Data representation is the act of displaying the visual form of your data. The process of identifying the most effective and appropriate solution for representing our data is unquestionably the most important feature of our visualization design. Working on this layer involves making decisions that cut across the artistic and scientific foundations of the field.
Here we find ourselves face-to-face with the demands of achieving that ideal harmony of form and function that was outlined in Chapter 6, Data Representation. We need to achieve the elegance of a design that aesthetically suits our intent and the functional behavior required to fulfill the effective imparting of information. According to Kirk 2016, in order to dissect the importance of data representation, we are going to “look at it from both theoretical and pragmatic perspectives.”
Instructor’s discussion question:
Three storytelling techniques are discussed in the text (pages 161-209) in which data is presented and stories are being interpreted. What is the importance and the advantages of using these techniques? Provide an example of each technique.
Reference
Kirk, A. (2016). Data Visualisation: A Handbook for Data Driven Design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Ltd.