How many cliches does it take to drill home the point that visual data stands supreme when it comes to presenting and digesting information?
“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
“Show, don’t tell.”
“I’m a visual learner.”
“Seeing is believing.”
“It’s easier to show than to describe.”
If you don’t believe these old adages, there are two scientific phenomena to corroborate them: Dual Coding Theory and Picture Superiority Effect.
Dual Coding Theory is a cognition theory that serves as the basis for the Picture Superiority Effect. It asserts that visual and verbal information are simultaneously processed in different channels of the brain, creating separate representations for that information in each channel. This means that the information is coded and stored in two different places, making it easier to recall. For example, consider that someone has just ingested the stimulus concept of “hat” as both a word and an image. When asked to recall the stimulus, the person can retrieve the word, the image, or both at the same time. The ability to code and store a stimulus in two different ways increases the chances of remembering that item.
The Picture Superiority Effect is pretty self-explanatory; pictures and images are more likely to be remembered than words and numbers because our brains code them in an easier, more retrievable way.
Now, with all of this in mind, it’s safe to say that visual data is the most effective way to analyze, utilize, and transform your disparate data. In its most basic form, visual data is simply a graphical representation of your information and data. But when it’s executed skillfully, visual data can be an art form and a visual storytelling tool. It can turn numbers and backlogs of financial reports into compelling narratives and lucrative insights.
Data41 is a major proponent of visual data… it’s what we do to turn your raw data into insightful information! Coupling our services with advanced software like IBM Planning Analytics, IBM Cognos Analytics, Watson, Jedox, and Microsoft Power BI, we’ll aggregate your multiple data sources, determine your analytics outcome, and equip you with rich visualizations for informed and successful decision-making. Our team will transform your data into eye-catching, interactive visuals with real time graphics, color-coding, and hover features to understand and illustrate the story behind your data.
Good visual data reveals the useful information and cuts the noise. It identifies trends and highlights outliers. Visualization is a tactful and emboldened way to tackle the conundrum of disparate data sources. It brings order to the chaos in both a technical and a creative way. Data41 can help you orchestrate this convergence of analysis and storytelling.
Related resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-coding_theory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture_superiority_effect
https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/data-visualization
https://www.toucantoco.com/en/blog/7-examples-of-data-visualization
