Data visualization or “data viz” is the process of creating a visual representation of any type of data. The practice is often called information design and the tools are important for visual analytics.

If you are a data viz newbie, a great starting point on the topic is the Duke Library guide on Data Visualization. They even have a thorough list of Dos and Don’ts to be aware of when designing and communicating visual data accurately.

More Posts about Data Viz:
Infographics
Choosing the Right Data Viz

Software:
About Tableau
Download Tableau Public
Learn the basics
R Packages

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[Keim et al., 2006] Keim, D.A.; Mansmann, F. and Schneidewind, J. and Ziegler, H., Challenges in Visual Data Analysis, Proceedings of Information Visualization (IV 2006), IEEE, p. 9-16, 2006.