Making Data Visual

Chapter 9. Conclusions

Data visualization is a powerful way to make sense of the world, to share ideas with other people, and to help us understand what hidden meanings lie in our data. The skill of visualization is in finding ways to figure out what questions can be asked of the dataset, and what visual mappings will support answering those questions.

Creating effective visualizations is a process that entails working closely with a variety of stakeholders. It means gaining an understanding of where the data comes from and how it works, from the people who own or create it. It means learning what is being done with the data now, and what decisions are going to be made with it, from the people who are making those decisions. It means getting to know how users ultimately mean to interpret the data.

Creating effective visualizations also requires mapping questions to data, and data to visualizations. These mappings develop through many iterations of sketches and data-driven prototypes that let analysts see, as quickly as possible, what their data means and how they can interpret it. Sometimes the result is an interactive system of complex multiple linked views, and sometimes it requires just loading the data into an off-the-shelf tool.

Experiencing moments when meaning emerges from data can be incredibly exciting. These moments—when clients furrow their brows and say, “That’s odd, I need to know more about that”—are what drive our work.

We hope this book will drive your excitement, ...