Data visualisation – creativity with numbers
Data visualisation – creativity with numbers
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." - Unknown
In the era of “Fake news”[1] it could be argued that data visualisation has even more importance and responsibility.
I have an embarrassing confession, I love data visualisation. When it is done right, it creates a beautiful harmony between arts and science. Most of the time arts and sciences seem to navigate down different paths, but every now and again they converge and the results can be stunning. For example, if you followed Steve Jobs’ rises and falls (I recommend Walter Isaacson biography [2]) he was not only a talented Engineer but he also admired beauty and had a love for such things as calligraphy. He worked hand in hand with the industrial designer Jonathan Ive [3]. The results? Apple threw the down the gauntlet to their competitors. No longer was it good enough to just be functional. Why should products not be beautiful as well?
In my opinion, when you combine art and science, it creates something mesmerising. Is it because it is engaging both your left and right side of your brain? (not technically true![4]) I first experienced this when as a young boy I discovered M. C. Escher’s art [5]. From his tessellations to his physics defying drawings he did the same; he combined art with science.
M.C. Escher Circle Limit III, 1959
But what does this have to do with data visualisation?
On a daily basis we are being flooded with data. Sorting through it, establishing patterns and trends, and showing correlations takes real skill in itself. Additionally, we now have the ability to communicate our findings through increasingly visual and interactive form, to those who may not be excited by a standard pie chart. Data visualisation is a creative art that is built on the bedrock of science, presented in such a way that the reader may be oblivious of the effort it has taken to bring it all together.
But if being aesthetically pleasing is not a valid enough criterion to embrace data visualisation, science supports the benefits. The ability for your brain to rapidly assimilate visual information[6] is proven.
I think for everyone there is an info graphic that evokes pure appreciation. I was lucky enough to attend a presentation by Dr Orland Hoeber [7] in mid 2016 on data visualisation[8] and this was the graph that inspired me:
Battling infections diseases in the 20th century: The impact of vaccines. By Tynan DeBold and Dov Friedman
From here will embed in talk on webpage: http://graphics.wsj.com/infectious-diseases-and-vaccines/
To me it has everything the reader requires: easily accessible information, evidenced by numbers and beautifully presented. For the reader the conclusion is easily derived. If you require you can drill down further into the information to gather more specifics, which are difficult to argue with (although we know some will!).
That is just the point. When you look at it and think the conclusion is obvious, that is not by accident. The author has presented the information in such a way to reinforce the conclusion.
The amazing thing about this data visualisation is that instantly the human eye can see correlation. Take another an example:
What is Information Visualization? Dr. Orland Hoeber, Department of Computer Science, University of Regina
Larger green squares hexagons represent the concentration of Starbucks establishments while the Orange hexagons correlate to Dunkin Donuts.
On its own, it is interesting but on further analysis there was a more fascinating correlation between the density of these two famous franchises. The greater the density of Starbucks over Dunkin Donuts the higher the local house prices. If you regularly buy coffee and doughnuts this may seem like common sense. However, when the information is presented so clearly and eloquently, further correlations are much easier to identify.
When I see a data presented like these examples I marvel at the effort it has taken to produce such clarity. When new ideas are presented and your first thought is that the conclusions are obvious, then, in my opinion the author has achieved their aims.
To me, it is the rare but wonderful mix of art and sciences. Much like when you look at Escher’s art or how far ahead Apple were in the beginning compared with their rivals.
In this day of big data, the ability to simplify complexity is a skill we could all benefit from.
Go out there. Love data and think: How can I present data to ignite the imagination?
References
[1] https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/977
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs_(book)
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ive
[4] https://www.livescience.com/39373-left-brain-right-brain-myth.html
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._C._Escher
[6] https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/visual-content-marketing-infographic
[7] http://www2.cs.uregina.ca/~hoeber/
[8] https://www.dropbox.com/s/jpizgu1pf4ix9ix/intro%20to%20infovis.pdf?dl=0