Data visualization – what exactly does it entail?

Data visualization is the process of putting information into an image. Graphs, charts and maps are all different forms of data visualisation, but why is it so important for websites?

People process images and take decisions quicker

It is not a secret that people process images quicker than they do text. Having information presented to you as an image requires less effort so people are more likely to take in the message behind it. Furthermore, people are naturally more interested in images than they are text so it’s also visually more appealing.

Data visualization also helps people to see things that were not obvious. A graph with 3000 different lines of data could take hours for one person to read, but data visualization in the form of a graph, allows them to see the same results in seconds.

This can benefit a website that wants to get a message across quickly to draw people in to their site.

Data visualization – what benefits can it offer my company.

Data visualization is one of the hot topics at the moment when it comes to the information you have on your website, but why? What benefits can data visualization offer your business?

We’re hardwired to be more interested in visuals

Think of your brain like a computer. In this example, it is presented with an image, and text to explain that image. It does not take a rocket scientist to tell you that your brain will process the image quicker. A study showed that our brains come to a conclusion about an image in 250 ms, but we can only come to a conclusion about a passage of text when we have finished reading it.

So, images benefit your company because they stand out and can get across a large amount of information about your business in a short time.

As long as you’re not presented with an image that makes no sense, an image will always be more effective than text. For that reason, data visualization can help make potential clients more interested in your services.

Data visualization