In this and several of the following tips, we will cover some of the more “exotic” chart types you can use to visualize your data. Today we are starting with a Sankey Diagram. Sankey diagrams are used to depict the flow of data between several categories. This chart type is very good at giving viewers […]
Your data visualizations are based on data (duh!). This data comes from somewhere. When it’s not your data, remember to credit the source. And even when it’s yours a good explanation of where this data comes from and how it was collected goes a long way towards setting the playing field and expectations for the […]
Every month we give away a dataviz book to one of our newsletter subscribers. Last month it was the classic The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte. And the book is on its way to India to Abdul Haseeb from Trading System API. We are continuing the tradition of following a practical […]
In the purest data visualization world, things that detract from the comprehension of the data are often frowned upon. Things like 3D charts, visual effects, and other purely aesthetic enhancements are often considered a no-no. This point of view is perfectly valid and even valuable in a world where you create scientific reports or visualizations […]
In static data visualizations, you have to always look for a compromise between showing the whole picture and not overwhelming the viewer by overloading the chart with too many details. Luckily, with interactivity on the web, you can surface the most important information while still letting the viewer explore the details. Like in this stock […]
When you get your raw data there’s usually a very straightforward way to visualize it “as is.” Instead of looking at the raw data trying to figure out interesting angles just make the simplest chart (from the data perspective) and let what you see guide your further efforts. Every month I create reports about the […]
Sometimes you create charts to tell some specific story or drive a point home. Like in this chart of the stock market performance during 2016 US Presidential election night taken from this CNN article: Other times you just want to give your viewers a great tool to explore the data and make their own conclusions. […]
Consider this chart from Reuters: Without thinking and analyzing it too much what do you perceive happened to the gun violence after 2005? Did it go up or down? If you look close enough and think about it you’ll realize that the number of murders went up, but most likely it’s not what your initial […]
Every month we give away a dataviz book to one of our newsletter subscribers. Last month it was “Data Visualisation” by Andy Kirk. And it’s traveling to Falk Pietsch from Germany. Congrats, Falk! This month we are giving away a data visualization classic – The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte. Just make […]
Donut charts are not that different from Pie charts, except for that hole in the center (hence the name). That hole changes the aesthetics of the chart which you may or may not like, but it can also be used for practical purposes. You can display a total value in the center or use it […]