DATA
VISUALIZATIONS
TECHNIQUES AND
TOOLS
ASHISH
SENIOR RESEARCH DATA SCIENTIST
ROSEN CENTER OF ADVANCED
COMPUTING
Data is generated
everywhere and everyday
What is data visualization?
The graphical representation of information and data.
It is part art and part science. The challenge is to get the art
right without getting the science wrong, and vice versa.
The goal of data visualization is to communicate data or
information clearly and effectively to readers
The human mind
is very receptive
to visual
information.
How many 3s can you count?
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That's why data 7209125629065098526590482758298568096
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visualization is a 989475092984
powerful tool for
communication.
The human mind
is very receptive
to visual
information.
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7209125629065098526590482758298568096
0986309584390564095878950374509284750
989475092984
That's why data
visualization is a
powerful tool for
communication.
KEY PRINCIPLES
OF EFFECTIVE
DATA
VISUALIZATION
1
Determine the
best visual
2
Balance the design
3
Focus on the key
areas
4
Keep it simple
5
Incorporate interactivity
6
Use patterns
7
Compare aspects
DATA
VISUALIZATION
TOOLS
• Tableau
• Power BI
• Matplotlib
• Plotly
• Bokeh
• Seaborn
DATA
PREPROCESSING
QUANTITATIVE
TYPES DISCRETE
OF CONTINUOUS
DATA
CATEGORICAL
BAR CHART
GUIDE PIE CHART
TO LINE CHART
AREA CHART
CHART SCATTER PLOT
TYPES BUBBLE CHART
HEAT MAP
BAR CHART
Variations of Bar Charts
PA G E V I E W S , BY M O N T H C O N T E N T P U B L I S H E D , BY C AT E G O R Y
Ve r t i c a l
Horizontal
VARIATIONS OF BAR CHARTS
(CONT.)
MONT HLY T R A F F I C , BY S O U R C E P E R C E N TA G E O F C O N T E N T P UBL I S H E D, BY
MONT H
S TA C K E D 100% S TA C K E D
BAR CHART
DESIGN BEST PRACTICES
O R D E R DATA A P P R O P R I AT E LY
U S E H O R I Z O N TA L L A B E L S
S TA R T T H E Y- A X I S VA LU E AT 0
USE CONSISTENT COLORS
S PA C E B A R S A P P R O P R I AT E LY
PIE CHART
VARIATIONS O F P I E
CHARTS
S TA N D A R D DONUT
PIE CHART
DESIGN BEST PRACTICES
V I S UA L I Z E N O M O R E T H A N D O N’ T U S E M U LT I P L E P I E M A K E S U R E A L L DATA
5 C AT E G O R I E S P E R C H A R T C H A R T S F O R C O M PA R I S O N A D D S U P TO 100%
ORDER OPTION 1 OPTION 2
SLICES
C O R R E C T LY
LINE
CHART
LINE CHART
DESIGN BEST PRACTICES
INCLUDE A Z E R O BASE L I NE IF POSSIBLE DON’T PLOT M O R E T H AN 4 L I NES U S E S O L I D L I N E S O N LY
L A B E L T H E L I N E S D I R E C T LY U SE THE RIGHT HEIGHT
AREA CHART
VARIATIONS O F A R E A C H A R T S
AREA CHART 100% S TA C K E D A R E A
S TA C K E D A R E A
AREA CHART
DESIGN BEST PRACTICES
M A K E IT E A S Y T O R E A D S TA R T Y- A X I S VA L U E AT 0 D O N ’ T D I S P L AY M O R E T H A N
4 DATA C AT E G O R I E S
U S E T R A N S PA R E N T C O L O R S D O N ’ T U S E A R E A C H A R T S TO
D I S P L AY D I S C R E T E DATA
SCATTER PLOT
SCATTER PLOT
DESIGN BEST PRACTICES
S TA R T Y- A X I S VA LU E AT 0 I N C L U D E M O R E VA R I A B L E S
USE TREND LINES D O N’ T C O M PA R E M O R E T H A N
2 TREND LINES
BUBBLE CHART
VARIATIONS O F B U B B L E C H A R T S
B U B B L E P LOT
B U B B L E P LOT
BUBBLE CHART
D ES I G N B EST P R AC T I C E S
MAKE S U R E L A B E L S A R E VISIBLE S I Z E B U B B L E S A P P R O P R I AT E LY
D O N’ T U S E O D D S H A P E S
HEAT
MAP
HEAT MAP
DESIGN BEST PRACTICES
USE A SIMPLE MAP OUTLINE S E L E C T C O L O R S A P P R O P R I AT E LY
U S E PAT T E R N S S PA R I N G LY C H O O S E A P P R O P R I AT E DATA R A N G E S
USE COLOR
WISELY
WHAT IS
WRONG
WITH THIS
COLOR
SCALE
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIGHT
PRE-ESTABLISHED
COLOR MEANINGS
Examples of Pre-Established Color Meanings
Red Green Blue
Stop On Cool
Off Plants Safe
Dangerous Carbon Deep
Hot Moving Nitrogen
High stress Money
Oxygen
Shallow
Money loss
USE GOOD CONTRAST, AS THE
HUMAN EYE IS
GOOD AT
IDENTIFYING THE
DIFFERENCE
Color Alone Doesn’t Cut It
Luminance Contrast is Crucial
Use good contrast
.
OTHER • Limit the total number of colors if viewers are
to discern information quickly.
RULES • Be aware that our perception of color
changes with:
• 1) surrounding color
• 2) how close two objects are
• 3) how long you have been staring at the
color
It is not possible to list all the • 4)sudden changes in the color intensity.
useful rules. They come with a
lot of experience!
Beware of
Color Pollution
Just because you have millions of
colors to choose from
INTERACTIVE
VISUALIZATION
WITH BOKEH
BOKEH: DATA
VISUALIZATION LIBRARY
IN PYTHON THAT
PROVIDES INTERACTIVE
CHARTS AND PLOTS.
DATA FEATURES OF BOKEH
FLEXIBILITY
PRODUCTIVITY
INTERACTIVITY
POWERFUL
SHAREABLE
OPEN SOURCE
THANK YOU
Questions
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Questions
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