Visualization & Communication

Mission. Make analysis legible to humans who aren't the analyst.

Scope

Chart choice and the grammar of graphics
Matplotlib and seaborn craft
Storytelling with data
Explaining uncertainty without lying or confusing
Dashboards and writing for decision-makers

Learning objectives

Pick the right chart for the question, and defend the choice
Show uncertainty without lying or confusing
Turn an analysis into a one-page story a manager can act on

Lessons

This track is scaffolded and waiting for content. See the curriculum dashboard for the roadmap and progress across all tracks.

Planned lessons (16)

Wave 2 — breadth (provisional roadmap) — 16 lessons

foundations

Choosing the Chart concept · beginner · M A decision path from question to mark type.
The Grammar of Graphics concept · intermediate · M Data, mappings, marks, scales: why charts are composable.

tools

Matplotlib from First Principles concept · beginner · M Figures, axes, artists: the object model under every plot.
Matplotlib Craft concept · intermediate · M Ticks, limits, layout, and the details that make charts readable.
Seaborn for Statistical Plots concept · beginner · M Distribution and relationship plots with sensible defaults.

chart-craft

Visualizing Distributions concept · intermediate · M Histograms, KDEs, violins — and what each implies about the data.
Visualizing Comparisons concept · intermediate · M Bars, dot plots, and the axes that lie.
Visualizing Relationships concept · intermediate · M Scatterplots, smoothing, and density when points pile up.
Visualizing Time concept · intermediate · M Lines, seasonality, and honest axes for temporal data.

design

Color and Perception concept · intermediate · M Sequential, diverging, categorical palettes — and accessibility.
Annotation and Storytelling concept · intermediate · M Putting the story on the chart instead of under it.
Small Multiples concept · intermediate · M Many small charts beat one overloaded chart.
Explaining Uncertainty Visually concept · advanced · M Error bars, bands, and ensembles the audience can read.

practice

Dashboards That Answer Questions concept · intermediate · M Layout and hierarchy for monitoring and exploration.
The One-Page Analysis concept · intermediate · M Writing for decisions: the chart, the number, the so-what.
Redesigning a Bad Chart example · intermediate · M A before-and-after teardown of a chart that failed.