Introduction to Data Visualisation

We live in our most data rich time…

As individuals, we create a lot of data each day such as social media traces, smartphone trails, credit card purchases, travel locations.

Everything we do is quantified, this leaves an everlasting data trail. 

New visualisation strategies and older ones are used to make sense of it all. We are enmeshed into a data economy that is more complex and generative than ever.

To Put Data In Perspective…

23 Exabytes (EB) of information was recorded and replicated in 2002. We now recored and transfer that much information every 7 days.

– School of information management and systems, University of California, USA.

* 1 EB = 1 Billion gigabytes

What is Data Visualisation ?

Data vis is the vis of data, it involves the creation and study of data

Data vis is an essential part of the communication process 

Data rich time. contemporary digital world 

Why We Need It

Users may have particular analytical tasks, such as making compassions or understanding causality, and the design principle of the graphic follows the task.

What Data Is

Data are values of qualitative or quantitative variables belonging to a set of items, can be visualised using graphs or images.

Effective visualisations helps users analyse and reason about data and evidence. It makes complex data more accessible, understandable and usable. 

A bar chart may be simple but it is the best form of data visualisation if you have two variables.

A line chart is a good choice to show data over time.

Difference between a data visualisation and an infographic

Not all information visualisations are based on data, but all data visualisations are information visualisations.

In essence, some examples of infographics are just lists with pictures and not a data visualisation.

Effective visualisations help users analyse and reason about data and evidence. It makes complex data more accessible, understandable and usable.

Reflection

This lecture pod was useful as it introduced me to what data visualisation is and when it is needed in certain situations. My understanding of data visualisation has changed and I now see data visualisation from a while new perspective.