Historical and Contemporary Visualisation (Part 2)

Why do we visualise?

• To help us gain an insight and understanding into complex issues.
• When faced with a large amount of data, it is hard for us to draw comparisons between conclusions. In the form of a graph, it is much easier to draw comparisons in a visual form. Therefore creating visualisations saves the audience time and effort trying to draw comparisons by creating comparisons for them.
• The main goal of any graphic and visualisation is to be a tool for your eyes and brain to perceive what lies beyond their natural reach.
• Rather than showing all the information available in a graph, it may be more useful to only show important information, to help the audience distinguish information.
• Sometimes it is up to the designer to choose which information to show and what to hide, rather than leaving it all up to the computer. Designers can choose what information is useful and what just makes the graph confusing and cluttered.