There are several ways to visualize data. The most commonly used could be Excel charts. However, when the data sets are complicated and large, the ability to display and chart the data is required to be given to the individual user or consumer, new techniques are required to plot the data.
One such technique involves having the data in a database and then giving the ability to plot to the user through a web based interface using Java. This has been used in many instances and one of them can be seen below. This is one of the graphs that shows large amount of data, with animation and also ability for the user to change the graph according to their requirement.
Three rules of data visualization:
- Simple is better. This is true of Steve Jobs mobile phones as well as graphs. A graphs with a lot of points, bars, lines makes things complicated. When displaying just one data display with the ability to add more, gives much more clarity and makes it easier to understand.
- Graphs can display data in various forms. Giving the user the ability to modify the data to what is useful to the individual user makes it much more useful to the user.
- Animation help user understand the data and unfolds the story much better than presenting all the data at once and then hoping the user draws the conclusion that you would like them to draw.