Advanced visualizations

Data Visualization in Tableau

Maarten Van den Broeck

Content Developer, DataCamp

The principles of an infographic

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Well-designed - colorful - useful

  • Easy to follow flow and design
  • Minimum text, maximum readability
  • Accent on key data points and elements
  • Coherent use of color and scales

Example of a clear infographic

1 David McCandless, https://informationisbeautiful.net/2009/if-twitter-was-100-people/
Data Visualization in Tableau

Meet our new charts

Minature examples of four charts, waffle chart, DNA chart, Sparklines and Sankey

Data Visualization in Tableau

Waffle chart

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  • N on N matrix (10 x 10, 100 x 100...)
  • Visualizing part of the total
  • A good alternative for:
    • Stacked bar charts
    • Pie/donut charts
  • Can be turned into a pictogram

Example of a waffle chart

Data Visualization in Tableau

DNA (dumbbell) chart

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  • Excellent for visualizing ranges and measuring the gap
  • Requires:
    • Clear axis or data points labeling
    • X-axis synchronization
  • A good alternative for:
    • Comparison charts (e.g. bar charts)
    • Distribution charts (e.g. box plots)

Example of a DNA chart

Data Visualization in Tableau

Sparklines

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  • Tiny, accompanying charts explaining high-level trend
  • Typically, line or bar charts with time-series
  • Minimalistic design, focus on key data points e.g., minimum or maximum
  • Not ideal for precision and exact values
  • A good idea for a tooltip chart

Example of sparklines

Data Visualization in Tableau

Sankey Diagram

  • Flow of one set of values to another
  • Many-to-many mapping on two (or more) categorical dimensions
  • Nodes (in the "wings") and links (center)
  • A good alternative for:
    • Bar charts
    • Pie charts
  • Draw attention to the largest links
  • Complex to build, not suited for precision chart reading

Example of a Sankey diagram

Data Visualization in Tableau

Extra tips and tricks on advanced visualizations

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Extensive use of Tableau features:

  • Measure Names and Measure Values
  • Dual axis
  • Marks card and chart types

Combining charts:

  • Overlaying of various charts
  • Assembling charts into a themed dashboard

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Chart "cook-books"

Tableau cookbook book and website

1 https://public.tableau.com/views/CookBook/VizCookbook
Data Visualization in Tableau

Let's practice!

Data Visualization in Tableau

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