Communicating Data with Tableau

Chapter 1. Communicating Data

“As the cathedral is to its foundation so is an effective presentation of facts to the data.”

—Willard Cope Brinton

There’s something breathtaking about witnessing data communicated well—it’s a lot like encountering an architectural wonder. Think of the first time you saw the video of Hans Rosling interacting with global development data on stage, or when you first viewed a well-designed New York Times visualization online. When data is communicated well, it’s easy to appreciate both the data itself and the delivery of that data at the same time. Those two elements can be fashioned together into an overall experience that makes you feel that you understand the world better, and that you want to do something with your newfound understanding.

On the other hand, think of a time when you suffered through a presentation at work that included poorly designed charts and graphs containing extraneous information, or all those infographics you wish you never laid eyes on that skewed the figures horribly and left you feeling dumber. Either the foundation was hopelessly cracked or the building itself was inexcusably shabby, or both. Not every building is a cathedral.

What’s the difference between these two types of experiences? It’s a question of whether those who designed and delivered the message were adept at communicating data.

This is a book about just that. Communicating data is simply a special case of communicating in general (more about that in a minute)—one ...