Master the Fundamentals of Modern Visual Analytics--and Craft Compelling Visual Narratives in Tableau!
Do you need to persuade or inform people? Do you have data? Then you need to master visual analytics and visual storytelling. Today, the #1 tool for telling visual stories with data is Tableau, and demand for Tableau skills is soaring. In Visual Analytics Fundamentals, renowned visual storyteller and analytics professor Lindy Ryan introduces all the fundamental visual analytics knowledge, cognitive and perceptual concepts, and hands-on Tableau techniques you'll need.
Ryan puts core analytics and visual concepts upfront, so you'll always know exactly what you're trying to accomplish and can apply this knowledge with any tool. Building on this foundation, she presents classroom-proven guided exercises for translating ideas into reality with Tableau 2022. You’ll learn how to organize data and structure analysis with stories in mind, embrace exploration and visual discovery, and articulate your findings with rich data, well-curated visualizations, and skillfully crafted narrative frameworks. Ryan's insider tips take you far beyond the basics--and you'll rely on her expert checklists for years to come.
Communicate more powerfully by applying scientific knowledge of the human brain
Get started with the Tableau platform and Tableau Desktop 2022
Connect data and quickly prepare it for analysis
Ask questions that help you keep data firmly in context
Choose the right charts, graphs, and maps for each project--and avoid the wrong ones
Craft storyboards that reflect your message and audience
Direct attention to what matters most
Build data dashboards that guide people towards meaningful outcomes
Master advanced visualizations, including timelines, Likert scales, and lollipop charts
This book has only one prerequisite: your desire to communicate insights from data in ways that are memorable and actionable. It's for executives and professionals sharing important results, students writing reports or presentations, teachers cultivating data literacy, journalists making sense of complex trends. . . . practically everyone! Don't even have Tableau? Download your free trial of Tableau Desktop and let's get started!
Author(s): Lindy Ryan
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 288
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1 Welcome to Visual Analytics
A Visual Revolution
The Evolution from Data Visualization to Visual Data Storytelling
A Brief Look at the State of the Industry
From Visual to Story: Bridging the Gap
Summary
2 The Power of Visual Analytics
The Science of Storytelling
The Brain on Stories
The Human on Stories
The Power of Stories
The Classic Visualization Example
Using Small Personal Data for Big Stories
The Two-or-Four Season Debate
Napoleon’s March
Stories Outside of the Box
Summary
3 Getting Started with Tableau
Using Tableau
Why Tableau?
The Tableau Product Portfolio
Tableau Desktop
Tableau Server
Tableau Cloud
Tableau Prep
Tableau Public
Tableau Reader and Tableau Viewer
Getting Started
Installing Tableau Desktop
Connecting to Data
Connecting to Tables
Live Versus Extract
Connecting to Multiple Tables with Relationships and Joins
Adding and Replacing Data Sources
Basic Data Prep with Data Interpreter
Navigating the Tableau Interface
Menus and Toolbar
Data Pane
Shelves and Cards
Legends
Understanding Dimensions and Measures
Dimensions
Measures
Continuous and Discrete
Summary
4 Keeping Visual Analytics in Context
Context in Action
Harry Potter: Hero or Menace?
Ensuring Relevant Context
Exploratory Versus Explanatory Analysis
Structuring Visual Analytic Stories
Story Plot
Story Genre
Audience Analysis for Storytelling
Who
What
Why
How
Summary
5 Fundamental Data Visualizations
The Bar Chart
Tableau How-To: Bar Chart
The Line Chart
Tableau How-To: Line Chart
Pie and Doughnut Charts
Tableau How-To: Pie and Doughnut Charts
The Scatter Plot
Tableau How-To: Scatter Plots
The Packed Bubble Chart
Tableau How-To: Packed Bubble Charts
The Tree Map
Tableau How-To: Tree Maps
The Heat Map
Tableau How-To: Heat Maps
Summary
6 Fundamental Maps
Connecting to Geographic Data
Assigning Geographic Roles
Creating Geographic Hierarchies
Proportional Symbol Maps
Choropleth Map
Summary
7 Design Tips for Curating Visual Analytics
Visual Design Building Blocks
Color
Sequential Color
Diverging Color
Categorical Color
Color Effects
Opacity
Mark Borders
Mark Halos
Pre-attentive Colors
Important Color Considerations
The Truth About Red and Green
Lines
Formatting Grid Lines, Zero Lines, and Drop Lines
Formatting Borders
Formatting, Shading, and Banding
Shapes
Shape Marks Card
Custom Shapes
Summary
8 Structuring Analytics for Storytelling: Prep, Dashboards, and Stories
Basic Data Prep in Tableau: Data Interpreter
Data Interpreter in Action
Handling Nulls in Tableau
Pivoting Data from Wide to Tall
A Note on Preparing Survey Data for Visual Analysis
Storyboarding Your Visual Analytics
Understanding Stories in Tableau
The Storyboarding Process
Summary
9 Beyond Fundamentals: Advanced Visualizations
Timelines
Bar-in-Bar Charts
Likert-Scale Visualizations
A 100% Stacked Bar Chart
Divergent Stacked Bar Chart
Lollipop Charts
Labeled Lollipops
Word Clouds
Summary
10 Closing Thoughts
Five Steps to Visual Data Storytelling
Step 1. Find Data That Supports Your Story
Step 2. Layer Information for Understanding
Step 3. Design to Reveal
Step 4. Beware the False Reveal
Step 5. Tell It Fast
The Important Role of Feedback
Ongoing Learning
Teach Yourself: External Resources
Companion Materials to This Text
Appendix A Tableau Services
Index
