Tableau USER GROUP

CINCINNATIEvent #5 – 84.51º & Visualization Design

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ARRIVE & NETWORK

Socialize with other Tableau

users, and grab a chair for

the event.

84. 51 Presentation

Tableau and data

visualization culture at

84.51°

VIZ DESIGN

Techniques used to improve

data visualization design

AGENDA

5:00

Introduction to the local

Cincinnati Tableau User

Group and discuss future

events

INTRODUCTION

5:30

5:40

6:00

6:30

SOCIALIZE

Talk to your local Tableau

users and discuss Tableau

related items

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Administrators

ERIC DUELL JEFF SHAFFER CRAIG WORTMAN

VP of Analytics and Intelligence

E.W. Scripps Company

Vice President, IT and Analytics

Unifund

Data Analyst

Unifund

Adjunct Professor of Data

Visualization at the

University of Cincinnati.

Adjunct Professor of Data

Visualization at the

University of Cincinnati.

Tableau Desktop and Server

user for four years.

@ericduell @HighVizAbility @WortmanCraig

www.DataPlusScience.com

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GROUP LEADER

@russellspangler russellspangler@gmail.comwww.linkedin.com/in/russellspangler/

RUSSELL SPANGLER

Sr. Data Visualization Developer

Senior Data Visualization Developer at

Convergys. Adjunct Professor for Data

Management at the University of Cincinnati.

Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in

Information Systems. Tableau Server

administrator and Tableau desktop user for

about 4-5 Years.

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JOIN US

You Should Join The Cincinnati Tableau User Group

- Donald Trump

Please Join The Cincinnati

User Group Pagehttp://community.tableau.com/groups/midwest

Search for “Cincinnati Tableau User Group”

6

FUTURE EVENTS

Location. Please contact us if you

have a good location to host any of

the future events. Events should

be free and can be sponsored by

local companies. Capacity for the

venue should hold at least 50

people.

Time. Events can be morning,

afternoon or evening on most

weekdays. Currently we’ve

decided after work on a weeknight

seems to fit easiest with most

schedules. We’ll try to provide at

least a 3 week notice for future

events.

Ideas. We are looking for

feedback on type of topics for

future events. Depending on

experience level material can be

adjusted to help build the group.

Location TIME IDEAS

Format. We can create hands-on

learning events or we can focus on

discussions and how individuals

are utilizing Tableau in their work

environment.

Volunteers. Looking for

volunteers that have material or

topics they would like to present

and looking for experienced

members to help other members

when questions arise.

Happy Hour. Future happy hour

to help meet people with help from

a little liquor courage. Willing to

accept sponsors.

FORMAT VOLUNTEERS HAPPY HOURS

EMAIL ISSUES

• We do not receive access to emails provided to the Eventbrite website

• Email recipients list:• Cincinnati Tableau customers (email used for your license)

• Members of the Cincinnati user group (http://community.tableau.com/groups/midwest)

• Previously attended a Cincinnati user group event (email provided on the Eventbrite

website)

• Not receiving emails:• Join the user group page (emails will be sent directly to user group members)

• Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter

• Periodically check the Cincinnati user group page.

• Email schedule: • Initial email 3-4+ weeks prior to the event (directly from Tableau, event will also be posted

to Eventbrite & the user group page)

• User group email a few days after the initial email

• Final/reminder email a week prior to the event deadline

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884.51 PRESENTATION

9ViZ DESIGN

1010

DESIGN PROCESS

Determine what pieces of data to focus on by understanding the intended use

and audience for the visualization.

FOCUS (Purpose)

Design by balancing best practices with the requirements of your project.

Simpler designs usually are the easiest to process quicker when visualizing.

DESIGN

Begin building your ideas and start to create pieces of your final visualization.

Build pieces and make sure they work with your overall vision (don’t be afraid

to revisit a design idea or make suggestions to improve a design choice).

BUILD

Questions

• What are the most interesting pieces of information to focus on

• Which pieces of data are the most important

• What “story” do we want to tell

• What is the goal of this visualization

• Who/what is the intended audience for the visualization (executives

are usually interested in different data compared to team

managers)

• Predefined color palettes

• Preference for certain chart types

• Any current examples of reports/dashboards currently being

used (this also helps show before & after improvements)

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PreATTENTIVE ATTRIBUTES

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• Use preattentive attributes to help create focus on data points • Attributes can isolate focus or show focus across multiple data points

• You can use multiple attributes to convey one focus pointExample: Red Down Arrow (the direction of the arrow shows negative performance and the color

red also enforces the negative direction)

• Some attributes are more difficult for people to interpret (pie

charts, donut charts, radial graphics are usually more difficult to understand

than a bar chart)

• Be careful when using a lot of colors on your viz• If your visualization is meant to be a dashboard, give it the 30 second test.

If you can’t understand how you are performing after glancing at your

design in 30 seconds, you might need to rethink your design

PreATTENTIVE ATTRIBUTES

Recommended Site: http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/faculty/healey/PP/https://www.google.com/search?q=preattentive+data+visualization&source=lnms&tbm=isch

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http://stevensanne.com/data-viz-in-6-weeks-wk-3-perception-cognition/

http://blog.fusioncharts.com/2014/03/how-we-decode-visual-information-podv/

14I recommend sketching out ideas before opening Tableau

SKETCHING

DESIGN TIPS

• More items on your design usually causes individuals to take longer

to process your visualization • Remove any unnecessary items (if the end user only cares about the trend

of a KPI then you do not need to show all the numbers associated for each

month)

• Watch out for text on charts and the color of the text compared to the chart

color

• Don’t over complicate your design, your design should need minimum

instructions in order to comprehend it

• Remove all the additional components and re-add as you need them

• Use color markers or pens to sketch your ideas better

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16MAKE A BETTER BAR

BAR RESCUE

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BAR CHART RESCUE

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BAR CHART DESIGN

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The Data:Use RANDBETWEEN

and RAND in Excel to

create mockup data

(Generates randomly

every time you make a

change)

BAR CHART DESIGN

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Standard Tableau

Bar Chart

BAR CHART DESIGN

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Tip: Add a

space before

the number

Synchronize axis

Tip:

Transparency is

your friend

Dual axis

BAR CHART DESIGN

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Remove axis

labels (numbers

provide details)

Remove borders

to provide a more

stylish chart

Sort Values

Descending

Use reference lines to

add additional details

on the same chart

(averages, goals, etc.)

BAR CHART DESIGN

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Before:

After:

TIPS

• Use Gray text as a substitute for Black text

• Compare the text color with chart colors

• Use transparency, dual axis, and reference lines• Allows you to overlap multiple charts/graphics (adds more information on one chart)

• Can provide as a guide to show distance of values from highest possible value

• Add a space before numbers on bar charts

• Add spaces (blank lines) before or after labels to push numbers above

or below shapes

• The size (width, length) of the bars can increase or decrease the ability

to see patterns/trends in the data

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25LINE CHART/GRAPH

LINE CHART DESIGN

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The Data:

Standard Tableau

Line Chart/Graph

LINE CHART DESIGN

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Charts can get

“busy” very

easily

LINE CHART DESIGN

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I like to

remove any

lines to

create a

cleaner chart

LINE CHART DESIGN

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If I only want to see the trends, I

can remove the details that the

number labels provide

Add points to a line chart by

using dual axis

LINE CHART DESIGN

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Color different points of interest

LINE CHART DESIGN

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You can use shape size to

increase awareness

DIFFERENT VIEWS

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May you don’t like Line Charts

Shapes with circles

Area Chart

Bar Chart

Bar Chart with dual axis to color

negative values darker

FONTS & COLORS

• Readability• Sans Serif Fonts (Arial, Helvetica)

• Use larger and more weighted (bolded) fonts to display

important numbers

• Use color to provide insight, context, and draw attention to

important items

• Gradient colors can help display values

• Add spacing between different colors to help separate values

• Pick colors that are preferred by your audience

• Also use shapes, icons, and images to help provide

information to your design (up/down arrow, +/- signs, etc.)

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TIPS

• Work on your design and techniques for more common chart types

• Make sure you focus on all deign aspects of your viz (one badly

designed chart might ruin a well designed dashboard)

• Balance best practices with the needs of your business and

audience preferences

• Multiple designs help show your audience different techniques and

views of the data

• Using simple techniques can create a clean looking visualization

• Create your own style

• Don’t get upset when someone doesn’t like your design/viz

(everyone is different)

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35DESIGNS

BEFORE

DESIGNS• Grids of numbers

• Line charts with a lines clustered together

• Heat maps using stock color pallets

RULES

• Images produced from Tableau to be used in PowerPoint

• Most of reports should assume no interactivity

• Still need to show most of the numbers

• Need to indicate performance (favoring the usage of arrows)

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CONVERGYS

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CONVERGYS

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CONVERGYS

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CONVERGYS

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ThankSDon’t Forget to Join the

Cincinnati User Group Pagehttp://community.tableau.com/groups/midwest

Search for “Cincinnati Tableau User Group”