Data visualization explained in 2 minutes
Insiders call it “dataviz”. The data visualization, you don't need to speak English to understand, it's simply data visualization. Nicely packaged, the dataviz is the interpretation of data in graphical, visual form. But it's not as simple as that, far from it...
Data visualization tools provide a quick way to see and understand information, trends, values and patterns.
In the world of Big Data, data visualization tools and technologies are essential to analyze astronomical amounts of information and especially to make decisions based on data.
What are the benefits of good data visualization?
The human eye is naturally drawn to colors and patterns. We very quickly identify and distinguish red from blue and square from circle. Whether we like it or not, our culture is visual, from art and advertising to television and cinema. The web is no exception to this trend. The information published each day is extremely numerous, some polluting the web while others, even if they are interesting, quickly fall by the wayside.
Data visualization is a form of visual art that captures people's interest and focuses their attention on a message. When we see a chart, we very quickly observe the most important trends and values emerging from it. Data visualization makes it possible to internalize these and to appropriate them. The key word in data visualization is “efficiency”.
The intimate relationship between Big Data and Data Visualization
The era of Big Data is shifting business into high gear. In this fast-paced world, data visualization is an essential tool for understanding trillions of rows of data generated every day. Dataviz helps tell stories by curating data in an easier to understand, more digestible form. Thanks to it, important trends and values are highlighted. Good data visualization helps tell a story. It must suppress ambient noise and highlight useful information.
Data visualization isn't as simple as just dressing up a chart, giving it colors, or making a simple infographic. Effective data visualization should strike a balance between form and function. A simple graphic might be too boring to capture anyone's attention. A visualization that is too complex, on the other hand, can completely fail to convey the right message. She can also say too much. Data and visuals must work together. In other words, data visualization is an art in its own right.
