UNIT-2

Foundations for Visualization

Data visualization is a powerful tool for understanding and communicating data insights. The
foundations of data visualization encompass a range of principles and techniques that ensure that visual
representations are effective, accurate, and meaningful. Here are the key foundations of data
visualization
The foundations of data visualization involve understanding the types of data, adhering to principles of
effective visualization, choosing appropriate visualization types, considering design elements, using
appropriate tools, and maintaining ethical standards. By following these principles, you can create
visualizations that effectively communicate data insights and support informed decision-making.

Foundations for Data Visualization

Foundations for Data Visualization involve principles and techniques that guide the effective
representation of data in graphical or visual formats. These foundations ensure that data is
presented clearly and is easy to understand, interpret, and analyze. Here are the key components:

1. Understanding Data Types

Different types of data require different visualization approaches:

 Quantitative Data: Numeric data that represents quantities (e.g., sales figures,
temperatures). Suitable visualizations include line charts, histograms, and scatter plots.
 Categorical Data: Data that represents categories or labels (e.g., product names,
regions). Visualizations like bar charts, pie charts, and grouped bar charts work well.
 Temporal Data: Data that changes over time (e.g., stock prices, temperature changes).
Time series plots or Gantt charts are often used.
 Geospatial Data: Data with geographic information (e.g., locations, maps). Heatmaps,
choropleth maps, and geographical plots are used for this kind of data.

2. Principles of Visual Design

 Clarity: The visualization should be easy to interpret. Avoid clutter and unnecessary
visual elements.
 Accuracy: Represent data accurately without misleading through inappropriate scaling,
truncation, or exaggeration.
 Consistency: Use consistent colors, shapes, and scales to make comparisons easier.
 Focus: Highlight the most important information or trends.

3. Choosing the Right Chart Type

Different chart types are suited to different types of data and the story you want to tell:

 Bar Charts: Great for comparing categorical data.

 Line Charts: Ideal for showing trends over time.
 Pie Charts: Good for showing proportions, though should be used sparingly.
 Scatter Plots: Useful for showing relationships between two continuous variables.
 Heatmaps: Effective for showing the intensity of data over two dimensions, often used
for geospatial or temporal data.

4. Interactivity and Engagement

 Interactive visualizations allow users to explore data themselves (e.g.clicking, or

zooming on elements). Tools like Tableau, Power BI enable interactive data
visualizations.
 Engagement features like tooltips, filters, and drill-down options allow for deeper data
exploration.

5. Tools and Technologies

Several tools and libraries help create data visualizations:

 Programming Libraries: Python’s Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly, R’s ggplot2, D3.js for
web-based visualizations.
 Business Intelligence Tools: Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, QlikView.

6. Ethics in Visualization

Ethical data visualization involves:

 Avoiding misleading representations (e.g., truncated axes, disproportionate symbols).

 Providing context so viewers understand the data’s origins, limitations, and implications.
 Respecting privacy and ensuring that sensitive data is not disclosed improperly.

7. Evaluation and Iteration

After creating a visualization, it’s important to evaluate its effectiveness:

 User Testing: Gather feedback from target users to understand whether they can interpret
the data correctly.
 Iterative Design: Continuously improve visualizations based on feedback and
performance metrics like readability and clarity.

8. Storytelling with Data

Data visualization is not just about showing data but telling a story:
  Identify the key message or insight you want to convey.
 Use narrative elements like annotations, highlights, and progression to guide the audience
through the data.

By applying these foundations, data visualization becomes a powerful tool to communicate

insights clearly and effectively.

Visualization stages
Data visualization is a multi-stage process that transforms raw data into visual representations
that help in understanding, analyzing, and communicating insights. Each stage plays a crucial
role in ensuring that the final visualization is effective and accurate. Here’s a detailed breakdown
of the stages involved in data visualization:

1. Problem Definition

Objective: Clearly define the goals and questions you want the visualization to address.

 Understand what you want to achieve with the visualization. Are you exploring data,
comparing values, showing trends, or highlighting relationships?

 Identify who will use the visualization and what their needs and expectations are relevant
to your objectives.

Example: You want to visualize monthly sales trends to understand seasonal patterns and
compare performance across different regions.

2. Data Collection

Objective: Gather and consolidate data from various sources.

 Source Identification: Determine where your data will come from (databases, APIs,
spreadsheets, etc.).

Collect the raw data that is relevant to your objectives.

Combine data from different sources if needed.

Example: Collect sales data from a company’s database, including sales figures, dates, and
regional information.

3. Data Preparation

Objective: Clean, preprocess, and structure the data for analysis.

 Data Cleaning: Handle missing values, remove duplicates, and correct errors.
 Data Transformation: Convert data types, normalize or scale numerical values, and
encode categorical variables.
 Data Aggregation: Summarize data as needed, such as grouping by time periods or
categories.

Example: Clean sales data by filling missing values, converting dates to a standard format, and
aggregating sales figures by month and region.

4. Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)

Objective: Analyze data to uncover patterns, trends, and insights.

 Initial Analysis: Perform statistical analysis to understand the distribution, central

tendencies, and variance in the data.
 Visual Exploration: Use preliminary visualizations (e.g., histograms, scatter plots) to
identify patterns, correlations, and anomalies.
 Hypothesis Testing: Test any assumptions or hypotheses you have about the data.

5. Design and Development

Objective: Design and develop the visualizations based on the insights from EDA and the
problem definition.

 Choose Visualization Type: Select the appropriate chart or graph based on the data and
objectives (e.g., line chart for trends, bar chart for comparisons).
 Design Layout: Create a layout that clearly presents the information, including axes,
labels, legends, and titles.

Example: Design a line chart to show monthly sales trends, including labels for axes, a legend to
differentiate regions, and interactive filters to view different time periods or regions.

6. Testing and Validation

Objective: Ensure the accuracy, effectiveness, and usability of the visualization.

  Accuracy Check: Verify that the data is accurately represented and that calculations are
correct.
 Performance Testing: Ensure that the visualization performs well, especially for large
datasets or interactive features.

Example: Validate that the line chart correctly reflects sales data and check with users to ensure
they can easily understand and interact with the visualization.

7. Deployment and Distribution

Objective: Publish and share the visualization with the intended audience.

 Choose Platform: Decide where and how to deploy the visualization (e.g., web
dashboard, report, presentation).
 Format and Export: Export the visualization in the appropriate format (e.g., interactive
web application, static image, PDF).


Example: Publish the line chart on a company dashboard and share it with sales teams via email
or a shared reporting platform.

8. Feedback and Iteration

Objective: Collect feedback and make improvements based on user input and evolving needs.

Example: Collect feedback from sales managers on the usability of the sales trends dashboard
and make updates to address any issues or incorporate additional features.

Semiology of Graphical Symbols:

The "Semiology of Graphical Symbols," a term coined by Jacques Bertin in his influential book
"Sémiologie Graphique" (1967), is a foundational concept in data visualization. It refers to the study of
how visual elements (symbols) are used to convey information, focusing on the interpretation and
meaning of graphical representations. Understanding this concept helps in designing effective
visualizations by ensuring that graphical symbols are used in a way that accurately communicates the
intended message.

In the field of data visualization, visual variables are fundamental elements used to encode
information in graphical representations. Jacques Bertin, in his seminal work "Sémiologie
Graphique," identified several visual variables that can be used to represent data effectively.
These visual variables help in distinguishing different data elements and conveying various types
of information.

Eight Visual Variables

Here’s an overview of the eight visual variables and how they can be used:

1. Position - the location of an element on a visual display, such as a graph or a

map. For example, a scatter plot shows the position of data points relative to
two axes.
2. Size - the physical dimension of an element on a visual display. For example, a
bubble chart uses size to represent the value of a data point.
3. Shape - the form of an element on a visual display. For example, different
shapes can be used to represent different types of data in a scatter plot.
4. Value - the lightness or darkness of an element on a visual display. For
example, a grayscale image uses value to convey different levels of intensity.
5. Texture - the pattern of an element on a visual display. For example, a map can
use different textures to represent different types of land use.
6. Color - the hue of an element on a visual display. For example, a heat map uses
color to represent the magnitude of a variable.
7. Orientation - the angle of an element on a visual display. For example, a radar
chart uses orientation to represent different variables.
8. Connection - the relationship between elements on a visual display. For
example, a network diagram uses connections to show the relationships
between nodes

Historical Perspective On The Semiology Of Graphical Symbols

Or History of Data Visualization

Historical perspective in data visualization refers to the evolution of data visualization techniques
over time. Humans have been creating visual representations of data for thousands of years, but
the modern era of data visualization began in the 18th century with the invention of statistical
graphics by William Playfair.
Taxonomy of data visualization:
• In the foundation of visualization, taxonomies are a way of categorizing different types of
visualizations based on their characteristics and purposes. Taxonomies can help designers
and researchers better understand the strengths and limitations of different types of
visualizations, and how they can be used effectively to communicate information.

• Data Type Taxonomy:

This taxonomy categorizes visualizations based on the type of data they represent, such
as quantitative, qualitative data, temporal data and geospatial data

Visual Encoding Taxonomy:

This taxonomy categorizes visualizations based on the type of visual encoding used to represent
data, such as position, color, shape.

1. Position - the location of an element on a visual display, such as a graph or a map. For
example, a scatter plot shows the position of data points relative to two axes.
2. Shape - the form of an element on a visual display. For example, different shapes can be
used to represent different types of data in a scatter plot.

3.Color - the hue of an element on a visual display. For example, a heat map uses color to
represent the magnitude of a variable.

Heat Map Chart, or Heatmap is a two-dimensional visual representation of data, where

values are encoded in colors, delivering a convenient, insightful view of information.
Task Taxonomy:

This taxonomy categorizes visualizations based on the type of task they are designed to support,
such as exploration, comparison, or explanation

Company sales exploration ,comparison and explanation

Domain Taxonomy:

This taxonomy categorizes visualizations based on the domain or field of application, such as
scientific visualization or research and business intelligence

 Programming Libraries: Python’s Matplotlib, Seaborn, Plotly, R’s ggplot2, D3.js for
web-based visualizations.
 Business Intelligence Tools: Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, QlikView.

Technology Taxonomy:

This taxonomy categorizes visualizations based on the technology used to create them, such as ,
interactive visualizations , animated visualization, geospatial or network
Experimental Semiotics based on Perception Gibson‘s Affordance theory

• Experimental semiotics is a field that explores how humans use and interpret signs and
symbols in communication. One influential theory in this field is the Affordance Theory,
developed by psychologist James J. Gibson.
• Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols, focusing on how meaning is generated and
communicated.

Gibson's Affordance Theory suggests that perception is an active process that involves the
interpretation of environmental cues( cues around a person that inform them what is
happening and how to respond.) in relation to the individual's goals and intentions.
According to this theory, objects and environments have inherent affordances, or potential
actions that they enable or constrain. For example, a chair affords sitting, a door affords opening,
and a staircase affords climbing

• Experimental semiotics based on Affordance Theory seeks to investigate how people use
and interpret signs and symbols in relation to their perceived affordances.
• For example, a stop sign affords stopping, and a green traffic light affords moving
forward. By manipulating the signs and symbols presented to participants, researchers
can explore how they interpret and respond to different affordances.
• One example of an experimental semiotics study based on Affordance Theory is a study
that investigated how people interpret and respond to road signs. Participants were
presented with a series of road signs with different colors, shapes, and symbols, and were
asked to indicate what action they would take in response to each sign. The results
showed that participants' responses were strongly influenced by the perceived affordances
of the signs, highlighting the importance of affordance-based interpretation in
communication.

Overall, experimental semiotics based on Affordance Theory provides a framework for

understanding how people use and interpret signs and symbols in communication, highlighting
the importance of the relationship between environmental cues and perceived affordances

A Model of Perceptual Processing

• A Model of Perceptual Processing with an example Perceptual processing is the cognitive

process of understanding and interpreting sensory information. It involves the integration
of sensory information from the environment and the internal mental processes of the
individual.
• Perception(relating to the way people interpret and understand what they see or notice. )
• A Model of Perceptual Processing with an example Perceptual processing is the cognitive
process of understanding and interpreting sensory information. It involves the integration
of sensory information from the environment and the internal mental processes of the
individual.
• Perception(relating to the way people interpret and understand what they see or notice. )
Example:

A person is walking down the street and notices a streetlight.

1. Sensory Input: The person detects the visual stimulus of the streetlight.

2. Attention: The person focuses their attention on the streetlight.

3. Organization: The person categorizes the streetlight as an object in the environment.

4. Interpretation: The person interprets the streetlight as a source of illumination.

5. Memory: The person stores the information about the streetlight in their memory.

6. Response: The person continues walking down the street without reacting to the
streetlight.

Biological term of visual stimuli

• Visual stimuli from our surroundings are processed by an intricate system of

interconnecting neurons, which begins with the optic nerve in the eye up to the visual
processing center in our forebrain called the visual cortex.

Class room stimuli

• Illustrations, photographs, video, concept maps, graphs and charts, and many other visual
stimuli can be used to great effect in the classroom. Photos and art depicting historical
events, for example, can help students connect with the past. Graphs and charts are
excellent ways to illustrate comparisons and changes.