Why Seeing Data Beats Reading It: The Case for Data Visualization

In today's data-driven world, raw data floods every sector. From complicated business metrics to simple data in everyday life. How many cars pass the road each day, how many students pass their math exams, or even how many eggs do you consume daily? The answers to all those questions are data.

Raw data are often full of numbering rows and columns or spreadsheets. They are overwhelming and hard to interpret. To unlock actionable insights, we need to transform this data into something easier to understand—this is where data visualization plays its role.

Why Visualization Works: The Science Behind It

Data visualization is the process of graphically representing information and data. It can be a chart, a graph, or a map. Through this visual media, we can see data from several perspectives, such as using a line plot to see a trend and a histogram to see a distribution.

The effectiveness of data visualization lies in the way the human brain processes visual stimuli. Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception explain how the human brain processes visual information.

Gestalt principles

• Proximity: Objects that are physically close together belong to part of a group.

• Similarity: Objects with similar color, shape, size, or orientation are perceived as related or belonging to the same group.

• Continuity: Smooth paths are naturally followed, making line graphs intuitive for tracking trends.

• Connection: Objects that are physically connected are part of a group.

• Enclosure: Objects that are physically enclosed together as belonging to part of a group.

• Closure: Our brains fill in missing information to create complete shapes, aiding the understanding of fragmented visuals like dashed trend lines.

Top Benefits of Data Visualization

Research stated that 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual. Using data visualization as a communication tool is an effective way to leverage the brain’s natural ability to process information visually.

1. Visual Patterns Are Easier to Recognize
The human brain is wired to identify patterns, trends, and relationships. When data is presented as charts, graphs, or diagrams, patterns like upward trends, clusters, or anomalies are immediately apparent. For example, look at the picture below. For example, consider the 2024 USA election trend from July to August. The visual representation shows a tight race between the Democratic and Republican candidates, with their support levels running neck and neck. This visualization conveys the uncertainty of the outcome, emphasizing that both Trump and Kamala Harris remain strong contenders for victory.

source:The Independent

2. Anomaly Detection Faster to Spot
Visualization helps users spot outliers quickly. For instance, tools like scatter plots and heatmaps make it easier to see correlations or anomalies hidden in the raw data. Identifying such patterns is crucial for decision-making in finance, marketing, and healthcare​.

source:https://sites.chem.utoronto.ca

3. Simplifies Complexity
Reading raw data means adding cognitive load to the brain. By aggregating or summarizing data, they reduce cognitive load and help viewers focus on the most important aspects. The visualization below illustrates how Americans identified their political affiliations from 2001 to 2024. Analyzing 23 years of data in its raw format would be almost impossible for most people to interpret effectively. However, with data visualization, complex patterns become immediately clear. For instance, the chart highlights a consistent trend: women tend to lean more toward liberal ideologies, while men gravitate toward conservative views. This is a prime example of how data visualization condenses decades of information into a digestible story.

source:The New York Times

4. Improved Retention
People are more likely to remember insights from visuals. The retention of data presented in charts or infographics can be significantly higher than the textual data.

5. Time Efficiency
A study conducted by McKinsey revealed that companies adopting data visualization 28% tend to make timely decisions. In fields where time is money, data visualization can help businesses grow by improving their efficiency.

Another example of the power of data visualization can be seen in the 2024 U.S. election. A graph illustrating shows issues deemed important for swing voters, Trump loyalists, and Harris loyalists. Once political advisors see the graph they will create their next plan to sway swing voters and suggest strategic plans to their employer to win the election

6. Accessibility to Non-Technical Audiences
Experts in different fields often collaborate on projects within the same organization. However, technical jargon can create barriers to effective communication and lead to misunderstandings. Data visualization bridges this gap by presenting complex information in a simple format. This ensures that non-technical stakeholders can grasp key insights, fostering more inclusive and effective decision-making.

Avoid These Common Data Visualization Mistakes

While data visualization is a powerful tool, it has its pitfalls. One of the most often happening is manipulating axes or cherry-picking data which can lead to misinterpretation. A bar chart showing a difference between two values can appear exaggerated if the y-axis doesn’t start at zero. For instance, if one bar represents 40 and another 50, scaling the y-axis from 36 to 50 will make the difference look significant, misleading viewers into overestimating the disparity.

Another pitfall is cramming too much data into a single chart because it overwhelms viewers and choosing the wrong graph type.

Tools and Techniques for Data Visualization.

Nowadays, tools for data visualization are widely available. Tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Python libraries such as Seaborn and Dash offer customization depending on the need. For developers, libraries like Seaborn and Dash are an excellent choice. Especially when dealing with data analysis in machine learning or artificial intelligence, Seaborn offers several types of graphs to analyze data with the help of other powerful libraries like Pandas and NumPy.

Embrace Data Visualization for Better Insights

Data visualization turns numbers into narratives. Simplifying complex datasets into accessible visuals bridges gaps between technical and non-technical audiences, enhances retention, and speeds up insights. Start leveraging data visualization today to unlock the full potential of your data-driven initiatives.

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