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Every day, human beings produce over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. Interpreting, cataloging and analyzing this data has become a cornerstone of running successful businesses and institutions, and the rise of big data analytics has revolutionized almost every aspect of our daily lives. However, interpreting and analyzing this data is only part of the process. In order to turn huge amounts of raw data into useful information and actionable insights, that data has to be transformed into a visualization so that the information can be communicated to stakeholders and non-specialists.

Learning data visualization will require students to understand how to read and interpret data, how to use data visualization tools, and how to construct narratives through data. This can be a challenging process since even if you know how to use tools like Tableau and Excel, you’ll still need to learn how to present this data in a way that is informative, persuasive, and appealing. While not a strictly creative process, knowing how to shape a narrative with your data is an essential part of the process of learning data visualization.

Why Learn Data Visualization?

Data analysis has become an essential part of almost every professional field. The public and private sectors are all embracing the value of data analysis, and it is becoming increasingly common in wide-ranging industries, including commerce, finance, healthcare, education, and public administration. In all of these fields, it is essential to communicate what you’ve found in the data if you are hoping to use that data to create actionable insights and practical solutions to the unique problems faced by your company or institution. Learning data visualization is an important part of this process since this is the process by which raw data is turned into graphs, charts, and maps that can be used to explain or persuade.

Data visualization is also useful for non-data professionals who work in fields that require them to communicate with large groups of people. For example, journalists can use data visualization tools to condense complex information into an easy-to-read chart, while activists can use data visualization skills to create infographics that are informative and persuasive. Advertisers may want to learn how to visualize data to help communicate the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns. Project managers may also want to learn data visualization skills to communicate their progress when they report to stakeholders. If you work in a field that requires communication, learning to transform complex data and concepts into visual representations and narratives is invaluable.

Data Visualization Skills and Tools

Learning data visualization means learning to work with data and learning how to communicate that data to an intended audience. This means it combines technical skills, mathematical analysis, and communication into a singular skill set.

Excel

Excel is one of the most important tools to learn when starting in any data-related field. You can’t create a visualization of your data if you don’t have good, well-organized datasets to begin with, and Excel is one of the top tools for creating databases. Microsoft’s spreadsheet application is one of the world's most commonly used computer programs, and it has been refined to serve as one of the most accessible data entry and organization tools available. Once you have mastered the basics of Excel, you can even use it to create simple charts, graphs, and visualizations directly from Excel spreadsheets, which can help greatly speed up the process of creating simple data visualizations. It is also very easy to query data from Excel and to import that data into more robust data visualization applications like Tableau.

Tableau

Tableau has become one of the leading data visualization tools on the market, and it offers users a robust suite of tools for importing data and transforming that data into detailed, complex charts, graphs, and interactive dashboards that allow for up-to-the-minute detailed comparisons of any granular element of a dataset. Tableau’s dashboard creation features allow users to create interactive visualizations that can query and compare vast amounts of data in a simple and user-friendly way. Plus, since these dashboards are interactive, you can quickly respond to questions by shifting the data being examined, and you can let your users play around with the dashboard to draw their own conclusions from the data based on their queries. If you are working with data in a professional capacity, it pays to understand how to use Tableau as a tool for data visualization.

Narrative Storytelling and Communication

Data visualization is the art of turning raw data into a narrative that conveys the intended message. This can be for practical purposes, like communicating what elements of an advertising or marketing strategy are most effective, or for persuasive purposes, like using data to argue for a policy position. This requires understanding how to communicate complex concepts to non-specialists and persuade audiences with visual storytelling. This means understanding how to tailor your visualization to your audience, how to communicate effectively and quickly, and how to use data as part of a larger persuasive project. In addition to this, learning how to make data and charts visually appealing and easy to understand is a vital skill, as poorly designed graphs and charts can overwhelm the audience.

Statistics and Analysis

Since data visualization is a data science-adjacent field, it requires you to understand basic statistics and analysis since you’ll need to understand what you are saying when creating visualizations. The level of statistical training you need will vary depending on your focus and the kind of work you are doing with data (a Data Scientist working for a Fortune 500 company will likely need more than a journalist producing a graph for a story), but you’ll still want to understand the basics of reading and interpreting data to create the most compelling visualizations possible.

Data Visualization Careers

Few careers strictly utilize data visualization skills. Rather, data visualization is one part of the toolkit of a professional who works with data in some capacity. Therefore, there are a wide range of careers utilizing data visualization skills, but they all do so in the service of different end goals. However, most data science-related careers will require some level of training in data visualization.

Data Analysts are professionals employed in a wide variety of different industries who are tasked with collecting, organizing, and analyzing data that is relevant to the specific industry or field in which they are working. These professionals will need to understand how to work with data visualization tools to communicate to stakeholders what they are observing in the data they have collected and to produce reports that make the complex and unwieldy amounts of data understandable. Most Data Analysts will learn how to work with tools like Tableau to make the complex process of creating interactive visualizations significantly easier. In the US, a Data Analyst earns an average salary of approximately $77,000 annually.

Best Data Visualization Classes

Students interested in a complete data analytics and visualization education should consider enrolling in Noble Desktop’s Data Analytics Certificate program. In this course, students will learn the skills needed to work with data professionally and how to create persuasive and effective data visualizations using Excel and Tableau. Students will get hands-on training working with programming languages like Python and SQL so that they can create effective, organized databases, and then they will be trained in using those databases to create powerful visualizations using Python programming and Tableau. This career-focused course is ideal for novice programmers looking to break into the world of data analytics.

Students looking for a more focused training program may want to opt for Noble Desktop’s Tableau Bootcamp. In this accelerated course, students will learn all there is to know about using Tableau to create dashboards and data visualizations that will bring their data to life and allow stakeholders to interact with the data directly. In this class, students get hands-on experience working with Tableau, and they will complete real-world projects aimed at teaching them how to create visualizations and dashboards. Lessons will also cover advanced data manipulation processes to help students create dashboards that can isolate variables, compare long-term trends, and build maps. This course will help students understand how data visualizations can be an important tool for data science projects and how they can be rhetorically persuasive in their own right.

Practical Programming offers a Python Data Visualization & Interactive Dashboardscourse that will teach students how to use Python programming and databases to create interactive visualizations and charts that allow users to examine data in real-time. This course will give students hands-on experience writing scripts in common Python frameworks to create compelling data visualizations. The class will start with the Python libraries NumPy and Pandas and then move to plotting solutions. After learning traditional plotting tools like Matplotlib and Seaborn, students will learn how to use Plotly and Dash Enterprise, a powerful tool for building dynamic dashboards. This course requires students to have completed Practical Programming’s Python Bootcamp or an equivalent Python programming course.

If you are interested in the narrative and rhetorical elements of data visualization, you can find the lessons you are looking for at The American Management Association’s live online How to Turn Data Into Compelling Visual Presentations course. In this course, students will learn to utilize data and visualizations when presenting information to invested stakeholders. This course focuses on rhetorical and visual strategies for using data as a persuasive tool in a larger presentation context. Students will learn how to shape their message for their audience, how to create graphs that are visually appealing and immediately understandable, and how to maximize the impact that a graph or chart has when it is leveraged as part of a presentation. This course is best suited for professionals who work outside of data science-related fields and are more regularly involved in the communication side of their projects.

How to Learn Data Visualization

Students interested in learning data visualization skills will need to decide what kind of modality they would prefer for their classes. While in-person classes are the most common option, more and more schools offer comparable live online classes for students looking to learn from their homes. With developments in online learning over the past few years, there is no longer an assumed gap in the quality of education in regard to online delivery, so students should seriously consider whether in-person or online classes are right for them.

Many students prefer to learn in a live classroom environment. The most commonly cited reason for this is direct, face-to-face access to their instructor and the presence of classmates. In a classroom setting, students can ask questions directly and receive immediate feedback on their work. They are also able to collaborate with each other and learn from their peers directly. In addition, students often find the classroom setting ideal for keeping their attention focused on their lessons rather than outside distractions. The downside to these in-person classes is that they are in-person, and therefore, you can only attend a course that you can physically attend, which can greatly limit the options available to students who don’t live in major metropolitan areas. Plus, since there will be a commute involved with attending these classes, students may find that the hidden costs (in terms of travel time and money) add up and make the classes less desirable than they look at first glance.

An alternative for students who can’t or don’t want to attend an in-person class is a live online course. These classes are taught in real-time by experienced instructors over telecommunication platforms, meaning that students will still be learning from a live teacher and will be able to ask questions and receive feedback. These courses offer increased flexibility in terms of scheduling, and students can take classes from providers all over the country. They also allow students to work from their home office, which can be a boon for anyone who plans on regularly doing their data visualization on their personal computers. The drawback to these classes is that none of the technology is supplied, and students will need to have a computer set-up that can, at the very least, run all of their data visualization applications and a telecommunications platform. Students may also find that they need to put in more work to keep up with the course material and avoid external distractions.

Janine Ashley

Janine Ashley is a writer, educator, and digital content specialist with a background in graphic design, video editing, web development, and arts-based education. She holds a BA in Theatre and English from Harding University and an MA in Folk Studies from Western Kentucky University. Since 2016, Janine has created educational content on graphic design, front-end web design, motion graphics, and digital tools for creative professionals and learners of all ages. At Noble Desktop, she writes on a wide range of topics, including video editing, UX & UI design, and coding. She has built websites and led branding efforts for several theatre companies and nonprofits, and collaborated with various companies on photography, design, and digital storytelling through social media.

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Learn More About Data Visualization Courses

Why Learn Data Visualization?

Data Visualization Skills and Tools

Excel

Tableau

Narrative Storytelling and Communication

Statistics and Analysis

Data Visualization Careers

Best Data Visualization Classes

How to Learn Data Visualization

Data Visualization Corporate & Onsite Training Noble Desktop

Data Visualization Training Map & Top Locations

183 Courses Available Live Online

73 Courses Available in NYC

52 Courses Available in Chicago

47 Courses Available in Washington, D.C.

46 Courses Available in Los Angeles

38 Courses Available in Houston

32 Courses Available in Dallas

Data Visualization Topics

Tableau

Power BI

Excel

Python Data Science

Data Visualization
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