Visualizations as vocabulary…or know the big words, use the small ones by Zach Gemignani.
From the post:
Telling stories with data. It is an increasingly common business intelligence refrain–and it may well be part of your job description. If it is, why not tap into the time-tested lessons of those who tell stories with words? Just as words are the basic unit of written stories, visualization techniques (charts, visualizations, colors, font sizes, sparklines, etc.) are the tools we have when telling data stories. No matter the form, authors will agonize about choosing the right units of expression, finding a balance between being concise and being comprehensive, simplicity and sophistication.
Illustrates the following three rules:
- Smaller, simpler words
- Too many words is a symptom of poor understanding
- Words are for communication, not show
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