Data people meet designer people. Designer people meet data people. You can learn a lot from each other. Today we will focus on what graphic designers know and data analysts should learn.
A couple of tips ago, we talked about how beauty can actually help a viewer more effectively process a visualization of data. If you missed that one, click here. Now we will consider how to make data more beautiful. Luckily, we need not start from scratch. Graphic designers already know a lot about what makes anything that we look at more attractive and engaging. They have written many books and blogs on the subject. But for the purposes of a 60-second data tip, below are some composition basics to consider from Dan Scott. (Also check out his website.) Data presented in a pleasing composition is more likely to engage your viewer.
If you want it in an even smaller nutshell than the list below, here you go: “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Sage advice from French writer and poet Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
See other data tips in this series for more information on how to effectively visualize and make good use of your organization's data.