Data visualization is about using visual representations of data to aid understanding. It can be used to find unknown insights, make an impact, and change the world. While powerful, data visualization can also go wrong if not done carefully. To get started, one should play with data visualization, find reasons to build visualizations, practice by recreating visualizations from examples, get feedback, and learn through books, blogs, and developing design process skills. With practice, data visualization can be a helpful tool.

1. WHAT IS DATA
VISUALISATION?
A N D W H Y S H O U L D Y O U C A R E ?

2. Data visualisation is about
SEEING
your data to aid
UNDERSTANDING

6. Spiralling Global
Temperatures

15. What is the purpose of
data analysis?

17. To Find
the Unknown

18. To Make
an Impact

19. To Change the
World

20. CAN DATA
VISUALISATION
SAVE THE
WORLD?

21. WHAT CAN GO
WRONG?

26. Can you see the problem?
Something very bad just happened…

29. HOW CAN YOU
GET STARTED?

30. PLAY

31. FIND REASONS TO
BUILD
VISUALIZATIONS

35. POLITICS

37. PRACTICE

38. FIND A VIZ
YOU LIKE
AND TRY
TO
REBUILD IT

39. BUILD
YOUR OWN
VIZ WITH
THE SAME
DATA

40. REPEAT
AS OFTEN
AS YOU
CAN,
THEN DO
IT MORE

41. ITERATE

42. FIRST, ASK
FOR
FEEDBACK

43. REDUCE
AND
DECLUTTER

44. KNOW
WHEN IT’S
“GOOD
ENOUGH”

45. TEACH

46. TEACHING
REINFORCES
SIMPLICITY

47. LEARN

48. READ
BOOKS

49. READ
BLOGS

50. LEARN ABOUT
INFORMATION DESIGN,
PRESENTATIONS,
VISUAL DESIGN,
STORYTELLING

51. DESIGN
PROCESS

52. KEYWORD
DEVELOPM
ENT

53. MOOD
BOARDS

54. SKETCHING

55. CREATE
THE FINAL
PRODUCT

56. FIND A PROCESS
THAT WORKS FOR
YOU
THEN PRACTICE…
RELENTLESSLY

57. THANK
YOU!

58. Martijn
Verstrepen
CTO – The Information Lab
theinformationlab.nl martijn.verstrepen@theinformationlab.nl @infolabNL