Design  / 

Guides for Visualizing Reality

We like to complain about how data is messy, not in the right format, and how parts don’t make sense. Reality is complicated though. Data comes from the realities. Here are several guides to help with visualizing these realities, which seem especially important these days.

Visualizing Incomplete and Missing Data

We love complete and nicely formatted data. That’s not what we get a lot of the time.

Visualizing Outliers

Step 1: Figure out why the outlier exists in the first place. Step 2: Choose from these visualization options to show the outlier.

Visualizing Differences

Focus on finding or displaying contrasting points, and some visual methods are more helpful than others.

Visualizing Patterns on Repeat

Things have a way of repeating themselves, and it can be useful to highlight these patterns in data.

 

Become a member. Support an independent site. Get extra visualization goodness.

See What You Get

Favorites

The Most Unisex Names in US History

Moving on from the most trendy names in US history, …

Cycle of Many, a 24-hour snapshot for a day in the life of Americans

This is a 24-hour snapshot for a day in the life of Americans.

All the Household Types in the U.S.

No need to restrict ourselves to the most common types. There are thousands. Let’s look at all of them.

How We Spend Our Money, a Breakdown

We know spending changes when you have more money. Here’s by how much.