This document provides an overview of data visualization and dashboard design. It discusses fundamental visualization principles like using the appropriate visual elements and colors. It also covers dashboard design steps such as writing specifications, prototyping, and common mistakes to avoid like using the wrong visualizations or providing insufficient context. The goal is to communicate data as clearly and efficiently as possible through visual displays.

1. Online Intelligence Solutions
Data Visualization and Dashboard Design
LIVE WEBINAR 04/04/2013

2. Today’s Speaker
Jacques WARREN
CEO
WAO/MARKETING
If you feel like it: #measure

3. You’re very lucky
You get 2 full training days in…
40 minutes!

4. DISCLOSURE
I belong to a cult.

5. Why Care About Visualisation? Analytics
Governance
Data-Viz belong here

6. Why Care About Data Visualization?

7. Why care about data visualization?
You don’t make friends with this:

8. Why care about data visualization?
Or this:

9. Why care about data visualization?
- Believe it or not, creating efficient graphs is not
easy, even with Excel!
- Confusion is the main problem.
- So, clarity then becomes the number one
goal!
- Graphs are used to communicate a maximum of relevent
information as immediately as possible.

10. Why care about data visualization?
- One major problem with analytics is adoption of its
results and recommendations.
- Communicating clearly definitely increase analytics
chances of success.

11. Fundamental Visualization Principles

12. Fundamental Visualization Principles
The Power of the Human
Eye
In Information Visualization : Perception for Design, Colin Ware identifies
several pre-cognitives attributes:
Color – Difference Form - Orientation Form - Size Form - Enclosure Coulor – Contextual Perception
Couleur - Intensity
Form - Length Form - Form
Movement - Blinking
Position – 2D
Form - Thickness Form - Mark text text

13. Fundamental Visualization Principles
The Power of the Human
Eye
Getsalt of visual perception (partial)
Enclosure and continuity
Proximity Similarity
Linking

14. Fundamental Visualization Principles
The power of the line
Sales Profits
2000 2010
Sales Profits
Sales Profits

15. Fundamental Visualization Principles
First Principle
Don’t visualize!!!

16. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Two General Types
Tables & Graphs

17. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Two General Types
Graphs for trends/Overall comparison
Tables for values

18. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Facilitate understanding
Or at least try not to hinder it!
Source : Système CRM

19. Fundamental Visualization Principles TITLE
Should be self- REFERENCE
PERIOD
sufficient LEGEND
UNITS
Alternative Title
“The Central region had the
best sales, while the East
region had losses.”
CATEGORY
SOURCE Source : Our CRM

20. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Optimize attention time
Visualization allows for
immediate comparison
(length), while color
can be used to quickly
bring attention.
Source : Système CRM

21. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Basic Visual Elements
Dots Bars Lines
90
%

22. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Basic Visual Elements - Dots

23. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Basic Visual Elements - Lines

24. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Basic Visual Elements - Bars

25. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Colors are semantically charged
Don’t forget color blind people!

26. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Charge sémantique des couleurs – Attirer
l’attention
Different Colors Different Hues

27. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Choosing a Color Palette
Company Specific
A B C D

28. Fundamental Visualization Principles
What is Graphical Excellence?
Graphical excellence is that which gives to the viewer the
greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the
least ink in the smallest space.
Graphical excellence is the well-designed presentation of
interesting data”
Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 1983

29. Fundamental Visualization Principles
The famous Data-Ink Ratio
42.0%
41.0%
40.0%
39.0%
38.0%
37.0%
36.0%
35.0%
34.0%
33.0%
32.0%
Novembre
Novembre
Décembre
Décembre
Octobre
Juin
Octobre
Avril
Mars
Août
Mai
Août
Septembre
Septembre
Février
Juillet
Janvier
“Above all, show the data” Edward Tufte

30. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Avoid Chart Junk

31. Fundamental Visualization Principles
Lower the Lie Factor

32. Fundamental Visualization Principles
The Ducks!

33. Fundamental Principles of Design
And the infamous infographics…

34. Faulty, or Inefficient Visualization

35. Faulty, or Inefficient Visualization
Wrong scales
11000 11000
10800 10000
10600 9000
10400 8000
7000
10200
6000
10000
5000
9800
4000
9600
3000
9400
2000
9200 1000
9000 0
Chaises Fauteuils Tables Lampes Chaises Fauteuils Tables Lampes

36. Faulty, or Inefficient Visualization
Wrong height/width ratio

37. Faulty, or Inefficient Visualization
Enough with pie charts!
22%
20%
14,5 12
% %
16%
16
15,5% %
15,5
%
22 14,5
20 % %
%
12%

38. Faulty, or Inefficient Visualization
Enough with pie charts!
22%
20%
14,5 12
% %
16%
16
15,5% %
15,5
%
22 14,5
20 % %
%
12%

39. Faulty, or Inefficient Visualization
Enough with 3-D!!!
Cosmetic (!) Several categories

40. Solution Examples From a Client

41. Examples from a client
The 3D effect doesn’t add
anything

42. Examples from a client
Visualization was not necessary here

43. Examples from a client

44. Quelques exemples Desjardins

45. Examples from a client

46. New Visualization Types

47. New Visualization Types
Spark Lines
In Excel 2010

48. New Visualization Types
Heat Maps

49. New Visualization Types
Tree Maps

50. New Visualization Types – Animated Bubbles
Animated bubbles
Introduced by Pr.
Hans Rosling :
gapminder.org
Example :
http://bit.ly/WZAxqL

51. New Visualization Types
Bullet Graphs
Target
Current Value
Qualitative Thresholds

52. New Visualization Types
Bullet Graphs &
Sparklines
Working horizontally

53. Dashboarding

54. In This Part
What is a dashboard?
Dashboard Design Project Main
Steps
Dashboard Design Fundamental
Principles

55. You should kow…
Dashboard Design:
- Design 30%
- Project Management 70%

56. You should kow…
What you see really is just the tip
of the iceberg

57. What is a dashboard?
“A visual display of the most important information needed to
achieve one or more objectives which fits entirely on a single
computer screen so it can be monitored at a glance”
Stephen Few
So, a dashboard is a communication
tool!

58. What is a dashboard?
It is NOT an analytical tool
Strategic View
Operational View

59. What is a dashboard?
The Pilot Metaphor

60. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Preliminary Decisions
- Who is the audience?
- Which metrics should be
exposed?
- What is the dashboard refresh frequency?
- What platform to use (HighTech, Low Tech) ?

61. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Project Stages
- Writing functional
specifications
- Writing technical specifications
- Making the wireframe
- Making the design
- Making the prototype
- Making the dashboard with real data

62. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Writing specifications
- Never a very “sexy” stage
- Essential because of complexity of
projects
- Making modifications later than sooner
always costs more money!

63. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Writing the specifications

64. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Writing the specifications
High Tech or Low
Tech ?
Important factors to consider:
- Time
- Technical complexity
- Budget

65. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Making the wireframe
Putting the pieces together

66. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Making the design
Get as close as
possible to the final
look & feel

67. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Making the prototype
Excel is very good
for prototyping
CAVEAT:
The chosen platform may have
its own design limitations.

68. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Making the dashboard with real
data

69. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Go through the approval cycle
You have to “sell” your
project, and also insist on how
important decisions are at each
stage.

70. Dashboard Design & Production Steps
Breaking in period and training

71. Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design
First, some clarification
- You are limited by the platform you chose
- Distribution has a strong impact on
design

72. Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design
Fits entirely on a single
screen/view
- We must see
everything within the
same screen
- Avoid creating
dashboards that
require scrolling

73. Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design
Organizing the area – Reading directions

74. Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design
Organizing the area – Separating the
zones

75. Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design
Choosing Visualization – What & How
NO! Graphs Sparklines
Bullet Graphs Numbers!
32%

76. Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design
Contextualising Results
Fundamental element which bears
meaning
Determinng the comparison periods

77. Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design
Contextualising Results

78. Elementary Principles of Dashboard Design
Should you leave room for comments?

79. Common Design Mistakes
Neglecting to give context

80. Common Design Mistakes
Choosing the wrong kind of visualization
350,000.00 $ 350,000.00 $
300,000.00 $ 300,000.00 $
250,000.00 $ 250,000.00 $
200,000.00 $ 200,000.00 $
150,000.00 $ 150,000.00 $
100,000.00 $ 100,000.00 $
50,000.00 $ 50,000.00 $
- $ - $
Nord Sud Est Ouest Nord Sud Est Ouest

81. Common Design Mistakes
Using a non-optimized visualization
Ventes Budget Ventes Budget
180,000 $ 15.0%
160,000 $
10.0%
140,000 $
120,000 $ 5.0%
100,000 $
0.0%
80,000 $ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
60,000 $ -5.0%
40,000 $
-10.0%
20,000 $
0$ -15.0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

82. Common Design Mistakes
Introducing useless variety
Profits
Sales
1
200,000 $
2
150,000 $ 3
4
100,000 $
5
50,000 $ 6
7
0$
Projections
Costs
200,000 $
150,000 $
100,000 $
50,000 $
0$
0$ 50,000 $ 100,000 $ 150,000 $ 200,000 $

83. Common Design Mistakes
Not showing everything on the same view

84. Common Design Mistakes
Cluttering graphs and the dashboard with
useless decoration

85. Common Design Mistakes
Designing graphs and dashboards that are plain..
ugly!

86. Common Design Mistakes
Using off-putting colors !

87. Examples of “trendy” design

88. Examples of “trendy” design

89. Examples of “trendy” design

90. Examples of “trendy” design

91. Since I must conclude…
- Communicating efficiently is very hard
- Design must not take the place of
information.
- There can be 10 solutions to the same
design problem; always choose data first.

92. Visualization is not about putting lipstick on a
pig
If the statistics are boring, then you’ve
got the wrong numbers.
E. Tufte

93. Thank you!
Online Intelligence Solutions
contact@atinternet.com jw@waomarketing.com
www.atinternet.co www.waomarketing.co
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