Data Visualization Techniques

This course will focus on building a variety of data visualizations using multiple tools and techniques. This is where we will put the theory together with actual hands-on experience of creating effective visualizations. Our efforts will be spent on choosing the best display types for our dataset, and then applying best practice principles to our selected charts, maps, or network graphs. We’ll spend considerable time on some of the most useful chart types, followed by a section where we explore the multiple uses of maps as visualizations. Our final section focuses on understanding network graphs, a powerful tool for displaying relationship data.

About The Author

Ken Cherven has been creating data visualizations for more than 10 years using a variety of tools, including Excel, Tableau, Cognos, D3, Gephi, Sigma.js, and Exhibit, along with geospatial tools such as Mapbox, Carto, and QGIS. Tableau is used on a daily basis in his current position, where he has built dozens of performance dashboards to track both marketing and operational metrics. He has also built many visualizations for his personal websites, especially utilizing Gephi and Sigma.js to explore and visualize network data.

He is very interested in tools related to the exploration of network data, typically using Gephi for most of his current output. Text analysis is also an area of interest, where he’s used tools such as Aylien, RapidMiner, R, and Exploratory to begin understanding and visualizing underlying patterns in political speeches, email transmissions, and book content.His experience in building data visualizations has intersected with many technologies, including a variety of SQL-based tools and languages including Oracle, MySQL, and SQLServer.

He frequently edits and styles network information using HTML and CSS, along with a bit of JavaScript. He is also highly engaged in the world of data visualization, including but not limited to his daily work experience. His work is based on a thorough understanding of visualization principles learned through extensive reading and practice. He also uses his websites to display and promote visualizations, which he shares with a wider audience. He has previously authored two books on Gephi for Packt, and has also presented at multiple data visualization conferences.