Course Introduction
An overview of the processes and skills involved in turning data into clear visual storiesWhat's it about?
As more and more data gets generated, tables and charts have become vital information sources. This one-day course offers an overview of the key techniques needed for finding, structuring and designing both static and interactive graphics. As well as sharing advice and best practice examples, the tutors will also run two hands-on workshop sessions, where participants will be given focussed data visualisation challenges.
Who should attend?
The course is aimed at anyone who uses data as part of their work and wants to understand how to present this data more clearly and persuasively.
Learning outcomes
- Techniques for finding stories in your data
- Understanding how to map your story to a specific audience
- Matching your story to the correct chart type
- Using layout, colour and font choices to create more engaging charts
- Understanding when and how to add interactivity
- Recommended books, tools and software
Benefits
At the end of this course, you will have a solid grasp of the different ways in which data can be brought to life and an understanding of which tools and software will help you to develop your ideas further.
Course Structure Highlights
- Defining a process for your data visualisation project
- Understanding the spectrum of good practice
- An introduction to different schools of thought on data visualisation and key practitioners: Edward Tufte, Nathan Yau, David McCandless
- How to turn a dataset into a story
- How to use design elements to make your story memorable
- How to structure an interactive story
- Interface design
- A walkthrough of the key data visualisation tools
