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2/26/13 5:51 PM
2/26/13 5:51 PM
tools can convert XLS to XML or timestamps to other date formats, but nothing can automagically map one companys internal sales categories to those of its competitors, or deal reliably with data entry typos, incompatible character encodings, or (shudder) poor OCR.
http://www.netmagazine.com/features/seven-dirty-secrets-data-visualisation
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Compared to bar charts, bubble charts support more data points in less space, doughnut charts clearly indicate part-whole relationships, and treemaps support hierarchical categories - but none match simple bars for fine-grained comparison One of the first questions to ask when considering a potential visualisation design is Why is this better than a bar chart? If youre visualising a single quantitative measure over a single categorical dimension, there is rarely a better option. Likewise, time-based data is usually best displayed on a line chart, and scatterplots are often best for exploring correlations between two linear measures. At the risk of sounding regressive, there are good reasons these charts have been in continuous use since the 18th century. Bar charts are one of the best tools available for facilitating visual comparisons, leveraging our innate ability to precisely compare side-by-side lengths.
http://www.netmagazine.com/features/seven-dirty-secrets-data-visualisation
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The corollary to bar chart superiority, and perhaps the dirtiest secret in this article, is that the coolest-looking visualisations are often the least useful. The novelty and aesthetic appeal of custom visualisations comes at a cost: the clarity of the data. Most bar chart alternatives ask the viewer to compare differences we have a harder time discerning: areas, angles, hues, or opacities. At best, such visualisations make comparison difficult; at worst, they distort the data entirely, leading viewers to false conclusions.
2/26/13 5:51 PM
Laying out labels horizontally can quickly lead to crowding and illegible text (top). Rotating labels 90 degrees improves legibility, but takes away significant space from the visualisation. Finding a truncated or abbreviated label format is one approach, but won't work for every data set
http://www.netmagazine.com/features/seven-dirty-secrets-data-visualisation Page 5 of 8
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Designing the labels, legends and axes for your visualisation is often an afterthought to the initial visualisation. But these elements are crucially important to the visualisation, and can be difficult and time-consuming to get right, especially when you cant predict the data ahead of time. When laying out your visualisation, leave significant rendering space for any additional marks you may need, often including relatively wide margins around the graphical part of your visualisation. Axis labels should be spaced such that they do not occlude each other and are easily readable. Use rotate or reposition labels if necessary for legibility. If a particular area is overcrowded with labels, but you need them for clarity, consider moving the labels farther from the elements they reference and connect them with an indicating line. Another technique is to group crowded labels together in a single tooltiplike group. Consider the space youve allowed and the length of the longer labels. If the labels wont fit you might need to shorten them with ellipses, or simply truncate the text at a fixed length. Similarly, legends require advance planning to render well. One easy option is to reserve some space for the legend to one side of the graphic. Unfortunately, this means that youll need to reduce the size of the graphical portion of your visualisation. In order to preserve some space you may be able to place the legend in an empty part of the graphic, or make the legend draggable so the viewer can access any graphics underneath.
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As a visualisation author, its often tempting to add animations into your final product. Animations are a powerful way of connecting data to changes in state and trends. However, animations can also lead to confusing or misleading interpretations of your data. You should carefully plan for how it will affect your entire output and not simply add it at the end of your work. Animations work best when they can reveal data relationships showing how data groups together between different states, how the data changes over time, or how data points are directly related. In general, make your animations simple, predictable and re-playable. Allow users to view the animation multiple times so they can track where objects start and end. Avoid occluding objects in a transition with other objects, which makes tracking more difficult and do not transition objects along unpredictable paths. With complex animations, research suggests that viewers comprehension improves when the animation is broken into simple 'staged' transitions. A stage pauses the animation with the objects in a transitioning state and provides the viewer a moment to reflect on the state of each object.
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http://www.netmagazine.com/features/seven-dirty-secrets-data-visualisation
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