Introduction to data visualization
Data Visualization in Tableau
Agata Bak-Geerinck
Senior Data Analyst, Telenet
What is data visualization?
- A graphical representation of information
- Presentation of (complex) data to wide audiences
- Selection of most effective charts and elements of design
- May be considered a form of art
1 Pictures: The Economist, The Financial Times, David McCandless books.
Why we need data visualization?
Visual information is here to stay:
- Humans - visual creatures, made for pattern & trend spotting
- Enhances understanding and retention of information
- Essential in exploratory data analysis
- Critical part of the decision-making process of data-driven organizations
90 % of the information absorbed by the brain is VISUAL.
Pitfalls of data visualization
What to look out for?
- Data is for everyone... proceed with caution
- Poor numerical literacy among non-data professionals
- Detachment between data and the context
- Lack of experience of data analysts
- Misleading visualizations
How to succeed in data visualization?
Elements of success:
- Experimenting with instant results
- Prioritizing useful over beautiful
- Always keeping the audience in mind
- Challenging oneself and investing in self-study
1 Check out https://www.storytellingwithdata.com/ and accompanying book by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic
Tableau as one of leading data visualization tools
Advantages of Tableau for data visualization:
- Quick development of charts and dashboards
- Focus on simple, intuitive, and highly interactive outputs
- Plenty of formatting features and beautiful visualizations
- Responsive design for various screens and devices
A (wide) variety of charts
From basic to advanced data visualization
Chapter 1: Introduction to Data Visualization
Chapter 2: Best Practices in Visualization
Chapter 3: Visualization of Spatial Data
Chapter 4: Advanced Charts and Storytelling
Our dataset
Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Top films and series across the years
- Actors and film people
- Genres, media types
- Ratings, votes, scores, and gross earnings
