Best Practices for Crafting Data Presentations That Aren't Boring
In the realm of data analysis, clarity, accuracy, and ease of understanding are paramount. Stephen Few, a renowned expert in data visualization, offers a comprehensive approach to creating effective data representations that cater to these principles.
Few's guidelines emphasise simplicity and clarity, advocating for the removal of unnecessary decoration to keep visualizations straightforward and purposeful. He encourages the use of intuitive visualizations, suggesting chart types and forms that are easily understood by the intended audience.
Effective use of colour is another key aspect of Few's approach. He advises applying colour sparingly and strategically to highlight important information and differentiate categories, while also advocating for accessible colour palettes that cater to colour-blind viewers.
Clear labelling and annotation are also essential, according to Few. Concise and descriptive labels, legends, and annotations ensure viewers can accurately interpret the data without confusion.
Furthermore, Few insists that visual elements should be designed to facilitate easy comparisons between data points, avoiding distortions or misleading representations.
A simple graph, often found in Excel's 3-D bar chart, can sometimes be hard to read and understand. Few's approach promotes data graphics that are not only visually engaging but also precise and easy to interpret, thereby supporting sound analysis and decision-making.
An example of Few's guidelines can be seen in a table displaying the number of children in an imaginary school, grouped by age. This table, free of scales like '000s' that could potentially distort the picture, allows for easy comparison of age groups and calculating each group's percentage of the total number of children.
The most children are in the 8-9 age group, with the fewest in the 9-10 age group, providing a ranked order of age groups based on the number of children. This table, one of the data representations suggested by Few, is a standalone visualization that communicates its message without requiring additional context.
Naomi Robbins, author of "Creating More Effective Graphs," has commented on Few's text "Data Visualization for Human Perception." Robbins discussed the issue of misleading data representations, highlighting Few's approach as a valuable resource for creating accurate and meaningful visualizations.
Stephen Few is the owner of Perceptual Edge, a website dedicated to exploring the principles of effective data visualization. His guidelines, focusing on design choices, colour use, and labelling, aim to enable viewers to quickly grasp the key messages and support informed decision-making.
[1] Few, Stephen (2015). "Data Visualization for Human Perception." O'Reilly Media. [2] Robbins, Naomi (2017). "Creating More Effective Graphs." Wiley. [4] Few, Stephen (2018). "Perceptual Edge." Retrieved from https://www.perceptualedge.com/ [Image credit: Information Is Beautiful]
Technology, such as data-and-cloud-computing, plays a crucial role in the field of data analysis by facilitating the storage, processing, and visualization of vast amounts of data. Stephen Few's approach to creating effective data representations emphasizes the use of technology, as he advocates for intuitive visualizations, clear labelling, and accessible color palettes, all of which are enabled by modern data visualization tools and techniques.
