If designed with care and preparation, data visualization can immensely improve viewers’ understanding of what is happening. Yes, data exploration and data analysis are essential, but data visualization helps viewers begin their journey in understanding why something is happening. Data visualization helps to distill complex information and transform it into a form that is easier to understand.
The total amount of data is only increasing and it’s forecasted to reach 180 zettabytes in 2025. So that’s where data visualization comes into play: it is used to help people digest all the data and reduce the risk of overwhelming the brain when consuming all the information.
If you’re interested in designing data visualization that will effectively present your data by getting the most out of your reader’s brain capacity, you might want to give this article a read. Our data visualization designer will guide you through the process of making sure you don’t overwhelm your readers with unnecessary information.
Although there are different types of data visualization you might want to create, be it a data story, an infographic, or a dashboard, you can’t avoid having to add chart designs to your project.
There are many great resources out there that will help you get started with creating your data stories. In this article, we decided to list some of our favorite online chart libraries that we believe can inspire you to create your own chart.
Datawrapper’s River
Datawrapper is a great data visualization tool that allows you to create interactive charts, maps, and tables. Not surprisingly, the team behind Datawrapper created a dedicated space for their users to share their designs with others in what they named “River”. When creating a design with the tool, one can simply publish it to the Datawrapper River. After that, anyone can use it and customize it to their liking. The tool itself is widely used by journalists and media outlets but still, it’s a nice place to get your first ideas and see how others communicate their data.
Yan Holtz’s Dataviz Inspiration
Yan Holtz is a France-based data analysis and data visualization specialist who created a fantastic classification of chart types based on the input data format, as well as the R graph gallery, a website providing hundreds of chart examples made with the R programming language, among other fascinating projects. The newest addition to his inspiring portfolio is dataviz-inspiration.com – a progressively growing library of most beautiful (and impactful) data visualizations. The gallery aims to help you get started with your graph design. It consists of many stunning examples of chart and graph designs, using a Pinterest-like layout that makes it pleasant to explore. We encourage you to check it out!
Maarten Lambrecht’s Xenographics
Maarten Lambrecht is a Belgium-based data journalist, visualizer, and consultant with a rather impressive portfolio of works and clients. One of his designs was even included in Andy Kirk’s book. One of Maarten’s side projects is Xenographics, a delightful gallery of unusual and weird charts that in the end can be quite useful. As described on the website, Xenographic’s objective is “to create a repository of novel, innovative, and experimental visualizations to inspire you to fight xenographphobia and popularize new chart types”. Captivating, gripping, odd, one-of-a-kind (growing) gallery to inspire you to go beyond what’s common in data visualization.
Flourish
Flourish is another tool that allows you to create highly interactive visualizations, such as charts and maps. Not surprisingly, in the ‘Examples’ tab, you will find a jaw-dropping gallery of absolutely stunning templates. Even if you don’t aim at designing interactive content, this page might help you get your creativity flowing.
Datylon Inspiration
I would be silly if we didn’t tell you about the Inspiration page from my company, Datylon. Our team of data visualization experts and designers prepared an ever-growing library full of charts and graphs, as well as report templates and infographics to give you a taste of what Datylon can do for you. With Datylon you can start creating charts and graphs directly in Adobe Illustrator with a chart maker plug-in. You can also use a free Datylon web app to create individual designs and export them to your project. Yes, bar charts can be cool and they’re popular for a reason. But if you really want to impress your audience with creative design, try thinking outside the box. Can’t a radial histogram or a stunning treemap convey the same message in a visually appealing way? Browse through our Inspiration examples and find a new idea for your design. Categorized into different types of charts, all designs can be edited, downloaded, or even embedded into your website or application.
Kosma Hess
Global citizen, world traveler, content creator, marketing specialist, can’t sing to save his life. In his free time, he’s mastering Datylon for Illustrator for no reason.
