Data is everywhere. Every time we make a purchase, use our phones, or check our social media, data is being collected about what we like, what we don’t, where we go and what we spend our money on.
Businesses have never had so much data to understand their clients. But to make sense of it, they need data professionals – everyone from data processors to data scientists. Understanding data is now a growing skill set in demand by many employers.
Data visualisation – the ability to display data in an easily understandable way - is another skillset that is rapidly increasing in demand. But how do you visualise data?
Before you get lost in a world of bar graphs, pie charts, scatter charts and heat maps, here are a few of our golden rules:
- First identify the story you’re trying to tell. Are you showing trends, differences or locations?
- Once you’ve confirmed your story, choose the graphic or visual format that displays this best. Line graphs work well for trends, bar graphs for differences and heat maps are great for showing location-based data. Experiment with different graphs too.
- Use colour to both differentiate and highlight data messages.
- Keep your visuals simple. Don’t fill your visualisation with too many comparables – it will become too confusing and your message with be lost.
You’ll find a wealth of tools and applications designed to help you visualise data in a meaningful way. Some basic data visualisation can be done in Microsoft Excel. More complicated data visualisation can be done in advanced programs like Tableau and PowerBI.
Need more skills in data visualisation for your current or future job? Our Data Science courses can help. Equip yourself with skills from basic data analysis to data stories to applied and advanced data visualisation.
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