Data visualization
Data Visualization:
Data visualization is a graphical representation of quantitative information and data by using visual elements like graphs, charts, and maps.
Data visualization convert large and small data sets into visuals, which is easy to understand and process for humans.
Data visualization tools provide accessible ways to understand outliers, patterns, and trends in the data.
In the world of Big Data, the data visualization tools and technologies are required to analyze vast amounts of information.
Data visualizations are common in your everyday life, but they always appear in the form of graphs and charts. The combination of multiple visualizations and bits of information are still referred to as Infographics.
Data visualizations are used to discover unknown facts and trends. You can see visualizations in the form of line charts to display change over time. Bar and column charts are useful for observing relationships and making comparisons. A pie chart is a great way to show parts-of-a-whole. And maps are the best way to share geographical data visually.
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Today’s data visualization tools go beyond the charts and graphs used in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, which displays the data in more sophisticated ways such as dials and gauges, geographic maps, heat maps, pie chart, and fever chart.
Data Visualization Effective:
Effective data visualization are created by communication, data science, and design collide. Data visualizations did right key insights into complicated data sets into meaningful and natural.
American statistician and Yale professor Edward Tufte believe useful data visualizations consist of ?complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision, and efficiency.
To craft an effective data visualization, you need to start with clean data that is well-sourced and complete. After the data is ready to visualize, you need to pick the right chart.
After you have decided the chart type, you need to design and customize your visualization to your liking. Simplicity is essential — you don’t want to add any elements that distract from the data.
History of Data Visualization
The concept of using picture was launched in the 17th century to understand the data from the maps and graphs, and then in the early 1800s, it was reinvented to the pie chart.
Several decades later, one of the most advanced examples of statistical graphics occurred when Charles Minard mapped Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. The map represents the size of the army and the path of Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow — and that information tied to temperature and time scales for a more in-depth understanding of the event.
Computers made it possible to process a large amount of data at lightning-fast speeds. Nowadays, data visualization becomes a fast-evolving blend of art and science that certain to change the corporate landscape over the next few years.
Importance of Data Visualization
Data visualization is important because of the processing of information in human brains. Using graphs and charts to visualize a large amount of the complex data sets is more comfortable in comparison to studying the spreadsheet and reports.
Data visualization is an easy and quick way to convey concepts universally. You can experiment with a different outline by making a slight adjustment.
Data visualization have some more specialties such as:
Data visualization can identify areas that need improvement or modifications.
Data visualization can clarify which factor influence customer behavior.
Data visualization helps you to understand which products to place where.
Data visualization can predict sales volumes.
Data visualization tools have been necessary for democratizing data, analytics, and making data-driven perception available to workers throughout an organization. They are easy to operate in comparison to earlier versions of BI software or traditional statistical analysis software. This guide to a rise in lines of business implementing data visualization tools on their own, without support from IT.
Why Use Data Visualization?
1. To make easier in understand and remember.
2. To discover unknown facts, outliers, and trends.
3. To visualize relationships and patterns quickly.
4. To ask a better question and make better decisions.
5. To competitive analyze.
6. To improve insights.
Data Visualization Tools :
There are tools which help you to visualize all your data in a few minutes. They are already there; only you need to do is to pick the right data visualization tool as per your requirements.
Data visualization allows you to interact with data. Google, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter all ask better a better question of their data and make a better business decision by using data visualization.
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Here are the top 10 data visualization tools that help you to visualize the data:
1. Tableau
Tableau is a data visualization tool. You can create graphs, charts, maps, and many other graphics.
A tableau desktop app is available for visual analytics. If you don’t want to install tableau software on your desktop, then a server solution allows you to visualize your reports online and on mobile.
A cloud-hosted service also is an option for those who want the server solution but don’t want to set up manually. The customers of Tableau include Barclays, Pandora, and Citrix.
2. Infogram
Infogram is also a data visualization tool. It has some simple steps to process that:
1. First, you choose among many templates, personalize them with additional visualizations like maps, charts, videos, and images.
2. Then you are ready to share your visualization.
3. Infogram supports team accounts for journalists and media publishers, branded designs of classroom accounts for educational projects, companies, and enterprises.
An infogram is a representation of information in a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable in a view. Infogram is used to quickly communicate a message, to simplify the presentation of large amounts of the dataset, to see data patterns and relationships, and to monitor changes in variables over time.
Infogram abounds in almost any public environment such as traffic signs, subway maps, tag clouds, musical scores, and weather charts, among a huge number of possibilities.
3. Chartblocks
Chartblocks is an easy way to use online tool which required no coding and builds visualization from databases, spreadsheets, and live feeds.
Your chart is created under the hood in html5 by using the powerful JavaScript library D3.js. Your visualizations is responsive and compatible with any screen size and device. Also, you will be able to embed your charts on any web page, and you can share it on Facebook and Twitter.
4. Datawrapper
Datawrapper is an aimed squarely at publisher and journalist. The Washington Post, VOX, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, The Wall Street Journal and Twitter adopts it.
Datawrapper is easy visualization tool, and it requires zero codings. You can upload your data and easily create and publish a map or a chart. The custom layouts to integrate your visualizations perfectly on your site and access to local area maps are also available.
5. Plotly
Plotly will help you to create a slick and sharp chart in just a few minutes or in a very short time. It also starts from a simple spreadsheet.
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The guys use Plotly at Google and also by the US Air Force, Goji and The New York University.
Plotly is very user-friendly visualization tool which is quickly started within a few minutes. If you are a part of a team of developers that wants to have a crack, an API is available for JavaScript and Python languages.
6. RAW
RAW creates the missing link between spreadsheets and vector graphics on its home page.
Your Data can come from Google Docs, Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, or a simple comma-separated list.
Here the kicker is that you can export your visualization easily and have a designer to make it look sharp. RAW is compatible with Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator, and Sketch. RAW is very easy to use and get quick results.
7. Visual.ly
Visual.ly is a visual content service. It has a dedicated data visualization service and their impressive portfolio that includes work for Nike, VISA, Twitter, Ford, The Huffington post, and the national geographic.
By a streamlined online process, you can find entire outsource your visualizations to a third-party where you describe your project and connected with a creative team that will stay with you for the entire duration of the project.
Visual.ly sends you an email notification for all the event you are hitting, and also it will give you constant feedback to your creative team. Visual.ly offer their distribution network for showcasing your project after it’s completed.
8. D3.js
D3.js is a best data visualization library for manipulating documents. D3.js runs on JavaScript, and it uses CSS, html, and SVG. D3.js is an open-source and applies a data-driven transformation to a webpage. It’s only applied when data is in JSON and XML file.
D3.js emphasis on web standards gives you the full capabilities of modern browsers without tying yourself to a single framework and combining powerful visualization components.
D3.js is as powerful as it is a cutting-edge library, so it comes with no pre-built charts and only IE9+ supports this library.
9. Ember Charts
Ember charts are based on the ember.js and D3.js framework, and it uses the D3.js under the hood. It also applied when the data is in JSON and XML file.
It includes a bar, time series, pie, and scatter charts which are easy to extend and modify. These chart components represent our thoughts on best practices in chart presentation and interactivity.
The team behind Ember Charts is also the same that created Ember.js. It puts a lot of focus on best practices and interactivity. Error handling is very graceful, and your app will not crash after finding irrelevant data or corrupt data.
10. NVD3
NVD3 is a project that attempts to build reusable charts and components. This project is to keeps all your charts neat and customizable.
NDV3 is a simpler interface on the top of the D3.js and keeps all of its powerful features under the hood.
The front end engineers develop NDV3, and they use their insight into charting technology. This charting technology is used to provide powerful analytics to clients in the financial industry.
Benefits of Data Visualization Tools
1. Effective Data Visualization is the key to unlock Big Data. It can solve any data inefficiencies and easily and instantly absorb vast amounts of data presented in visual formats.
2. By enabling users to understand data rapidly, visualization can quickly increase the speed of decision making as well. Any business must make fast decisions and not get bogged down by inefficiencies. Timely actions result in averting any losses and benefit from any market condition.
3. A big reveal for any differences in the trends and patterns is vital for any business’s survival. It is critical to know what is causing increased losses or what is required to maximize gains.
4. Visualization helps identify errors and inaccuracies in data quickly.
5. Companies can utilize visualization to access real-time information and assist in management functions in a significant manner. Decision-makers can benefit from on-demand data and use visualization to increase the effectiveness of operations and improve productivity.
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6. It promotes storytelling in the most compelling way. Visuals are used in the most meaningful way to convey the right message to the audience.
7. Data visualization assists in exploring business insights to achieve business goals in the right direction. It helps to correlate the data from the visual representations or graphical representations. It allows for fast analysis and instantly digests critical metrics.
8. It enables enterprises to stay on top of their game by discovering the latest trends through data visualization tools.
9. Without data visualization, businesses would have to spend tons of their time customizing reports and modifying dashboards, replying to ad hoc requests, etc. The benefits of Data visualization tools optimize and instantly retrieve data via tailor-made reports, which significantly cuts down on employee time.