What Is Information Visualization, And What Can It Help Me With?
Many of us experience an overflow of information on a regular basis. We may be said to live in the “information age,” where facts and data seem to fly at us from left and right. There may be a lot of information we use to make decisions and understand the world around us, but how does our mind process it? How can we learn to prioritize the things that matter to us the most? One way to achieve this goal may be through a process known as information visualization, which can be defined as presenting information in a visual way, such as with a graph or drawing. Information visualization can help you break down large tasks and ideas into smaller ones, track your progress toward goals, and more. A licensed therapist may help you incorporate information visualization into your life in a way that works for you.
What is information visualization?
Information visualization generally refers to the practice of using visual means, like charts, tables, and drawings, to showcase information in a way that can be easy to understand and manipulate.
You may be familiar with information visualization techniques at school or in the workplace. Creating spreadsheets, tables, graphs, and other visual tools to interpret abstract or numerical information may be something we do often.
Applying this idea to daily life can be a little less straightforward, though. There can be lots of ways to take advantage of information visualization. You might create a mood or inspiration board, chart your progress toward goals, or draw out a representation of your emotions. How you use visualization can be up to you.
How information visualization can be used
Information visualization can be useful in many parts of our lives, especially when it comes to communicating something that seems to be impossible to explain through words alone.
For instance, if someone wants to present information, be it a journalist, your boss, or someone giving a speech, trying to communicate everything through words alone can be tricky, if not impossible. Conveying the emotions felt by bystanders who have witnessed a major event in words, for instance, may be far less impactful on an audience than showing images or video footage of the event in question.
Visualization can help people present their findings more effectively as well. If someone has written an article about how a city has crumbling infrastructure, a map may be useful to show the magnitude of the problem. Maps, in general, can serve as a great example of information visualization. Verbal instructions regarding how to get somewhere might be confusing or subject to error, but seeing the route to a location on a map may make more sense.
How you can take advantage of information visualization
Whether it be on the job or in your personal life, learning how to use visual tools to make sense of information can be an effort worth pursuing. Many people find that seeing something visually, rather than just reading it, helps them better process and understand its meaning.
Practices like these can take a subject that seems overly complicated and break it down into more manageable pieces.
Seeking professional help
Techniques like information visualization can help you take charge of different things in life, but doing so isn’t always easy, nor may it always be something you feel equipped to do on your own. Speaking to a licensed mental health professional like a therapist may help you discover how to take advantage of this method and others to organize, plan, and reflect on the things you care about most.
A convenient way to receive support and advice may be through online therapy. Because you can meet with a provider at a time and from a location that makes sense for your schedule, online therapy can make it simple to incorporate time dedicated to this goal into your routine.
Although more research may be needed regarding the efficacy of online therapy for information visualization skills, a large body of evidence supports the idea that online therapy is typically just as effective as in-office therapy. Therapy can be an excellent way to improve various skills and address any mental health-related concerns you may be experiencing.
Takeaway
What are the challenges of information visualization?
While information visualization can be helpful in many situations, it is not without its challenges. Any visualization you or anyone else creates may be subject to human error. For example, if you’re sketching your living room to figure out how to rearrange your furniture, you may not accurately account for the dimensions of the room and the couch dimensions, so things might not fit in real life the way they do on paper.
Some visualizations may take a large amount of information and compress it down into an easy-to-understand visual tool, like a chart or graph. Because there is so much information, you can run the risk of oversimplifying, leaving out core pieces of information because you’re more focused on the visual aspect. Doing so can have significant effects on decision-making.
Under what circumstances is information visualization not useful?
Information visualization may not be useful if you’re dealing with a large amount of information, and simplifying it into a drawing, chart, or other visual tool risks losing some details. It may also have limited use for qualitative research as it is generally more quantitative.
What makes an information visualization successful?
This technique can be helpful when you’re trying to communicate something, but words aren’t quite enough. For example, if you’re putting together a presentation about things to do in a city, a map showing where everything is can make the information easier to understand and remember.
What information is necessary before designing visualization?
Before designing a visualization, knowing exactly what information you have and how you want to display it can be helpful. For example, should you make a chart, graph, video, or diagram? Which would serve the information better? How would each affect the visual perception of the data?
Another thing you can consider is your goal in presenting the information. Are you trying to educate someone else or a group of people? Or are you trying to process data for yourself to help you make a decision? What you’re trying to accomplish can make a big difference in how you design a visualization.
What makes the visualization inefficient or ineffective at communicating the data?
How you present data can play a big part in how effective the visualization is. Would information visualization examples like pie graphs or bar graphs make the information harder to understand? Maybe a line graph would have been a better option because line graphs may show relevant connections more clearly. Effective visualizations will present the data so that it’s easy to understand, so you can get across the point you’re trying to make or look at the data and come to a reasonable conclusion.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when creating data visualizations?
Some mistakes that can affect the quality of data visualizations may include not presenting the information clearly and concisely, using the wrong type of visualization to present the data set, creating visuals that are too cluttered or difficult to understand, and distorting the data you’re presenting.
Why do we need interaction in information visualization systems?
Interaction in information visualization systems is something used in the academic fields of visualization and computer science to explain human computer interaction with the data being presented to the target user group.
How do you create effective visualizations that convey your message clearly?
One of the first things you can do is ensure you have all the abstract data and know what you’re trying to get across. Once you know what message you want to convey and what information you have, you can determine what type of visualization is best for organizing the information and representing data relevant to your message.
How does data visualization make information easier to understand?
Information visualizations can make complex data easier to understand because they present it in a visual way, which can make it easier to see connections between the information being presented and how everything relates so they can come up with actionable insights. Some people may be visual learners and grasp information more easily in visual form.
Why does data visualization matter, and how does it influence decision-making?
Information visualization tools can make information easier to understand. When you can make raw data easier to understand using visual elements, you may be able to make more informed decisions.
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