The fundamental tools of data visualization are the spreadsheet and the chart. Modern spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets make generating charts easy, but there are so many types of charts and ways to configure them that it can be difficult to know how to get started, or how to choose the best chart to help tell your story. In this workshop, we will explore the types of charts available, describe the differences between them, when each is appropriate, and work through creating and customizing a chart to help tell a specific story. This workshop is designed for people with basic spreadsheet skills, but no previous experience with making charts is required. If you’re comfortable reading and entering data using spreadsheet software like Excel or Google Sheets, you are ready for this workshop! Given August 30th at the East Liberty Branch of the Pittsburgh Public Library

1. Making Charts from Spreadsheets
Data 101
August 30th, 2016
Data 101. David Newbury — @workergnome 1

2. Housekeeping
go to https://docs.google.com
...and you should see this.
If you don't, you'll need to
get a Google Docs account.
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3. Housekeeping
Slides are online...
TODO: ADD LINK HERE
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4. Today's Todos:
—Make a Spreadsheet
—Make a Chart
—Use Existing Data
—Write a Formula
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5. Use data to
Tell a Story.
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6. The most exciting slide ever...
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7. A Brief History
of The Spreadsheet.
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8. Columns of Numbers
(This is not my handwriting.)
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9. Accounting Worksheets
(This is also
not my handwriting.)
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10. Computers
They're computing.
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11. Digital
Computers
Apple II, ca. 1977
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12. Visicalc (1979)
"A magic sheet of paper that
can perform calculations and
recalculations."
— Bob Frankston, Creator
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13. Lotus 1-2-3 (1983)
Called 1-2-3 for three things:
1. A spreadsheet
2. A database
3. A charting tool
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14. Let's not say PC
compatible.
Instead, let's
say '1-2-3
compatible.'
— Infoworld February 27, 1984
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15. Microsoft Excel (~1993)
I told you this would be exciting.
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16. Google Sheets (~2012)
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17. Why Spreadsheets?
Agricultural account tablet in
Sumerian referring to flocks and
herds. ca. 2400 BCE.
Harry Ransom Center
University of Texas at Austin
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18. Create a New Spreadsheet
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19. Data.
http://bit.ly/data101charts
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20. Make A Copy.
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21. Live Demo #1.
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22. Data.
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23. Live Demo #2.
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24. Charts.
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25. Data...
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26. ...Stories.
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27. Why Charts?
Charts are shortcuts
to understanding.
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28. Changes Humans Notice
• Color
• Area
• Angle
• Length
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29. ColorUse for categories
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30. AreaUse to show differences
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31. Angles
Use to highlight
convergence or divergence
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32. Length
Use for comparisons
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33. A 5% change matters
• 5% lighter
• 5% Bigger
• 5% Rotated
• 5% Longer
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34. What to use and when.
• Color: Indicate Categories
• Area: Highlight Differences
• Angle: Show Convergence
• Length: Compare Differences
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35. The parts
of a chart.
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43. Remove Chart Junk
Only keep what you need
to tell your story.
The rest is distraction.
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44. Live Demo #3
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45. Choosing
a chart type.
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46. Ask a question:
What type of fruit do I like?
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47. Pie Charts
For comparing percentages
—No more than 4 or 5 slices.
—Limited accuracy.
—Easy to understand.
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48. Ask a question:
What fruit do I eat the most of?
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49. Bar Chart
For comparing values
—Can have many values.
—Good accuracy.
—Easy to understand.
—Zeros show up.
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50. Ask a question:
What fruit did I eat more of last week?
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51. Bar Charts
For comparing values
—Can have many values.
—Good accuracy.
—Easy to understand.
—Zeros show up.
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52. Bar Charts
For comparing values
—Can have many values.
—Good accuracy.
—Easy to understand.
—Zeros show up.
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53. Ask a question:
What week did I eat more fruit?
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54. Stacked Bars
For comparing totals
—Harder to understand.
—Good when you don't care
about the individual values
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55. Different charts tell different stories.
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56. Pie Charts
Comparing percentages
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57. Ask a question:
What percent of the fruit I eat are apples?
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58. Pie Charts
Comparing a part to the whole
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59. Pie Charts
Contextual Colors
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60. Pie Charts
Incorrect Colors
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61. Pie Charts
Too Subtle Colors
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62. Color can help or hinder telling your story.
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63. No. Just...no.
We read charts
left to right;
bottom to top.
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64. Charts vs. Graphs
A Chart shows quantitative
change over one axis
A Graph compares quantitative
change over two axis
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65. Ask a question:
How does my fruit consumption change over time?
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66. Live Demo #4.
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68. Line Graphs
A continuous value over time
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69. Smoothed Line Graph
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70. Ask a question:
What does my annual fruit consumption look like?
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71. Many Values: Line Graph
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72. Many Values: Smooth Line Graph
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73. Many Values: Histogram
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74. Area Graph
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75. Sometimes,
the data needs help.
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76. Live Demo #5
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77. Line Chart
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78. Datasets
https://data.wprdc.org/dataset/pgh
https://data.wprdc.org/dataset/project-budgets
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79. Don't be afraid to leave the spreadsheet.
• PowerPoint
• Paint
• Pencils
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80. https://public.tableau.com
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81. Resources—http://www.datavizcatalogue.com
—http://www.visualisingdata.com
—https://eagereyes.org
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82. Thank You.David Newbury (@workergnome)
Data 101: Making Charts from Spreadsheets
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