About this course: In this course, you will analyze and apply essential design principles to your Tableau visualizations. This course assumes you understand the tools within Tableau and have some knowledge of the fundamental concepts of data visualization. You will define and examine the similarities and differences of exploratory and explanatory analysis as well as begin to ask the right questions about what’s needed in a visualization. You will assess how data and design work together, including how to choose the appropriate visual representation for your data, and the difference between effective and ineffective visuals. You will apply effective best practice design principles to your data visualizations and be able to illustrate examples of strategic use of contrast to highlight important elements. You will evaluate pre-attentive attributes and why they are important in visualizations. You will exam the importance of using the "right" amount of color and in the right place and be able to apply design principles to de-clutter your data visualization.
Who is this class for: This course is primarily aimed at individuals with some fundamental data visualization knowledge, who are familiar with the basics of Tableau, and want to begin applying key design principles to their visualizations. We consider this course still meant for the beginner who wants to gain experience in presenting data visually, but also it is appropriate for those who can analyze data and want to gain more exposure to visualization design concepts.
Created by: University of California, Davis
Taught by: Govind Acharya, Principal Analyst
Budget and Institutional Analysis
Taught by: Hunter Whitney, Sr. Consultant, Author, Instructor
Design Strategy and Data Visualization
| Basic Info | Course 2 of 5 in the Data Visualization with Tableau Specialization |
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study, 5-7 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Getting Started in Effective and Ineffective Visuals
Welcome to this first module where we are going to start you off with background information about how the human brain perceives the world and then you will discover effective and ineffective visuals. By the end of this module, you will be able to recognize how the brain relates to visual design. You will know the difference between cognitive versus perceptual design. You will learn the various visualization options offered by Tableau and some of their advantages and disadvantages. You will discuss why how good ethical practices play in designing visualizations. You will also start to examine ineffective visualizations and learn how to improve them.
8 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Course Introduction
- Video: The Human Brain and Data Visualization
- Video: Cognitive vs Perceptual Design Distinction
- Reading: Getting Your Tableau Desktop License
- Video: Introduction of Effective and Ineffective Visuals
- Video: Types of Visualizations
- Discussion Prompt: Pros and Cons of Pie Charts
- Video: Examples of the Types of Visualizations in Tableau
- Video: Practicing Good Ethics in Data Visualization
- Video: Ineffective Visuals and How to Improve Them
- Discussion Prompt: Ineffective Visuals (Activity)
Graded: Module 1 Quiz
WEEK 2
Visual Perception and Cognitive Load
Welcome to this second module. This module will explore specific data visualization concepts that apply the concepts you learned about how the human brain works from the last module. In this module, you will be able to define cognitive load and what clutter means from a visualization perspective. You will be able to visually illustrate the principles of visual perception and use contrast to enhance your visualizations. You will be able to define and use pre-attentive attributes like color to make effective visualizations.
7 videos
- Video: Visual Perception and Cognitive Principles Introduction
- Video: Cognitive Load and Clutter
- Discussion Prompt: Clutter and Clarity
- Video: Principles of Visual Perception
- Discussion Prompt: Gestalt Principle (Activity)
- Video: Strategic Use of Contrast
- Video: Pre-Attentive Attributes of Visualizations
- Video: Color as a Pre-Attentive Attribute
- Video: De-Cluttering Exercise
- Discussion Prompt: Decluttering a Visual (Activity)
Graded: Module 2 Quiz
WEEK 3
Design Best Practices and Exploratory Analysis
In this module, we revisit some of the concepts introduced from the previous module. You will be able to apply Gestalt Principles and leverage pre-attentive attributes in your visualizations. You will examine the role of accessibility and aesthetics play in your creations. Also, you will be able to define the ideas of exploratory and explanatory analysis and be able to normalize your data and identify outliers. Finally, you will be introduced to a challenging concept and construct a control chart to set you up to perform more advanced exploratory analysis.
10 videos, 2 readings
- Video: Design Best Practices Introduction
- Video: Gestalt Principle: Proximity
- Video: Leveraging Pre-Attentive Attributes
- Video: Accessible Visualizations
- Reading: Missed Opportunities and Graphical Fails
- Video: Aesthetics
- Reading: The Challenger: An Information Disaster
- Video: Design and Exploratory Analysis Introduction
- Video: What is Exploratory and Explanatory Analysis?
- Video: Case Study: Anscombe's Quartet
- Video: Identifying Outliers
- Discussion Prompt: Explanation of Outliers
- Video: Constructing a Control Chart
- Discussion Prompt: Control Charts
Graded: Module 3 Quiz
WEEK 4
Design for Understanding
Making sense of large, multi-dimensional data sets can be a challenge for anyone. Your task as a designer is to make good decisions about encoding, arranging, and presenting data to reveal meaningful patterns and stories for your audiences. After completing this module, you will be able to design your visualizations for a target audience and with purpose. You will be able to identify the connection to between data, relationships and good visual design. You will implement additional design tools and tips into your visualizations.
9 videos, 2 readings
- Video: Design For Understanding Introduction
- Video: Know Your Audience(s)
- Video: Design For Purpose
- Video: Data, Relationships, and Design
- Video: Static Versus Interactive Visualizations
- Video: Multiple, Connected View
- Video: Language, Labeling, and Scales
- Video: Visual Lies and Cognitive Bias
- Reading: Blogs and Articles About Data Visualization
- Reading: Selected Books About Data Visualization, Data Analysis, and Perception/Cognition
- Video: Final Thoughts
- Discussion Prompt: Reflection
Graded: Designing a Visualization for Your Manager
Graded: Module 4 Quiz
FAQs
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Coursework
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Creators
University of California, Davis
UC Davis, one of the nation’s top-ranked research universities, is a global leader in agriculture, veterinary medicine, sustainability, environmental and biological sciences, and technology. With four colleges and six professional schools, UC Davis and its students and alumni are known for their academic excellence, meaningful public service and profound international impact.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
Excellent deep dive into what should and should not be included in a viz.
Excellent course related to visualization design principles using Tableau
I really liked this course, I wished there were more graded projects to get a bit more Tableau hands on experience.
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B
One of the best courses so far.