Chapter 1 Paving a Path Toward Visual Communications
Visual communications can alleviate problems related to your complex data deluge, extract key points from your data, and help you create a visual narrative. The sequence of events, influencing factors, and unknown truths are examples of individual data stories that can become clearer with visual communications. Visualizations tell stories with charts to address a variety of needs starting with your own needs to evaluate data, communicate to peers, convince the board, present to clients, or report regulatory compliance. This chapter evaluates the current data state and presents a paved path toward a future with hardware and software advancements that you can use to create your own visual narrative.
Over the years we (a design research team) have partnered to create improved data displays that solve information challenges for our clients. In 2010, for instance, we worked on a risk platform—a proprietary technology software solution—for one of the world’s largest bank holding companies. The platform, focused on structured products, was geared to provide research analysts with standard risk scenarios for fixed income securities.
The most informative feedback we received about the platform came from an analyst named Dave (not his real name), whose job it was to sort through the data to identify the major themes and highlights and publish weekly market perspectives for the firm. As part of his work, Dave reviewed information ...