Data Visualization Principles

Jerome Niyirora, PhD

SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Reference: Fundamentals of Data Visualization by Claus O. Wilke

Aesthetics
• Whenever we visualize data, we take data values and convert them in a systematic
and logical way into the visual elements that make up the final graphic.

• All data visualizations map data values into quantifiable features the make up the
aesthetics of the final graphic.
Aesthetics
• To represent continuous and
discrete data

• Use graphical representations- must

have a shape, a size, and a color

Source: [Link]
• Use lines – with different widths or
dash–dot patterns

• For text, specify font family, font

face, and font size.
A directory of
visualizations
Amounts
Amounts
• The most common plots for visualizing amounts
include bar charts, dot charts, and heatmaps. The
amount over time can be visualized using line
charts.
Amounts
Bar plots
• The most common plots for visualizing amounts
include bar charts, dot charts, and heatmaps. The
amount over time can be visualized using line
charts.

Heatmap Dot plots Line chart

Distributions
Distributions
• Histograms and density plots
• Careful! both require arbitrary
parameter choices (e.g., #
bins) and can be misleading

• Cumulative densities and

quantile-quantile (q-q) plots
always represent the data
faithfully but can be more
difficult to interpret.
 Histogram Density Plot

Distributions
• Histograms and density plots
• Careful! both require arbitrary
parameter choices (e.g., #
bins) and can be misleading

Cumulative Density Quantile-Quantile Plot

• Cumulative densities and
quantile-quantile (q-q) plots
always represent the data
faithfully but can be more
difficult to interpret.
Multiple Distributions
• To visualize multiple
distributions use tools such as
boxplots, violin plots,
overlapping densities
Multiple Distributions
• To visualize multiple
distributions use tools such as
boxplots, violins, overlapping
densities
Violin plots Boxplots
Overlapping Densities
Multiple Distributions
• To visualize multiple
distributions use tools such as
boxplots, violins, overlapping
densities
• You can also use stacked or
overlapping histograms, but
they may be difficult to
interpret.
Multiple Distributions
• To visualize multiple
distributions use tools such as
boxplots, violins, overlapping
densities
• You can also use stacked or
overlapping histograms, but
they may be difficult to
interpret.
 Unclear
Multiple Distributions
• To visualize multiple
distributions use tools such as
boxplots, violins, overlapping
densities
• You can also use stacked or
overlapping histograms, but
they may be difficult to
interpret.
 Better
Multiple Distributions
• To visualize multiple
distributions use tools such as
boxplots, violins, overlapping
densities
• You can also use stacked or
overlapping histograms, but
they may be difficult to
interpret.
Proportions
• Proportions can be visualized using pie charts and side-by-side bar or stacked bar plots.
Proportions
• Proportions can be visualized using pie charts, side-by-side bars, stacked bars, or treemap.

Pie Chart Stacked Bars Treemap

Grouped Bars
Proportions
• When visualizing multiple sets of proportions across conditions, pie charts tend to be space-
inefficient and often obscure relationships
Proportions
• When visualizing multiple sets of proportions across conditions, pie charts tend to be space-
inefficient and often obscure relationships

Figure 10.4: Market share of five hypothetical companies, A–E

Source: [Link]
Proportions
• When visualizing multiple sets of proportions across conditions, pie charts tend to be space-
inefficient and often obscure relationships. Consider bar plots.

Figure 10.4: Market share of five hypothetical companies, A–E

Source: [Link]
Proportions
• When visualizing multiple sets of proportions across conditions, pie charts tend to be space-
inefficient and often obscure relationships. Consider bar plots.

Figure 10.4: Market share of five hypothetical companies, A–E

Source: [Link]
Proportions
• When proportions are specified
according to multiple grouping
variables, then mosaic plots,
treemaps, or parallel sets are useful
visualization approaches.
Proportions
• When proportions are specified
according to multiple grouping
variables, then mosaic plots,
treemaps, or parallel sets are useful
visualization approaches.
• How to represent proportions of
bridge construction materials (steel,
wood, iron) over specified
categories (crafts, before 1870,
modern, after 1940)?
Proportions
• When proportions are specified
according to multiple grouping
variables, then mosaic plots,
treemaps, or parallel sets are useful
visualization approaches.
• How to represent proportions of
bridges construction materials
(steel, wood, iron) over specified
categories (crafts, before 1870,
modern, after 1940)? Figure 11.1: Breakdown of bridges in Pittsburgh by construction material (steel, wood, iron) and
by date of construction (crafts, before 1870, and modern, after 1940). Source:
[Link]
Proportions
• When proportions are specified
according to multiple grouping
variables, then mosaic plots,
treemaps, or parallel sets are useful
visualization approaches.
• How to represent proportions of
bridges construction materials
(steel, wood, iron) over specified
categories (crafts, before 1870,
modern, after 1940)? Figure 11.1: Breakdown of bridges in Pittsburgh by construction material (steel, wood, iron) and
by date of construction (crafts, before 1870, and modern, after 1940). Source:
[Link]
Proportions
• When proportions are specified
according to multiple grouping
variables, then mosaic plots,
treemaps, or parallel sets are useful
visualization approaches.
• How to represent proportions of
bridges construction materials
(steel, wood, iron) over specified
categories (crafts, before 1870,
modern, after 1940)? Figure 11.1: Breakdown of bridges in Pittsburgh by construction material (steel, wood, iron) and
by date of construction (crafts, before 1870, and modern, after 1940). Source:
[Link]
x–y relationships
• Scatterplots represent the archetypical visualization when we want to show one quantitative
variable relative to another.
x–y relationships
• Scatterplots represent the archetypical visualization when we want to show one quantitative
variable relative to another.
x–y relationships
• If we have three quantitative variables, we can map one onto the dot size, creating a variant
of the scatterplot called bubble chart.
x–y relationships
• For paired data, where the variables along the x and the y axes are measured in the same
units, it is generally helpful to add a line indicating x = y (paired scatterplot)

Figure 12.13: CO2 emissions per person in 2000, 2005, and 2010, for the ten countries with the largest difference between the years 2000 and
2010 Source: [Link]
The larger picture
Telling a story and making a point
• Most data visualization is done for the purpose of communication.

• To communicate your insight successfully, you must present the audience with a clear and
exciting story.

• Each figure you make should be part of your overall story.

• It is possible to tell the whole story with one figure

 Make a figure for the generals
• Never assume your audience can rapidly process complex visual displays.

• Refrain from attempting to show too much information in one figure

• Keep your figures simple and avoid confusing labels and overly technical terms

• After all, the generals are simply very busy!

Make a figure for the generals
• Avoid
complex
figures
Make a figure for the generals
• Too complex

Figure 29.3: Mean arrival delay versus distance from New York City. Each point represents one destination, and the size of each
point represents the number of flights from one of the three major New York City airports (Newark, JFK, or LaGuardia) to that
destination in 2013. Source: [Link]
 Build up towards complex figures
• If you have a lot of information to share, start by showing a simplified version of the story.

• For example, before showing a figure with multiple subplots, first show one plot

• Say you are trying to tell a story about the variation in the departures of multiples airlines by
the day of the week.

• How to proceed?
 Build up towards complex figures
• You can start by showing a figure of the airline that stands our the most

United Airlines departures out of Newark Airport (EWR) in 2013

(Source: Figure 29.6 [Link]
 Build up towards complex figures
• Next, you can present a full grid of subplots

Departures out of airports in the New York city area in 2013

(Source: Figure 29.7 [Link]
 Make your figures memorable
• If you have a good story to tell, make it memorable.

• Again, simple figures without complex information are recommended

• For example, whenever applicable, use bar plots since they are easily interpreted.

• Simple does not mean generic

Make your figures memorable
• A story about cats

Number of households having one or more of the most popular pets in 2012
(Source: Figure 29.8 [Link]
Make your figures memorable
• A story about cats

Number of households having one or more of the most popular pets in 2012
(Source: Figure 29.9 [Link]
 Be consistent but
don’t be repetitive
• If figures are part of the same story,
they should look like they belong in
the same story.

• This does not mean using the same

type of chart throughout--your story
may end up being confusing and
boring.
 Be consistent but
don’t be repetitive
• If figures are part of the same story,
they should look like they belong in
the same story.

• This does not mean using the same

type of chart throughout--your story
may end up being confusing and
boring.
 Be consistent but
don’t be repetitive
• If figures are part of the same story,
they should look like they belong in
the same story.

• This does not mean using the same

type of chart throughout--your story
may end up being confusing and
boring.
Physiology and body-composition of male and female athletes
(Source: Figure 29.10 [Link]
 Be consistent but
don’t be repetitive
• If figures are part of the same story,
they should look like they belong in
the same story.

• Better!

Physiology and body-composition of male and female athletes

(Source: Figure 21.8 [Link]
 Be consistent but
don’t be repetitive
• If you used a line chart before,
consider using other easy to
interpret plots such as boxplots, line
charts, or scatter plots.

• Stay consistent with the color and

only highlight what is important to
your story
 Be consistent but
don’t be repetitive
• If you used a line chart before,
consider using other easy to
interpret plots such as boxplots, line
charts, or scatter plots.

• Stay consistent with the color and

only highlight what is important to
your story

Growth of Facebook stock price over a five-year interval in comparison with other
tech stocks (Source: Figure 29.11 [Link]
 Be consistent but
don’t be repetitive
• If you used a bar chart before,
consider using other easy to
interpret plots such as boxplots, line
charts, or scatter plots.

• Stay consistent with the color and

only highlight what is important to
your story

• Better! Growth of Facebook stock price over a five-year interval and comparison with other
tech stocks (Source: Figure 29.11 [Link]
Common pitfalls of color use
Color scales
• Why do we use colors?

We use color to distinguish groups of data from each other

We use color to represent data values
We use color to highlight specific elements

• The types of colors we use and the way in which we use them are quite different for these
three cases.
Common pitfalls of color use: lessons
1. Avoid encoding too much or irrelevant information
Common pitfalls of color
use
• Poor color choices can ruin an
otherwise excellent visualization

• Encoding too many different items in

different colors is bad
Common pitfalls of color
use
• Poor color choices can ruin an
otherwise excellent visualization

• Encoding too many different items in

different colors is bad

• Which State is which?

Population growth from 2000 to 2010 versus population size in 2000,for all 50
U.S. states and the District of Columbia (Source: Figure 19.1
[Link]
Common pitfalls of
color use
• Rule of thumb: Qualitative color scales
work best when there are three to five
different categories that need to be
colored
Common pitfalls of
color use
• Rule of thumb: Qualitative color scales
work best when there are three to five
different categories that need to be
colored

• One way to fix this figure is to label a re

presentative set of geographical US
regions

Population growth from 2000 to 2010 versus population size in 2000,for all 50
U.S. states and the District of Columbia (Source: Figure 19.1
[Link]
Common pitfalls of
color use
• Rule of thumb: Qualitative color scales work
best when there are three to five different
categories that need to be colored

• One way to fix this figure is to label a re

presentative set of geographical US regions

• Use direct labeling instead of colors when

you need to distinguish between more than
about eight categorical items.

Population growth from 2000 to 2010 versus population size in 2000,for all 50
U.S. states and the District of Columbia (Source: Figure 19.1
[Link]
Common pitfalls of color use:
lessons
1. Avoid encoding too much or irrelevant information
2. Avoid coloring for the sake of coloring
Common pitfalls of color
use
• Avoid large filled areas of overly saturated
colors as they may confuse the audience

• Think of the purpose of the coloring

Distinguish items or represent data value
Highlight or draw attention to
To tell a story!
Common pitfalls of color
use
• Avoid coloring for the sake of coloring

• Avoid large filled areas of overly saturated

colors as they may confuse the audience

• Think of the purpose of the coloring

Distinguish items
Highlight or draw attention to
To tell a story
Population growth from 2000 to 2010 versus population size in 2000,for all 50
The rainbow coloring of states serves no U.S. states and the District of Columbia (Source: Figure 19.3
[Link]
purpose and is distracting
Common pitfalls of color
use
• Avoid coloring for the sake of coloring

• Avoid large filled areas of overly saturated

colors as they may confuse the audience

• Think of the purpose of the coloring

Distinguish items
Highlight or draw attention to
To tell a story
Population growth from 2000 to 2010 versus population size in 2000,for all 50
Make the color meaningful U.S. states and the District of Columbia (Source: Figure 4.2
[Link]
Common pitfalls of color
use
• What if you wanted to highlight certain
states?
Common pitfalls of color
use
• What if you wanted to highlight certain
states?
• Use an accent color scale
Common pitfalls of color
use
• What if you wanted to highlight certain
states?
• Use an accent color scale
• Utilizes a set of subdued colors and a
matching set of stronger, darker, and/or
more saturated colors
Common pitfalls of color
use
• What if you wanted to highlight certain
states?
• Use an accent color scale
• Utilizes a set of subdued colors and a
matching set of stronger, darker, and/or
more saturated colors

Population growth from 2000 to 2010 versus population size in 2000,for all 50 U.S. states
and the District of Columbia (Source: Figure 4.2 [Link]
Common pitfalls of color use:
lessons
1. Avoid encoding too much or irrelevant information
2. Avoid coloring for the sake of coloring

3. Using monotonic color scales to encode data values

Common pitfalls of color use
• The colors need to clearly indicate which data
values are larger or smaller than which other
ones
• Differences between colors need to visualize
the corresponding differences between data
values
Common pitfalls of color use
• The colors need to clearly indicate which data
values are larger or smaller than which other
ones
• Differences between colors need to visualize
the corresponding differences between data
values

• Avoid the non-monotonic scales such as the

rainbow scale
Common pitfalls of color use
• The colors need to clearly indicate which data
values are larger or smaller than which other
ones
• Differences between colors need to visualize
the corresponding differences between data
values

• Avoid the non-monotonic scales such as the

rainbow scale

Percentage of people identifying as white in Texas counties

(Source: Figure 19.5 [Link]
Common pitfalls of color use
• The colors need to clearly indicate which data
values are larger or smaller than which other ones

• Differences between colors need to visualize the

corresponding differences between data values

• Avoid the non-monotonic scales such as the

rainbow scale

• Too saturated for the eye

• Not an appropriate scale to visualize continuous

data values
Percentage of people identifying as white in Texas counties
(Source: Figure 19.5 [Link]
Common pitfalls of color use
• The colors need to clearly indicate which data
values are larger or smaller than which other
ones
• Differences between colors need to visualize
the corresponding differences between data
values
• Avoid the non-monotonic scales such as the
rainbow scale
• Instead of the rainbow scale, try a diverging
color scale to represent data values about the Percentage of people identifying as white in Texas counties

identify of the population in Texas. (Source: Figure4.6 [Link]

Common pitfalls of color use
• The colors need to clearly indicate which data
values are larger or smaller than which other ones

• Differences between colors need to visualize the

corresponding differences between data values

• Avoid the non-monotonic scales such as the

rainbow scale

• A sequential scale is also recommended for

representing continuous data values

• Helps distinguish higher versus lower values

Median annual income in Texas counties (Source: Figure
4.4 [Link]
Common pitfalls of color use:
lessons
1. Avoid encoding too much or irrelevant information
2. Avoid coloring for the sake of coloring

3. Using monotonic color scales to encode data values

4. Designing for color-vision deficiency
Common pitfalls of color use
• Keep in mind that a good proportion of our
readers may have some form of color-vision
deficiency (e.g., colorblind)
Common pitfalls of color use
• Keep in mind that a good proportion of our
readers may have some form of color-vision
deficiency (e.g., colorblind)
• May be difficulty to distinguish certain types of
colors, for example red and green or blue and
green
Common pitfalls of color use
• Keep in mind that a good proportion of our
readers may have some form of color-vision
deficiency (e.g., colorblind)
• May be difficulty to distinguish certain types of
colors, for example red and green or blue and
green

• Approximately 8% of males and 0.5% of females

suffer from some sort of color-vision deficiency
Common pitfalls of color use
• Red-green deficiency
• deuteranomaly/deuteranopia and protanomaly/protanopia

A red–green contrast becomes indistinguishable under red–green cvd (deuteranomaly or protanomaly)

(Source: Figure 19.7 [Link]
Common pitfalls of color use
• Blue-Green deficiency
• tritanomaly/tritanopia

A blue–green contrast becomes indistinguishable under blue–yellow cvd (tritanomaly)

(Source: Figure 19.8 [Link]
Common pitfalls of color use
• Try using qualitative color palette for all color-vision deficiencies

Qualitative color palette for all color-vision deficiencies (Okabe and Ito 2008)
(Source: Figure 19.10 [Link]
Labeling with care
Label
• This figure is labeled as
“bad” because it takes
considerable mental
energy to match the
company names in the
legend to the data
curves.
• Bad for color blinds

Indexed stock price over time for four major tech companies
(Source: Figure 20.5 [Link]
Label
• Better!
• If there is a clear visual
ordering in your data,
make sure to match it in
the legend.

Color-vision-deficiency simulation
(Source: Figure 20.7 [Link]
Other pitfalls
Don’t go 3D
• The problem with gratuitous 3D is that the
projection of 3D objects into two
dimensions for printing or display on a
monitor distorts the data.

• The human visual system tries to correct

for this distortion as it maps the 2D
projection of a 3D image back into a 3D
space.
Don’t go 3D
• The problem with gratuitous 3D is that the
projection of 3D objects into two
dimensions for printing or display on a
monitor distorts the data.

• The human visual system tries to correct

for this distortion as it maps the 2D
projection of a 3D image back into a 3D
space.
Don’t go 3D
• The problem with gratuitous 3D is that the
projection of 3D objects into two
dimensions for printing or display on a
monitor distorts the data.

• The human visual system tries to correct

for this distortion as it maps the 2D
projection of a 3D image back into a 3D
space.
• Better!
Avoid line drawings
• Whenever possible, visualize your data
with solid, colored shapes rather than with
lines that outline those shapes

• Solid shapes are more easily perceived as

coherent objects
Avoid line drawings
• Whenever possible, visualize your data
with solid, colored shapes rather than with
lines that outline those shapes

• Solid shapes are more easily perceived as

coherent objects

Histogram of the ages of Titanic passengers, drawn with empty bars

(Source: Figure 25.1 [Link]
Avoid line drawings
• Whenever possible, visualize your data
with solid, colored shapes rather than with
lines that outline those shapes

• Solid shapes are more easily perceived as

coherent objects

• Better!
Histogram of the ages of Titanic passengers, drawn with empty bars
(Source: Figure 25.2 [Link]
Avoid line drawings
• Whenever possible, visualize your data
with solid, colored shapes rather than with
lines that outline those shapes

• Solid shapes are more easily perceived as

coherent objects

Density estimates of the sepal lengths of three different iris species

(Source: Figure 25.3-4 [Link]
Avoid line drawings
• Whenever possible, visualize your data
with solid, colored shapes rather than with
lines that outline those shapes

• Solid shapes are more easily perceived as

coherent objects

• Better!
Density estimates of the sepal lengths of three different iris species
(Source: Figure 25.5 [Link]
Use larger axis labels
• Avoid too small to read labels

Percent body fat versus height in professional male Australian athletes

(Source: Figure 23.2 [Link]
Use larger axis labels
• Avoid too small to read labels
• Always look at scaled-down
versions of your figures to
make sure the axis labels are
appropriately sized.

Percent body fat versus height in professional male Australian athletes

(Source: Figure 23.2 [Link]
Background grids
• Gridlines in the background
of a plot can help the
reader discern specific data
values and compare values
in one part of a plot to
values in another part

• At the same time, gridlines

can add visual noise

Stock price over time for four major tech companies

(Source: Figure 23.7 [Link]
Background grids
• Gridlines in the background
of a plot can help the
reader discern specific data
values and compare values
in one part of a plot to
values in another part

• At the same time, gridlines

can add visual noise
Indexed stock price over time for four major tech companies
(Source: Figure 23.9 [Link]

• Better
References
• Stone, M., D. Albers Szafir, and V. Setlur. 2014. “An Engineering Model for Color Difference as
a Function of Size.” In 22nd Color and Imaging Conference. Society for Imaging Science and
Technology
• [Link]

• [Link]
• [Link]
• [Link]