Best Practices in Data VisualizationPresent Information Clearly, Accurately, and Attractively

Teresa Larsen, Ph.D.

data visualization 305/01/2023

obtain data

determine message

clean up data

makes sense?

Display data

Design/revise display

Publish Data Visualization

No Almost

Yes

data visualization 4

obtain data

determine message

clean up data

makes sense?

Display data

Design/revise display

Publish Data Visualization

Yes

AlmostNovisual literacy

Best Practices

• Stay true to the data• Communicate by design • Customize your colors• Plot dimensions

= data dimensions

Stay true to the data

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

“…lies, damned lies, statistics, and computer graphics.”

Communicate by design

Customize your colors

Examples from Nature

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Yosemite

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Redwoods

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Tropical Isle

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Alpine Church

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White Composites

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Yellow Composites

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Wildflowers

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Wood Duck Pair

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data visualization 34

Black Widow with Egg Sac

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Stop Sign

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Yellow Jacket

Coral Snake

Abutment

Radioactive

Examples from Art

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Rembrandt Self Portrait

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Rembrandt’s Helmet

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Birth of Venus by Botticelli

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AngerDeath

Plot dimensions = data dimensions

Best Practices

• Stay true to the data• Communicate by design • Customize your colors• Plot dimensions

= data dimensions

•

Teresa LarsenTlarsenPhD.com

@tlarsenphd