In a simple language, data visualization is the process of representing complex data in a simple format using graphs, charts, and maps, among other formats that are easy to read and understand. This is an essential mechanism when dealing with huge amounts of data since you cannot be able to digest and present large volumes of data without having a proper way of doing it.
However, when using data visualization to process and analyze your data, you need to be keen on the approach you use since there are practices that you need to be keen on to enhance the accuracy of your work.
Presenting your data using different graphical methods makes you an awesome data communicator since you get it easier to communicate complex data insights in a simple way. Regardless of the nature of the industry where you are running your business, data visualization has everything you need to ensure that all your data is placed into the right visualization context.
However, you need to be keen since there are specific guidelines that you need to follow to make your work easier.
This write-up unfolds all the essential best practices you need to consider to make your data visualization activities easier and more flexible. Let’s dive into details!
Locate Your Target Audience
The immediate aspect you need to consider even before mastering the art of data visualization is identifying your target audience. The target audience refers to the people whom you are trying to address with the data you have at your disposal. This strategy helps you tailor your approach since you need to tweak your communication model based on whom you are trying to address.
Your content may address social media managers, educators, and entrepreneurs. You cannot use the same approach to address different audiences. You need to have a clear picture of whom you are addressing to make your means of communication clear and to ensure that those you are addressing have received your message. Remember that how you visualize your data needs to be clear and directly address the point of discussion.
By identifying your target market, you will get it easier to deliver all the primary concepts of the data visualization process. This makes the entire communication process easier and simple since all the essential data points are considered making it easier for the members of the target audience to understand the general message and the context in which it has been used to deliver it.
Ensure that Your Data is Clean and on Point
Prior to processing and converting your data from its raw nature into a graphical format, you need to ensure that all the data sets are cleaned in order to deliver an accurate message to the readers. This is where data cleaning comes into the process to help discover any anomalies or inaccuracies within the data. You need to ensure that all your data has passed through this process before using it for any other purpose.
When the data you are using comes with different inaccuracies, they can skew the final results after the process. Before you go ahead and publish any figure in a journal, you need to ensure that your computation is on point since all this knowledge is directly transmitted to a wide group of readers. When dealing with a student audience, you need to be keener since the purpose of the information is to educate.
When dealing with educational audiences, you must ensure that all the essential elements are considered a slight mistake that will likely alter the entire process. Also, when dealing with the general audience, you need to use a simple data format that people can read and understand.
Choose the Right Chart
You may have the right data that you want to pass to your audience, but you end up using the wrong chart type to communicate the information. After visualizing your data, you need to ensure that the data report is communicated in a manner that is simple to read and understand. There are different types of charts and graphs that you can use to communicate vital data insights to your target audience.
You can use tables when you have a lot of information that you want to make it organized. However, this does not work for data professionals who want to uncover patterns and trends in their data. The bar charts are the best option to evaluate varying data amounts and totals in different groups. On the other hand, the line graphs are used to showcase variation and data patterns over a given time frame.
Scatter plots are also on the list to display data correlation on two factors plotted along two different axes. You can also use a pie chart when evaluating different sections of the whole thing. Provided that you have the right data and the most appropriate data visualization tool, it becomes easier to address your market audience.
Label the Data on Your Charts Effectively
Graphs and charts play a critical role when you want to uncover patterns, trends, and outliers in your data. However, when you want to deliver a specific message, you need to use labels to ensure the essential message is communicated effectively.
When describing anything such as an experiment setup, you cannot manage to explain the entire process using figures. You need to use labels to explain different processes to make it easier for your readers to understand the point of discussion.
It’s essential to ensure that you accompany all your figures with a caption to make it easier for your readers to understand the point of discussion. The caption has more information about how you need to read the figures and offers additional precision on other aspects that cannot be addressed using the graphical approach.
The caption is also considered a clarification you give during an oral lecture to help your readers understand.
You also need to have questions in your mind that your readers are likely to ask after reading through the data. This means that all your focus should be on addressing these questions to ensure that your readers are satisfied at the end of the process and they are likely to make the next step depending on the message you are trying to deliver.
Emphasize the Most Critical Points
When using data visualization to communicate an essential message, you must ensure that the is likely to make a close follow-up on the entire storyline.
The best way you can use to direct readers on the essential data points within the story is by using outstanding visual cues that trigger their ability to make a close follow-up on what is happening. Some of the most important visual cues you need to use include the reference lines and the highlighted data trends.
Remember that human beings have the ability to absorb large volumes of data when displayed using a visual format. The eyes are mostly attracted to the symbols and visuals you apply to your charts and graphs.
For instance, you can decide to incorporate additional symbols on your chart to make it accommodate more information and display it in a way that your readers can easily get the point of discussion. In most cases, people prefer searching for patterns within the data since they are simple to understand.
To make your data easy to read and understand, you need to capitalize on all these human behaviours to ensure that your data makes sense to all your readers. When choosing the type of data to use in your visuals, you need to ensure that it’s either sequential, numeric, or alphabetical.
Conclusion
Data visualization is one of the best approaches that you can use to communicate essential data aspects to your target audience. However, you must be mindful of how you communicate these insights since you must follow all the best data practices to pass your desired message clearly. This article has outlined all the essential best practices you need to consider when using data visualization as a means of communication. Once you consider all these aspects, you stand a better chance to communicate clearly and pass the intended message home.
