Data Visualizations – How are they used?

With the demand for quick transfer of information and data ever-increasing, data visualizations are becoming a must for many websites and publications to avoid people becoming bored with number of words that they won’t take the time to look through. Data visualizations should increase viewer interest and stimulate their minds to look into what they are reading rather than simply glossing over the data. Data visualizations are a popular way of trying to find interest in things that may previously have been ignored, whether creating a graph or other means of presentation, visualizing this data helps to portray it in a more user-friendly way.

To answer the question of how they are used; it has great variation, from simplistic means of presentation to complex representations of data that can be found prevalent through journalism when words are limited. 

Data Visualizations – How effective are they?

You may expect that with the growing trend of use of data visualisations that this would suggest great popularity from the viewer. In general, this is considered to be the case, but, as with anything, over-use of this can become a muddle and devalue the true use of data, where some may create a mess across their site by diluting the use of important data by overusing data because they think they can justify it with data visualisations.

This is not the case. Many people will become lost in a site that is constantly throwing data at you. It does not matter how important, or valuable, or even interesting the data is that is being presented. Not displaying it in the correct way will more often than not mean it is just ignored. In fact, very bland, unimportant content, portrayed correctly could appear much more interesting than crucial information displayed poorly. This is why ensuring that data visualisations are carried out is imperative.

Data Visualizations