Interactive Visualization — the Why

/via https://www.slideshare.net/tgwilson/waw-sep2010-datavisualizationwithnotes

Is your Visualization effective? Yes, yes, this is a totally loaded question. After all, WTF does “effective” even mean?

Well, if you’re using it to understand data, did it work? OTOH, what if you’re trying to explain it to somebody else? You may have to make it easier to comprehend, or more accessible (you’re not color-blind, but what if they are?), etc. And how do you make sure that in doing so for Bob, you didn’t foreclose the ability to explain it to Carol (who, unlike Bob, really sweats the small stuff).

The common point underlying the above is — “Why do I, the end-user, give any f**ks about this?”. And that tends to be issue. Static visualizations, by their very nature, represent a single viewport into the data, the one baked into it’s current representation.

And that’s where Interaction comes in. An interactive visualization changes the lens with which the data is viewed, by making it variable. It is no longer static, and doesn’t represent that single view — instead, it allows people to adjust the visualization to their own needs, and ask it different questions depending on where they are approaching the data from. In summary, it appeals to the inherent narcissism in humans by — right away — allowing them view things the way they want to.

Yes, of course, this isn’t infinitely variable, but it does allow you to “tailor” the visualization to a larger swath of the audience. Take advantage of this!