The Pros and Cons of Data Visualization
We hear about the importance of data all the time. Companies large and small have become more focused on capturing data or protecting data. Typically data is presented to us in easily digestible visualizations that help us quickly understand the data and make a decision. Let’s explore the pros and cons of this information design theory.
Pro: Data Visualizations make information accessible to a larger audience
When William Playfair introduced the world to the bar, line and pie graph he transformed the way we consume large amounts of information. This clever way of presenting data enables the eye to perceive instantly what the brain would take much longer to deduce from a table of numbers (Coates and Ellison, 18). Because of the visual nature of Data Visualization it transcends the boundaries of language and culture. A Russian person can understand the same graph just as well as a French person (Coates and Ellison, 18).
Now let’s look at how we can explore these concepts from a research article published on Frontiers in Education:
"In Switzerland gender segregation is especially noticeable in the STEM field (FSO, 2013). In educational tracks at the universities of applied science, with only 21.3% of women enrolled in STEM courses in academic year 2017–2018. However, some STEM fields are more strongly gender segregated than others. The lowest proportion of women is in the fields of informatics (10.4%) and technology (8.5%)..."( Makarova, Aeschlimann, and Herzog, 2019)
The same data becomes much more digestible when you present it in a visual way. Look at the data visualization I put together below using the information from the article.
The visualizations present the information much quicker than reading the article and deciphering what it means. The information is also much more striking, when you see the stark difference in gender it raises concerns. Lastly using color and iconography make it easy and more accessible for anyone to interpret.
Con: Data Visualizations can skew the information
The story that your data tells can be influenced by the visual presentation. This can change the way we make sense of the information and can influence the decisions that we make based on that information. You could imagine this becoming a problem when it comes to sales or politics. Companies can post data visualizations on their blog sites that make offers seem more enticing or make themselves seem more trustworthy. Just look at this example from Data Pine
The Y axis in the chart on the left is more granular so it would appear that the data is increasing. However, if you change the scale to reflect a wider range the data appears to be relatively flat. It's all a matter of perception and what is important to the audience.
To sum it up...
We can see the importance of how this theory of information design can better our lives by helping us understand and make use of data. Data can foster important conversations and help us make informed decisions. However, when the design doesn't meet our needs or when it is used to control the narrative data visualizations have the potential to be used in nefarious ways. In Data Visualization the design decisions that we make have an impact on our understanding of the information, this is what makes this theory so interesting.
References
Coates, Kathryn, and Andy Ellison. Introduction to Information Design, Laurence King Publishing, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/empire-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1876178.
Makarova, Aeschlimann, and Herzog, (2019, July 10). The Gender Gap in STEM Fields: The Impact of the Gender Stereotype of Math and Science on Secondary Students' Career Aspirations, Frontiers in Education https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2019.00060/full
Kwapien (2015, Dec 2nd). Remove Your Rose Tinted Glasses: Data Visualizations Designed to Mislead, Data Pine https://www.datapine.com/blog/misleading-data-visualization-examples/
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