Doing more with maps - custom backgrounds

Data Visualization in Tableau

Agata Bak-Geerinck

Senior Data Analyst, Telenet

Spatial visualization - not only geographical maps

white spacing Sample images of London geo map, London metro map and a plan of a house

  • Custom / simplified maps
    • E.g., metro maps with traffic intensity
  • Process analytics
    • E.g., product path on the production lines
  • Building schematics
    • E.g., in-home electricity plan
  • Point-to-point mapping
    • E.g., road trip plan on a custom map
Data Visualization in Tableau

Latitude, longitude, X, Y = coordinates

white space Coordinates:

  • Geographic grid: latitude & longitude:

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  • Any grid (2D): X,Y

A 2D globe picture with lat/long grid

A 2D globe picture with X-Y axes grid

Data Visualization in Tableau

Point and polygons custom maps

white space Polygon maps:

example of a polygon map on a custom background

  • Representation of an area
    • More data needed

white space Point maps:

example of a point map on a custom background

  • A specific place or a symbol of an area
    • Less data needed
Data Visualization in Tableau

Point and polygons custom maps

white space Polygon maps:

example of a polygon map on a custom background with colors

  • E.g., occupied (hours per day)

white space Point maps:

example of a point map on a custom background, size and colors

  • E.g., luminous intensity and frequency of usage (hours ON per day)
Data Visualization in Tableau

Steps in visualizing custom map data

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Step 1: Load the desired background image.

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Step 2: Identify points/areas of interest and note down the coordinates in X-Y format, and create a location dataset

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Step 3: Combine the coordinate data with extra data with dimensions and facts.

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Step 4: Visualize the combined data, using color, highlights, annotations, animation, etc.

Data Visualization in Tableau

Museum visits visualized

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  • Setting up custom background map
  • Visualizing the traffic in various museum areas
  • How traffic evolves during the day
  • Visualizing main traffic pathways in the building

white space A 2D plan of a museum

Data Visualization in Tableau

Let's practice!

Data Visualization in Tableau

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