Presenting Your Data With *Style*
March 28, 2014IIA Chattanooga Seminar
A picture of data is not the goal; it’s only the means. Information visualization is all about gaining understanding so we can make good decisions. ~ Stephen Few, Now You See It
perceptualedge.com
How We SeeAttentive
Pre-attentive
Precise PerceptionO Length Longer = Greater
O 2D Position Higher or Farther to Right = Greater
Design ChoicesO Line weight O Color O FontO Emphasis (boxes, shapes)
Product Jan Feb Mar Apr May JunProduct 1 93,993 15,682 98,745 69,473 61,300 76,506Product 2 87,145 12,618 12,385 37,383 20,795 23,521Product 3 54,984 75,649 48,945 59,859 61,484 56,763Product 4 15,468 89,845 48,574 51,296 63,238 54,369Product 5 54,968 15,984 45,978 38,977 33,646 39,534Total 306,558 209,778 254,627 256,988 240,464 250,693
Product Jan Feb Mar Apr May JunProduct 1 93,993 15,682 98,745 69,473 61,300 76,506Product 2 87,145 12,618 12,385 37,383 20,795 23,521Product 3 54,984 75,649 48,945 59,859 61,484 56,763Product 4 15,468 89,845 48,574 51,296 63,238 54,369Product 5 54,968 15,984 45,978 38,977 33,646 39,534Total 306,558 209,778 254,627 256,988 240,464 250,693
Product Jan Feb Mar Apr May JunProduct 1 93,993 15,682 98,745 69,473 61,300 76,506Product 2 87,145 12,618 12,385 37,383 20,795 23,521Product 3 54,984 75,649 48,945 59,859 61,484 56,763Product 4 15,468 89,845 48,574 51,296 63,238 54,369Product 5 54,968 15,984 45,978 38,977 33,646 39,534Total 306,558 209,778 254,627 256,988 240,464 250,693
Colorbrewer2.org
Serif Sans-Serif Serif Sans-Serif
123456789 123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789 123456789
Fine Legibility Poor Legibility
Serif Sans-Serif Serif Sans-Serif
Times New Roman Arial Courier AharoniPalatino Verdana Script Bradley HandGaramond Helvetica Baskerville Old Face Papyrus
Fine Legibility Poor Legibility
Product Jan Feb Mar Apr May JunProduct 1 93,993 15,682 98,745 69,473 61,300 76,506Product 2 87,145 12,618 12,385 37,383 20,795 23,521Product 3 54,984 75,649 48,945 59,859 61,484 56,763Product 4 15,468 89,845 48,574 51,296 63,238 54,369Product 5 54,968 15,984 45,978 38,977 33,646 39,534Total 306,558 209,778 254,627 256,988 240,464 250,693
Other Common Distractions
A Word on Pie Charts