Businesses are intent on unlocking the value in big data. So, data visualization tools are becoming the key to recognizing the state of things, making better decisions, informing smarter strategies and guiding more actions.
Marketers, too, see data visualization as increasingly important to sharing valuable information with any audience. Hubspot reports that infographics get three times more likes and shares in social media than other any other type of content.
Still, it is up to the people who work with the data to decide what to analyze, what to present, what to emphasize, and what actions to encourage.
Our ability to realize the value of data-driven insights depends on how well we can use a growing number of data visualization tools.
So, we have pulled together these top 7 data visualization tips from the experts to help you bring the meaning in your data to life.
1. Simplify to Clarify
A simple visual representation of your data allows you to express “complex ideas… with clarity, precision and efficiency,” — says Jim Stikeleather in the Harvard Business Review. The goal is to explain the data with an economy of effort.
When you have hundreds of data points to choose from, and the relationships among them are complicated, the first thing to do is simplify. Decide exactly what you want the audience to take away at a glance, and aggressively remove everything that doesn’t add to the desired understanding.
2. Tailor the Delivery to your Audience
Laura Tyson of Geckoboard is an expert on the design of visual dashboards — a consolidated display of the most important data relevant to accomplishing one’s objectives.
But her tips apply as well to any set of data visuals.
The first important question is: Who is the audience for these data, and what are their needs? Before design begins, the designer must know the key performance indicators (KPI’s) that are directly relevant to the users.
Once you know who you’re presenting to, and what you’re showing, Tyson offers several best practice guidelines about how best to do it, including:
Limit the amount of data
Take a restrained, sparing approach to color
Base arrangement on priority
3. Inspire Action on the Most Important Information
Visuals take advantage of our ability to quickly grasp relationships or differences based on contrast and comparison. We can think and act more quickly, once we see the significance of data that might otherwise take too many words or numbers to relate with impact.
Deloitte analytics and visualization expert Dave Steier shares his advice for effective data visualization in this illustrative slideshow. One example uses stoplight colors (red and green) to draw attention to hospitals experiencing more ER visits than expected. Using the familiar associations of red for warning, green for the desired states, the picture brings laser-focus to locations in greatest need of support.
4. Use Words Sparingly, But Use Them When Necessary
It’s tempting to think that the image itself will get the point across, without words. However, IDRC highlights the need to use text to clearly define elements that readers need to understand meaning, such as scales for a graph or chart. A common mistake is to crop the axes and units of measure.
Another must-have is a headline. A compelling headline enables readers to grasp the most important idea immediately.
Headline neglect is “the first sin” in data visualization, says Bill Shander in his 4-minute LinkedIn course, Data Visualization for Data Analysts. “If you don’t know your story, and specifically the one line version of your story, how can you communicate it? So, take the time to really think this through.”
5. Indicate the Order of Importance
Stephen Tracy of Outbrain notes the importance of knowing the relative importance of the information in your data. Not all data is created equal, so it is important to think before applying the same weight to the way information is displayed.
Depending on your audience, some data sets are naturally more relevant to the objectives than others. Emphasize subsets of data that are significant in some way. Communicate the importance of the data through appropriate use of color, font weight, size, alignment or other appropriate design techniques — as long as it clarifies rather than distracts.
6. Design for Personalization, not Pizazz
Many experts discourage the use of color and 3D effects “because we can.” All design elements need to enhance the message, not compete with it.
However, there is one particular reason to apply color for design’s sake. That is to personalize or “best reflect the essence of the company,” says David Hollinsworth, a business intelligence consultant at Targit. Using brand colors for dashboard design, for example, “tells the user that any information within these dashboards can be trusted and is part of a greater corporate strategy.”
7. If It Resonates, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Well-crafted charts and detailed infographics can demand a substantial financial investment. When an image or graphic resonates with your audience, plan to recycle it for additional projects. Elliott Brown of Scribbe Live notes that a successful visual will work for a variety of applications. So why not leverage it across multiple channels?
Make a series of static images into a video. Consider crafting an animated gif or slideshow for sharing on digital channels such as blog posts, emails and social media.
How Data Visuals May Impact the Future of Marketing
What will the future look like as brands create more visual data? The challenge is for organizations to become skilled in using visuals to connect with audiences, consumers and customers.
For brands to benefit, they need to see their graphics as more than click bait. “Marketers have an easier time grasping on to the ‘get-someone’s-attention’ part, and a harder time with the ‘tell-a-story-well’ part,” when it comes to creating visuals, explains Clare McDermott in a Content Marketing Institute post.
An increasingly data-savvy public wants to know what organizations really stand for. No matter what the issue — car maintenance, health-care, or school safety — we generate mind-boggling mountains of data, ideas and conversations about them. Without help, we can’t possibly make sense of things. Good data visualization gives organizations a way to help their followers grasp important ideas. In an increasingly complex and confusing world, people value, appreciate and share content that helps validate and express what matters to them.
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