Data visualization: Key to comprehension

MANILA, Philippines – While Big Data is the by-word in recent years, it is useless without analysis, understanding and comprehension.

In his TED talk, data journalist David McCandeless proposes a solution to understand overwhelming data and that is through data visualization.

“Visualizing information so that we can see the patterns and connections that matter and then designing that information so it makes more sense, or it tells a story, or allows us to focus only on the information that’s important,” says McCandeless.

The author of Information is Beautiful, McCandeless says that when we transform data into graphs, pies, charts, infographics, we turn it into a landscape that we can explore with our eyes, a sort of information map which can help us find our way when we are lost in information.

“I would say that data is the new soil.   Because for me, it feels like a fertile, creative medium.   Over the years, online,   we’ve laid down   a huge amount of information and data,   and we irrigate it with networks and connectivity,” says McCandeless.

“If you look at it directly,   it’s just a lot of numbers and disconnected facts.   But if you start working with it and playing with it in a certain way,   interesting things can appear and different patterns can be revealed.”

These days, producing a nice infographic to accompany your data presentation is no longer the monopoly of graphic designers or design agency.

Early this month, Visage, a new platform that easily creates on-brand visual content such as data visualization, reports, presentations and infographics in a single web interface, was announced to hit the shelves next month.

Produced by Column Five, Visage aims to democratize good graphic design of data for everyone. In fact, it is now being used by LinkedIn and A&E.

Wake up the artist in you and learn how to present beautiful data! Visit Beautiful Data Workshop or call 927-0096 / 0928 506 5382.