices, proportions, and displays that make data interpretations look more meaningful than they actually are.
Why do we need interaction in information visualization systems?
Interaction in information visualization systems is something used in the academic fields of visualization and computer science to explain human computer interaction with the data being presented to the target user group.
How do you create effective information visualizations that convey your message clearly?
One of the first things you can do is ensure you have all the abstract data and know what you’re trying to get across. You can then use exploratory data analysis to get a sense of the patterns revealed by your data.
Once you know what message you want to convey and what information you have, you can determine what type of visualization is best for organizing the information and representing data relevant to your message.
How does data visualization make information easier to understand?
Information visualizations can make complex data easier to understand because they present it in a visual way, which can make it easier to see connections between the information being presented and how everything relates so they can come up with actionable insights. Some people may be visual learners and grasp information more easily in visual form.
The visualization methods used matter, as certain graphical displays can be more intuitive and revealing for different data. Here are a few types of data visualization you may want to use:
- Bar charts: Bar charts help you compare values across one or more variables
- Heat maps: These visual analytics are used to show data density across an area
- Pie charts: Use pie charts to help people quickly understand portions of whole datasets
- Box plots: Box plots are used to visualize quantitative information (i.e. not categorical data) in such a way that allows visual assessment of data distribution
- Scatter plots: These plots provide a visual display of the relationship between two variables (which are labeled on the horizontal and vertical axis)
- Treemaps: The main purpose of treemaps is to present hierarchical data in a nested format
- Periodic table: Using the periodic table as inspiration for visualization is generally not recommended, as it tends to be confusing and unnecessary
- Sankey diagram: This type of visualization tool summarizes flows within a network
Learning to create statistical graphics that showcase important information in a way that’s both compelling and aesthetically appealing is a valuable skillset.
Why does data visualization matter, and how does it influence decision-making?
Information visualization tools can make information easier to understand. When you can make raw data easier to understand using visual elements, you may be able to make more informed decisions.
Developing strong data visualization skills can help you tell a story in a visually-appealing way. Many recommend learning this skill to increase your business intelligence and make your case more compelling.
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