When we say data, we mean a lot of information in one place. Data is usually long and dry and going through it is an arduous process. But working with such extensive information can be much easier if it is given to us in some easily digestible form. And that’s where the phenomena of data visualization and infographics come in. To put it in simple words, data visualization is presenting data in the form of charts, maps or graphs and infographics is presenting data in a graphical or a pictorial format.
Both these techniques allow the audience to view data analytics divided into chunks so that difficult concepts and new patterns can be identified with ease.
And while the concept has been around for centuries, from 17th Century graphs and maps to the introduction of pie chart in early 1800s, businesses are beginning to realize the importance of data visualization and infographics even more in today’s day and age.
The importance of data visualization and infographics come down to the simple fact of the way information is processed by a human brain. Science shows that more than half of the working of a normal human brain responds positively to visuals. So instead of trying to comprehend complex reports and spreadsheets, the same data can be much smoother to work with if presented in the form of graphs or charts.
For businesses, data visualization and infographics is a quick way to convey a concept in a universally acceptable way; and what’s more, with slight adjustments, the same data can be used to experiment to see different results in different scenarios.
In businesses, data visualization and infographics can best be used to make impressive presentations. What are the factors that influence customer behavior, which products should be placed where, what are the areas of improvement and predicting sales volumes are just some examples where data visualization and infographics can work wonders to impress superiors and clients in an organization.
In addition to that, data visualization holds immense significance for business decision making. You ask how mere use of visuals can be a factor in business decision making. Well, the amount of collected data is directly proportional to the growth of an organization. It can become extremely challenging if all the collected information is simply given to you on spreadsheets and asked to assess and analyze patterns and trends from it. Hence, effective data visualization lets business decision makers to scrutinize large amounts of data quickly, figure out the issues efficiently, expose trends and help in the exchange of ideas with key players which leads to decisions resulting in the success of the business.
Nowadays, design is playing an increasingly important role in creating value for businesses; and infographics is an important part of the design philosophy. Businesses today use infographics in presentations and trainings to clarify messages and simplify communication.
Moreover, infographics is attractive and compelling, hence, saving you from the evils of information overload. Sales kits, employee reports, demos or tutorials, and business reports are just some areas where a business can use infographics and data visualization to add to its growth metrics.
An infographic is majorly made up of three components: content, visuals and the information. To receive optimal results from an infographic, these components should be used to design an infographic in a way that it leaves a memorable imprint on the viewer’s mind.
Following is a succinct list of how best to use data visualization and infographics to your business’s best advantage:
- Have a well-designed methodology of obtaining data, designing visuals and releasing them to ensure your data visuals are of consistent quality.
- Know who your audience is because each end-user is going to perceive the same information in different ways.
- Define clear resulting actions that you expect your end-user to take after you present your visuals.
- Understand your data and profile it accordingly. Is it quantitative, ordinal or categorical? And which visual feature will work best with which type of data.
- Based on the type of your data, know which visual features will go best with it. For example, categorical data puts an emphasis on color hues to be focused on, ordinal prioritizes size where length takes most importance in quantitative data.
In conclusion, businesses should leverage the significance of data visualization and infographics to create value. These two are a great way to break down daunting numbers and large chunks of data into content which is coherent yet is most effective to deliver the ‘big picture’.