Visualize This : The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics

One of the most influential data visualization books―updated with new techniques, technologies, and examples Visualize This demonstrates how to explain data visually, so that you can present and communicate information in a way that is appealing and easy to understand. Today, there is a continuous flow of data available to answer almost any question. Thoughtful charts, maps, and analysis can help us make sense of this data. But the data does not speak for itself. As leading data expert Nathan Yau explains in this book, graphics provide little value unless they are built upon a firm understanding of the data behind them. Visualize This teaches you a data-first approach from a practical point of view. You'll start by exploring what your data has to say, and then you'll design visualizations that are both remarkable and meaningful. With this book, you'll discover what tools are available to you without becoming overwhelmed with options. You'll be exposed to a variety of software and code and jump right into real-world datasets so that you can learn visualization by doing. You'll learn to ask and answer questions with data, so that you can make charts that are both beautiful and useful. Visualize This also provides you with opportunities to apply what you learn to your own data. This completely updated, full-color second edition: • Presents a unique approach to visualizing and telling stories with data, from data visualization expert Nathan Yau • Offers step-by-step tutorials and practical design tips for creating statistical graphics, geographical maps, and information design • Details tools that can be used to visualize data graphics for reports, presentations, and stories, for the web or for print, with major updates for the latest R packages, Python libraries, JavaScript libraries, illustration software, and point-and-click applications • Contains numerous examples and descriptions of patterns and outliers and explains how to show them Information designers, analysts, journalists, statisticians, data scientists―as well as anyone studying for careers in these fields―will gain a valuable background in the concepts and techniques of data visualization, thanks to this legendary book. Cover Title Page Copyright Page About the Author About the Technical Editor Acknowledgments Contents Introduction Learning Data Visualization How to Use This Book Chapter 1 Telling Stories with Data More Than Numbers Statistically Informative Entertaining Emotional Compelling Ask Questions About the Data Verification Exploration Communication Design Purpose Audience Devices Clarity and Insight Trade-Offs Wrapping Up Chapter 2 Choosing Tools to Visualize Data Mixed Toolbox Point-and-Click Visualization Options Trade-Offs Programming Options Trade-Offs Mapping Options Trade-Offs Illustration Options Trade-Offs Small Visualization Tools Options Trade-Offs Pencil and Paper Trade-Offs Survey Your Options Wrapping Up Chapter 3 Handling Data Data Preparations Finding Data Search Engines General Data Applications Researchers Governments Catalogs and Lists Topical References Collecting Data Copy and Paste Manual Collection Scraping Scraping a Website Loading Data Formatting Data Data Formats Formatting Tools Formatting with Code Switching Between Data Formats Processing Data Filtering and Aggregating Sampled Data Wrapping Up Chapter 4 Visualizing Time Trends Bar Chart for Time Making a Bar Chart Line Chart Making a Line Chart Step Chart Making a Step Chart Smoothing Using a Spline Events Timeline Making a Timeline Dot Plot Making a Dot Plot Cycles Multi-Line Chart Making a Multi-Line Chart Heatmap Making a Heatmap Wrapping Up Chapter 5 Visualizing Categories Amounts Bar Chart for Categories Making a Bar Chart for Categories Editing the Chart Scaled Symbols Using Scaled Symbols Editing the Chart Parts of a Whole Pie Chart Making a Pie Chart Donut Chart Making a Donut Chart Square Pie Making a Square Pie Chart Treemap Making a Treemap Editing the Chart Rank and Order Categories and Time Stacked Bar Chart Making a Stacked Bar Chart Formatting the Data Making the Chart Stacked Area Chart Making a Stacked Area Chart Alluvial Diagram Making an Alluvial Diagram Bump Chart Wrapping Up Chapter 6 Visualizing Relationships Correlation Scatterplot Making a Scatterplot Bubble Plot Making a Bubble Plot Differences Barbell Chart Making a Barbell Chart Difference Chart Making a Difference Chart Highlighting Differences Multiple Variables Heatmap for Multiple Variables Making a Heatmap for Multiple Variables Parallel Coordinates Making Parallel Coordinates Separating Views Connections Network Graph Making a Network Graph Wrapping Up Chapter 7 Visualizing Space Working with Spatial Data Geocoding Addresses Map Projections Locations Points Mapping Points Scaled Symbols Adding Scaled Symbols Lines Adding Lines Spatial Distributions Choropleth Map Making a Choropleth Map Cartogram Making a Cartogram Dot Density Map Making a Dot Density Map Space and Time Sequence of Maps Animated Map Making an Animated Map Wrapping Up Chapter 8 Analyzing Data Visually Gathering Information Overviews Summaries Making a Box Plot Distributions Quality of the Data Adjusting Questions Exploring Details Comparisons Patterns Uncertainty Outliers Drawing Conclusions Wrapping Up Chapter 9 Designing with Purpose Good Visualization Infinite Options Visualization Components Insight for Others Visual Hierarchy Aesthetics Visual Metaphors Annotation Accessibility Wrapping Up Index EULA