What do your eyes like to see?

Every day from the beginning of our eyes, we began to receive the world to send us a variety of information, a huge amount of information constantly flooded our eyes, brain. What do we usually look at in such a huge information base? Do not know you have such an experience, walking in the street, you are most vulnerable to what kind of people attracted to it? No doubt, it must be a well-dressed girl!

Next we look at a "chestnut", shopping malls, full of goods on the shelves, as shown

Which product would you care about? I believe that our brain is always choosing the simplest, most direct, most special form of presentation, because this information does not need to be converted by the brain, intuitive enough! Do not know you, as a child did not read the fable of the type of comics, those lovely cartoon characters, scenes, completely intuitive and vividly show a scene in front of us, we are completely immersed in it, which shows that the human brain like direct information transmission.

Today we live in a big data era, dense numbers, huge database, flooded our brains, would you also be interested in digging up the data in the potential of the secret? I guess not! Everyone's time is too precious, so there is data visualization, the mission and responsibility of data visualization is to let us from the visual icon to see the relationship between the data, nature, trends.

The data visualization is through the visualization means will the boring data graph, the visualization displays to the user.

Understand the mission of data visualization, let us look at the current industry's visual platform is how to establish their own brand image and seize the user to use this platform?

Through the current online more well-known home and abroad data analysis platform design, it is not difficult to find, the structure of its home page is divided into the upper and lower layout, more through the banner map to show their characteristics, and then through a case to illustrate, or put together a variety of partner logo to enhance the brand image. The main function of the banner diagram of the home page is to introduce the characteristics of the data analysis of the platform. This is usually done by showing the banner graph, the speed with which the data is presented, the data capacity, the user experience, the quality of the service, the dimensions of the analysis, and the configuration of various customization settings--humanized settings, The second home also indispensable is the "novice Guide."

According to several case studies, visual visualization of the interaction is basically divided into two categories:

The following figure belongs to the information level relationship is very clear, not intuitive display of data, shortcomings: The data hidden very deep, it is difficult to make users interested in continuing to view;

The following figure belongs to the information flat presentation, data display intuitive, disadvantage: Less load data, advantages: Data display intuitive, users easy to view the process of digging their own points of interest.

Cognitive psychology and graphic design

The two foundations of information visualization are cognitive psychology and graphic design, cognitive psychology is the theoretical Foundation, and graphic design is practical operation. Visualization is not just visual, but researchers in the field are also trying to incorporate auditory, olfactory and tactile cues (such as those designed for people with disabilities). In the article "the basic process of information visualization and the main research field", the author divides visual variables into 7 kinds: position, shape, size, direction, color, texture, gray level, and sometimes color is divided into hue, brightness and saturation. Basically all information visualization applications are a combination of one or more variables. Different visual variables have a good or bad (from a cognitive perspective) in presenting the data, as shown in the following table:

--Copy content from Baidu Encyclopedia know

Usually the current manifestation of data visualization, we are most familiar with pie charts, histograms, scatter, histogram, and these are the most original statistical charts.

Pie chart
By the size of each sector in the circle to indicate the percentage of the total amount of each part

Histogram
A chart (the area of each rectangle corresponding to the frequency) that is plotted with a rectangular block for the relative frequency of different levels of a variable

Columnar chart
is a graph of the length of a rectangle to express the figure of the statistical report map, by a series of vertical stripes of varying height to represent the distribution of data, used to compare two or more values (different time or different conditions), only one variable, usually used in a small dataset analysis

Scatter chart
Two sets of data are used to form multiple coordinate points, and the distribution of coordinate points is examined to determine whether there is an association between two variables or a summary of the distribution pattern of coordinate points.

A. Graphical indicator values
An indicator is a data that renders the size of the data graphically. such as the length or height of the bar chart to represent the size of the data.

B. Graphical indicators
Generally used with indicators similar to the meaning of the icon to show

C. Graphical relationship of indicators
When there are multiple indicators, the relationship between the mining metrics and its graphical representation can enhance the visualization depth of the chart.

Using existing scenes to show
Lenovo's natural or social phenomenon is similar to the indicator relationship, and then use this scenario to represent the data. For example, the following figure is the statistical global use of the operating system map, first divided into Windows, Macs and other operating systems, Windows also contains XP, 2003 and many other subsystems.

Build scenes to represent
Indicators often have some correlation characteristics, such as from simple to complex, from low-level to advanced, and so on, such as not to find the corresponding scene, can also build their own. Alipay's new personal annual bill, which describes the top three payments, builds a podium:

D. Visualization of time and space
Time: Through the dimension of time to see the changes in the value of the index, generally by increasing the form of the timeline, map as the main background to render all information points
Space: When the chart has geographical information and needs to highlight the performance of the time, the map can be space visualization, map as the main background to render all information points

E. Conceptual transformation of data
The so-called data concept conversion, that is, we drink water in our lives usually only say drink a glass, but do not say drink 30ML of water, a true data display, we are difficult to perceive, but with a cup concept conversion, we can easily perceive its size.

If only look at the left half of the number of Chinese smokers: 32000000, know the data level is very large, but how big it is difficult to perceive; until you see the right half: Chinese smokers outnumber the American population, so the perception of the data deepens.

F. Let the "chart" move
After the data is graphically finished, it can be changed into dynamic and controllable graph, and the user can perceive the change process of the data better in the process of manipulation and enhance the experience. There are usually two ways to implement dynamic: interaction and animation.

Summary：

Data visualization can be divided into the following steps:

Now let's look at the visual design of the current online data visualization platform:

Through these examples, we will find that there are general commonalities in design:

A. In the use of colors are biased warm color system;
B. No more than 5 colors in quantity;
C. Color use on the basic to maintain a high degree of recognition of color, such as red, green, blue, black, gray;
D. Background color use white, gray mainly;
E. Use of fonts only one font

Data visualization information map making Tools

Reading your questions in the boundless sea of words is an outdated form and a inefficient way of working. A large part of the introduction of the data visualization platform design display form, its purpose and significance are to bring convenience to users, so that a large number of data information visually displayed to users, to provide users with easier to read, more fun, more beautiful, faster access to information. But the visualization of the graphic production has also greatly embarrassed the designers, here for the vast number of distressed perceptual sad reminders of visual designers to provide a number of gadgets-easy to produce an awesome information graphics.

infogr.am
Infogr.am is still an information graphic design tool for non-designers. It allows users to upload data to a Web site and interpret it as a graphical model, allowing users to customize graphics and provide more intelligent interface display information.

Statsilk
Statsilk has a Web page and desktop client, providing users with more interactive, highly customizable and lifelike graphics, icons, maps and other visual data to produce exquisite information graphics.

Did you see the interest here?

Of course, there are a number of online production information map sites waiting for you to try:
1.Stat Planet: Allows you to make a very cool interactive information map, the finished product can be output into an interactive or static picture. The disadvantage is that only use the site itself to provide some research data, make their own charts.
2.Hohli: Simple and easy to use, design is very human. You can simply select the chart type, add data, resize, color, and preview the finished product. Use it to make the chart beautiful and exquisite.
3.Many Eyes: The chart provided here is exquisite and looks professional.
4.Wordle: The plain text can be made into graphics by special arrangement, you can import the whole book, a small paragraph and so on.
5.Tableau: Free charting software for Windows platform. It makes the chart colorful and unique.
6.gapminder:adobe produces graphic software and provides data on many industries, such as U.S. agriculture, U.S. urban development data, etc.

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