Data Visualization

August 28, 2010 By 3 Comments

With the sheer amount of data that we need to process on any given day, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make sense of it all. While the open access to information that we currently have is fantastic, it also becomes overwhelming because there is just simply too much information on any given subject. So how are we expected to deal with it all in a timely manner and be able to use this information to our benefit?

One way that I have taken a deeper and deeper interest in, especially over the past year or so, has been the visualization of data and information. Taking complex data sets of a large source of information on a given subject and being able to transform that into an infographic or other visual enables us to consume that information in an easier format that we’re able to make more sense of quicker.

I have found that I learn much quicker when I review infographics, charts or other images. I also tend to learn quicker with video hence why you may have noticed that in a majority of my posts here there is a photo, video and/or graphic. I appreciate (and am envious) of the data visualization work done by friends such as Brian Solis and David Armano.

Recently David McCandless spoke at a TED event about the beauty of data visualization and how it may be the best way to navigate complex datasets and the influx of information.




I’m sure you’ve run into your share of infographics as it seems that you can’t escape seeing a new one daily around the web. What are your thoughts on them? Do you find that you learn better from them?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Filed Under: Infographic, Videos Tagged With: , , , ,
  • http://twitter.com/dariasteigman Daria Steigman

    Hi Justin,

    I love data visualizations. Because my brain processes in words (and sometimes numbers), a good infographic can be invaluable in helping me contextualize data. They’re also among the Web pages that I am mostly likely to not only bookmark but revisit.

    Hope you’re having a great weekend. –Daria

  • http://www.ninety10group.com Jamie Burke

    Hey Justin. ‘A picture can tell a thousand words’ definitely rings true for folk like us trying to communicate complex relationships in a simple way.

    I think its key to winning over clients in the social insights space, and beyond, who won’t buy an idea or a service if they don’t understand it. We all know that there are some things, usually when in written or oral form, that our minds simply just don’t want to compute if it’s not an area of personal interest. Let’s face it not all clients are enthused as the others about the subject matter. Data visualisations can make it undeniably simple for the mind to comprehend.

    I am constantly asking my teams to try to be as visual as possible in their communication of ideas and especially data sets. A good infographic does the job every time. You only have to see how much these things get shared online compared to say a blog post. This is because they consume less time of the viewer and give a more instant kick. The kick is the pleasure of unlocking something using perception almost crossword like.

    The net result is these things in their sharing both as a utility (here your clients / network might find this useful) and also (you’ll get a personal kick out of this) make it some of the most valuable social currency around. I would argue over video because the requirement on the viewer is less.

  • http://primecutsblog.com justinlevy

    Um, yeah, you stated it more eloquently than I did in my post so I totally
    agree on all points! :)