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Book Description

Dataviz—the new language of business

A good visualization can communicate the nature and potential impact of information and ideas more powerfully than any other form of communication.

For a long time “dataviz” was left to specialists—data scientists and professional designers. No longer. A new generation of tools and massive amounts of available data make it easy for anyone to create visualizations that communicate ideas far more effectively than generic spreadsheet charts ever could.

What’s more, building good charts is quickly becoming a need-to-have skill for managers. If you’re not doing it, other managers are, and they’re getting noticed for it and getting credit for contributing to your company’s success.

In Good Charts, dataviz maven Scott Berinato provides an essential guide to how visualization works and how to use this new language to impress and persuade. Dataviz today is where spreadsheets and word processors were in the early 1980s—on the cusp of changing how we work. Berinato lays out a system for thinking visually and building better charts through a process of talking, sketching, and prototyping.

This book is much more than a set of static rules for making visualizations. It taps into both well-established and cutting-edge research in visual perception and neuroscience, as well as the emerging field of visualization science, to explore why good charts (and bad ones) create “feelings behind our eyes.” Along the way, Berinato also includes many engaging vignettes of dataviz pros, illustrating the ideas in practice.

Good Charts will help you turn plain, uninspiring charts that merely present information into smart, effective visualizations that powerfully convey ideas.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover
  2. A Note on the Ebook Edition
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Introduction: A New Language and a Necessary Craft
  7. Part One: Understand
    1. 1. A Brief History of Dataviz: The Art and Science That Built a New Language
    2. 2. When a Chart Hits Our Eyes: Some Science of How We See
  8. Part Two: Create
    1. 3. Two Questions→Four Types: A Simple Typology for Chart Making
    2. 4. Better Charts in a Couple of Hours
  9. Part Three: Refine
    1. 5. Refine to Impress: Getting to the “Feeling Behind Our Eyes”
    2. 6. Refine to Persuade: Three Steps to More-Persuasive Charts
    3. 7. Persuastion or Manipulation?: The Blurred Edge of Truth
  10. Part Four: Present and Practice
    1. 8. Present to Persuade: Getting a Good Chart to Their Eyes and into Their Minds
    2. 9. Visual Crit: How to Practice Looking At (and Making) Good Charts
  11. Conclusion: Keep Going
  12. Glossary
  13. Notes
  14. Index
  15. Acknowledgments
  16. About the Author