Data Points

Nathan Yau has a PhD in statistics and is a statistical consultant who helps clients make use of their data through visualization. He created the popular site FlowingData.com, and is the author of Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics, also published by Wiley.

• Introduction xi1 Understanding Data 1What Data Represents 2Variability 20Uncertainty 30Context 35Wrapping Up 412 Visualization: The Medium 43Analysis and Exploration 45Information Graphics and Presentation 58Entertainment 69Data Art 74The Everyday 81Wrapping Up 893 Representing Data 91Visualization Components 93Putting It Together 115Wrapping Up 1324 Exploring Data Visually 135Process 136Visualizing Categorical Data 143Visualizing Time Series Data 154Visualizing Spatial Data 165Multiple Variables 176Distributions 193Wrapping Up 1995 Visualizing with Clarity 201Visual Hierarchy 202Readability 205Highlighting 221Annotation 228Do the Math 236Wrapping Up 2396 Designing for an Audience 241Common Misconceptions 242Present Data to People 254Things to Consider 258Putting It Together 268Wrapping Up 2737 Where to Go from Here 277Visualization Tools 278Programming 283Illustration 288Statistics 289Wrapping Up 289Index 291

"Data Points opens an exciting view of information blending data analysis, visual interaction, and digital storytelling... the visuals are stunning." (Managing Information, October 2013) "Ultimately, I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the process of design and analysis. It is about making sense of data and that is becoming a crucial skill in this digital age." (Media Information & Technology Journal, August 2013) "A detailed handbook, Data Points is espe??cially useful for those working on scientific data visualization, guiding the reader through fascinat??ing examples of data, graph??ics, context, presentation and analytics. But this is more than a mere how-to manual. Yau reminds us that the real purpose of most visualiza??tion work is to communicate data to pragmatic ends." (Nature, May 2013)