Essential Design Principles for Tableau

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 4.4 stars Average User Rating 4.4See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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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.

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 expand

1. Video: Course Introduction
2. Video: The Human Brain and Data Visualization
3. Video: Cognitive vs Perceptual Design Distinction
4. Reading: Getting Your Tableau Desktop License
5. Video: Introduction of Effective and Ineffective Visuals
6. Video: Types of Visualizations
7. Discussion Prompt: Pros and Cons of Pie Charts
8. Video: Examples of the Types of Visualizations in Tableau
9. Video: Practicing Good Ethics in Data Visualization
10. Video: Ineffective Visuals and How to Improve Them
11. 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 expand

1. Video: Visual Perception and Cognitive Principles Introduction
2. Video: Cognitive Load and Clutter
3. Discussion Prompt: Clutter and Clarity
4. Video: Principles of Visual Perception
5. Discussion Prompt: Gestalt Principle (Activity)
6. Video: Strategic Use of Contrast
7. Video: Pre-Attentive Attributes of Visualizations
8. Video: Color as a Pre-Attentive Attribute
9. Video: De-Cluttering Exercise
10. 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 expand

1. Video: Design Best Practices Introduction
2. Video: Gestalt Principle: Proximity
3. Video: Leveraging Pre-Attentive Attributes
4. Video: Accessible Visualizations
5. Reading: Missed Opportunities and Graphical Fails
6. Video: Aesthetics
7. Reading: The Challenger: An Information Disaster
8. Video: Design and Exploratory Analysis Introduction
9. Video: What is Exploratory and Explanatory Analysis?
10. Video: Case Study: Anscombe's Quartet
11. Video: Identifying Outliers
12. Discussion Prompt: Explanation of Outliers
13. Video: Constructing a Control Chart
14. 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 expand

1. Video: Design For Understanding Introduction
2. Video: Know Your Audience(s)
3. Video: Design For Purpose
4. Video: Data, Relationships, and Design
5. Video: Static Versus Interactive Visualizations
6. Video: Multiple, Connected View
7. Video: Language, Labeling, and Scales
8. Video: Visual Lies and Cognitive Bias
9. Reading: Blogs and Articles About Data Visualization
10. Reading: Selected Books About Data Visualization, Data Analysis, and Perception/Cognition
11. Video: Final Thoughts
12. Discussion Prompt: Reflection

Graded: Designing a Visualization for Your Manager
Graded: Module 4 Quiz