Data visualization is the art and science of presenting data in a visual form that makes it easy to understand, explore, and communicate. Data visualization can help you discover patterns, trends, outliers, and insights that may not be obvious from looking at numbers or tables.
Data visualization can also help you tell a compelling story with your data, and persuade your audience to take action or make decisions.
However, not all data visualizations are created equal. Some are more effective than others, depending on the type, size, and complexity of the data, and the message or goal you want to convey.
Some are more engaging and appealing than others, depending on the design, aesthetics, and interactivity of the visualization.
One of the most common and widely used data visualization techniques is the bar chart.
A bar chart is a simple and versatile way to compare values across categories, or show changes over time. Bar charts are easy to create, read, and interpret, and they can work well for many types of data.
However, bar charts are not the only option, and sometimes they may not be the best option.
Depending on your data and your objective, you may want to explore other data visualization techniques that can offer more insights, creativity, or impact.
In this article, we will look at some of the innovative data visualization techniques that go beyond the bar chart, and how they can help you present your data in a more effective and engaging way.
Treemaps
A treemap is a data visualization technique that uses nested rectangles to represent hierarchical data.
Each rectangle represents a node in the hierarchy, and its size is proportional to a numeric value, such as frequency, amount, or percentage. The rectangles are arranged and colored according to their level in the hierarchy, creating a visual map of the data structure.
Treemaps are useful for showing the relative size and distribution of different categories or subcategories within a larger whole.
They can also help you identify patterns, outliers, or anomalies in the data. For example, you can use a treemap to show the market share of different products or brands, the allocation of budget or resources, or the composition of a portfolio or population.
!Treemap example
Source: Wikipedia
Sankey Diagrams
A Sankey diagram is a data visualization technique that uses curved lines or arrows to show the flow of data from one source to another.
The width of the line or arrow is proportional to the amount or volume of the data flowing through it. The lines or arrows can also be colored or labeled to indicate different types or categories of data.
Sankey diagrams are useful for showing the movement, transformation, or conservation of data over time or across stages.
They can also help you visualize the relationships, dependencies, or interactions between different data elements.
For example, you can use a Sankey diagram to show the energy consumption or production of a system, the customer journey or conversion funnel of a website, or the migration or distribution of a population.