Tips to Improve Data Visualization Design

Data is an essential element of the user experience in mobile and web applications. Among other things, data design solutions may influence the user browsing behaviour and purchasing decisions – either for worse or for better. Elements of data visualization like tables and charts allow users to compare several products at once, read up on tendencies and trends, and make note of their progress. Finally, this is what makes your app’s data easier to consume.

Sharing valuable data in a comfortable format helps keep your users engaged with your online presence. However, sometimes creating a chart or graph to display data can significantly compromise your users’ ability to read it. So in this posting, we have decided to take a closer look at some of the ways to increase user engagement by improving data visualization design. In other words, we will inform you how to make your app’s data a bit easier to consume. Grab a cup of coffee and let’s get going!

What’s Data Visualization?

Data visualization refers to the visual representation of the most valuable information on your website/app. It means producing visuals that communicate certain relationships among the data to your users/viewers. Data visualization elements provide an effective way for users to see/understand patterns and trends in data. In the world of web and mobile applications, data visualization technologies and tools are critical to make data-driven decisions and analyze massive amounts of data. Below we have collected some of the most effective ways you can focus on as you decide to add some visualization stuff to your application.

How to Improve Data Visualization Design?

Wisely choose the colors you pick for your application

Color is a delicate matter in web and mobile design. For information density, you might want to use colors that clearly distinguish data. However, this trick will not help users read the information any better. For accessibility of data, it would be better to avoid color palettes that may become compromised when seen by colorblind individuals. In addition, unique and bright colors make it much easier for people to see how they are using their time amongst their smartphone’s applications. So look over every aspect of your visualization design to make sure it will not get in the way of consuming your information. Besides, there is also the meaning of color to consider, too.

Place information in a logical way

Each type of visualization works best for displaying a certain type of information. From this perspective, there could be more than one method to display it logically. Here are some tips:

Bar graphs should be sorted alphabetically
Line charts are better to be displayed in chronological order
It is better to slot wedges of a pie chart based on their size

Do not just place each information point willy-nilly. Consider what is the optimal logical design.

Only add what is necessary

Today, users can quickly get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data, because website owners do not want to leave anything out. But some information is not worth sharing. The same fully applies to data visualization. There is no need to complicate your data design. Consider removing unnecessary borders, lines, drop-shadowing, and 3D from your visualization elements.

Avoid being too creative with the content

Unlike an email subject or blog article title that should shock/tease viewers, data visualization should not be a puzzle. When it comes to the copy surrounding data visualization elements, there can be no such thing as oversimplification.

Select the appropriate type of data visualization

Whether you are utilizing a ready-made template or creating a data visualization element from scratch, determine which type of visualization design you need before you get started. Highlighted map? Bubble chart? Venn diagram? Progress bar? Which is the best fit for your website/app?

For example, a large set of related data will be best displayed with a table. A bar graph is the best solution if you need to compare data, either among selected variables or along a timeline. If you have a dataset that tracks descent/growth, a line graph would be a perfect fit for you. Finally, a pie chart will work best if you need to give users a quick idea of how your product is distributed. As you can see, there is always bound to be a certain type of visualization that represents your data best.

Key Takeaways

Improving your data visualization design means improving engagement of your website/app. It can serve as a huge selling point for you as it gives viewers a bit more than just using your online product. It provides them with a reason to monitor their performance, view trends, check on progress, log back in, and so on. And when you remove the friction in your visualization, you will encourage users to not only engage with your application regularly, but also to retain their membership for a prolonged period of time. At Loonar Studios, we are ready to help you with any aspect of your data visualization. Contact us if you still have any questions. Stay safe!

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