Information Visualization
How This Course Will Help Your Career
What You’ll Learn
- An introduction to how to design basic information visualizations
- What makes a good information visualization
- How to apply a range of basic and complex information visualization techniques
- How the eye and the brain function together to deliver imagery, and how it affects information visualization design
- The history of the information visualization discipline
- How to avoid the common problems of visual perception in your designs
- How to evaluate the effectiveness of an information visualization
Information visualization skills are in high demand, partly thanks to the rise in big data. Tech research giant Gartner Inc. observed that digital transformation has put data at the center of every organization. With the ever-increasing amount of information being gathered and analyzed, there’s an increasing need to present data in meaningful and understandable ways.
In fact, even if you are not involved in big data, information visualization will be able to help in your work processes as a designer. This is because many design processes—including conducting user interviews and analyzing user flows and sales funnels—involve the collation and presentation of information. Information visualization turns raw data into meaningful patterns, which will help you find actionable insights. From designing meaningful interfaces, to processing your own UX research, information visualization is an indispensable tool in your UX design kit.
This course is presented by Alan Dix, a former professor at Lancaster University in the UK. A world-renowned authority in the field of human-computer interaction, Alan is the author of the university-level textbook Human-Computer Interaction. “Information Visualization” is full of simple but practical lessons to guide your development in information visualization. We start with the basics of what information visualization is, including its history and necessity, and then walk you through the initial steps in creating your own information visualizations. While there’s plenty of theory here, we’ve got plenty of practice for you, too.
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Is This Course Right for You?
This is a beginner-level course suitable for newcomers and experienced practitioners alike:
- UX and UI designers interested in creating effective designs that help users understand large amounts of data
- Information visualization designers who want to have a solid theoretical foundation
- Project managers working on projects that require elegant representations or visualizations of data
- Software engineers looking to learn how to transform raw information into meaningful graphics
- Entrepreneurs who wish to use information visualization to make their products more engaging and intuitive
- Anyone who needs to present information in a manner that an audience can easily digest
Courses in the Interaction Design Foundation are designed to contain comprehensive, evidence-based content, while ensuring that the learning curve is never too steep. All participants will have the opportunity to share ideas, seek help with tests, and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.
Learn and Work with a Global Team of Designers
You’ll join a global community and work together to improve your skills and career opportunities. Connect with helpful peers and make friends with like-minded individuals as you push deeper into the exciting and booming industry of design.
Lessons in This Course
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There’s no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 18 hours 34 mins spread over 7 weeks .
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
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0.1: An introduction to courses from the Interaction Design Foundation (37 mins)
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0.2: Let our community help you (1 min)
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0.3: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (16 mins)
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0.4: Meet your peers online in our discussion forums (5 mins)
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0.5: Meet and learn from design professionals at an upcoming meet-up (1 min)
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0.6: Gain Timeless Knowledge Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins)
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0.7: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.8: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (6 mins)
Lesson 1: Introduction to Information Visualization
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1.1: An Introduction to Information Visualization (4 mins)
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1.2: Information Visualization – A Brief Introduction (17 mins)
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1.3: Information Visualisation - An Example (14 mins)
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1.4: What is Information Visualisation? (50 mins)
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1.5: The Continuum of Understanding and Information Visualization (20 mins)
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1.6: Guidelines for Good Visual Information Representations (20 mins)
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1.7: Why Information Visualisation? (34 mins)
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1.8: Information Visualization – Who Needs It? (20 mins)
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1.9: Information Visualization – A Brief Pre-20th Century History (18 mins)
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1.10: Information Visualization – A Brief 20th and 21st Century History (15 mins)
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1.11: A Brief History of Visualisation (31 mins)
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1.12: Demonstrating an Understanding of the Principles of What Makes a Good Information Visualization (7 mins)
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1.13: Lesson Roundup – An Introduction to Information Visualization (2 mins)
Lesson 2: Vision and Memory
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2.1: An Introduction to Memory and Visual Perception (3 mins)
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2.2: Vision and Visual Perception Challenges (20 mins)
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2.3: The Properties of Human Memory and Their Importance for Information Visualization (21 mins)
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2.4: Preattentive Visual Properties and How to Use Them in Information Visualization (20 mins)
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2.5: The Law of Similarity - Gestalt Principles (Part 1) (48 mins)
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2.6: Laws of Proximity, Uniform Connectedness, and Continuation – Gestalt Principles (Part 2) (24 mins)
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2.7: The Laws of Figure/Ground, Prägnanz, Closure, and Common Fate - Gestalt Principles (Part 3) (26 mins)
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2.8: Discussion Exercise (7 mins)
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2.9: Lesson Round Up – An Introduction to Memory and Visual Perception (2 mins)
Lesson 3: Basic Information Visualization
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3.1: An Introduction to Basic Information Visualization (2 mins)
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3.2: How to Design an Information Visualization (17 mins)
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3.3: Visual Mapping – The Elements of Information Visualization (16 mins)
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3.4: How to Represent Linear Data Visually for Information Visualization (17 mins)
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3.5: Visualisation in Context (48 mins)
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3.6: Designing Visualisation (49 mins)
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3.7: Discussion Exercise (7 mins)
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3.8: Roundup – An Introduction to Basic Information Visualization (2 mins)
Lesson 4: Advanced Information Visualization
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4.1: An Introduction to Advanced Information Visualization (3 mins)
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4.2: Information Visualization – An Introduction to Multivariate Analysis (22 mins)
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4.3: The Principles of Information Visualization for Basic Network Data (19 mins)
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4.4: How to Display Complex Network Data with Information Visualization (16 mins)
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4.5: How to Show Hierarchical Data with Information Visualization (16 mins)
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4.6: Information Overload, Why it Matters and How to Combat It (46 mins)
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4.7: Information Visualization an Introduction to Manipulable Information Representations (21 mins)
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4.8: Information Visualization an Introduction to Transformable Information Representations (20 mins)
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4.9: Classic Visualisations: Single Attribute (1 hour 3 mins)
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4.10: Classic Visualisations: Multiple Attributes (46 mins)
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4.11: Discussion Exercise (7 mins)
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4.12: Roundup – An Introduction to Advanced Information Visualization (2 mins)
Lesson 5: Evaluation
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5.1: An Introduction to Evaluating Information Visualizations (3 mins)
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5.2: How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation for Usability in HCI and Information Visualization (22 mins)
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5.3: How to Conduct a Cognitive Walkthrough (22 mins)
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5.4: How to Recruit Users for Usability Studies (18 mins)
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5.5: How to Conduct User Observations (48 mins)
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5.6: How to Conduct User Interviews (42 mins)
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5.7: How to Conduct Focus Groups (23 mins)
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5.8: Discussion Exercise (7 mins)
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5.9: Roundup – An Introduction to Evaluating Information Visualizations (2 mins)
Lesson 6: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
Learning Paths
This course is part of 1 learning path:
How Others Have Benefited
Phillip Dodson, United States
“I wanted to thank you! IDF is just the best thing ever. Just ever! Making this information accessible and available at the high level of quality. Just awesome!”
Reid Dickson, United States
“The course covers a lot of the fundamentals, particularly the history of data visualization and how people actually comprehend data.”
Julia Maroto Romero De Ávila, Spain
“I am happy with the content of this course and other contents in IDF's site. This is helping me to reinforce my knowledge and define the concepts, discovering I knew more things about UX that I expected!”
How It Works
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Control your learning.
Lessons are self-paced so you’ll never be late for class or miss a deadline. Learning and life, hand in hand.
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Earn Course Certificates.
Your answers are graded by experts, not machines. Get an industry-recognized Course Certificate to show you’ve put in the work.
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Advance your career.
Grow your professional knowledge by watching Master Classes, networking within our UX community, and more.
Start Advancing Your Career Now
Join us to take “Information Visualization”. Take other courses at no additional cost. Make a concrete step forward in your career path today.
Advance my career nowFrequently Asked Questions
When I finish a course, do I have to pay extra to get my certificate?
Can I take more than one course at a time?
With a Student membership, you can take a maximum of two courses at the same time. You can still take as many courses as you would like – free of extra charges – just as long as you finish or drop them so that you don’t have more than two ongoing courses.
I missed the enrollment, and now the course is closed. What can I do?
Don't worry if you missed the course. We will re-run it shortly. One of the reasons we continually open and close courses is in order to control the classroom size.
Networking is a large part of our value proposition, so we want just the right number of people inside the courses. That is also why we display the "XX % percent booked" on our course icons.
Do I have to be online at an exact time to study?
No. You can set your own study schedule. There are no "live sessions" since we have members from all timezones around the world. We are a truly global community.
Thus, once you are enrolled, you can take all the time to complete a given course. Every "classroom" in each course will never close, so you’ll have permanent access to your classmates and your course material (as well as your own answers).
Will I receive a Course Certificate?
Yes. You will get a digital industry-recognized course certificate every time you complete a course. Certificates never expire and can be saved as a .jpg file, so it's easy to be shared. Also, there is no limit to how many certificates you can earn during your membership.
You can see an example of a Course Certificate at the bottom of the Course Catalogue.
I have answered questions in a lesson; when will they be marked/graded?
I have updated my name, but my course certificate is not updated — how can I change it?
Don't worry; once you change your name, your certificate will be updated automatically in the next 48 hours.
I have started my course later than the specified date, are my answers still going to be marked?
Sure! We will be marking all your answers for as long as you are an active member.
How are courses graded?
For how long will I have access to the course materials?
You will have access to the course materials for the entire duration of your membership. So, if you pay for a one-year membership, you will have access for one year. Renewing your membership for a second year means you will have access to one more year, and so on.
New lessons are starting before I have completed the previous lesson(s). Am I going to be locked out of these unfinished lessons?
No, you will not be locked out of any lesson or course. You will have access to all course materials throughout your membership, so there is no pressure to keep at the same pace as the specified lesson release dates.
All we recommend is that you try to stick to the same schedule as other participants. The reason is they may have moved on to other lessons, thereby meaning you could miss out on the social aspects of the course(s).
Do I have a specific date to award my certificates?
No, you can generate your certificate as soon as you score at least 70% of the total course points.
When will I receive my Course Certificate?
Course certificates will be given to participants when they have scored more than 70% or more of the total course points. For example, if a course contains ten lessons each with ten questions, you will receive a course certificate when the instructor has awarded you at least 70 points (70% of the total course points).
There is no specified time that certificates will be awarded — instead, they are given to participants as and when they have answered all questions, even if this is long after the official end date.
How do I add my Certificate to my LinkedIn profile?
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
Below your profile description, click on the button Add profile section, choose Recommended and then select Add license or certification.
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3. In the following fields add:
Name – Course name
Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
Check the field “This credential does not expire”
Issue date - Input the date written on your certificate (e.g., May 2021)
Credential ID – Your membership ID number – it's written on your certificate. (For non-members, you can leave this field blank or, if you prefer, insert the certificate ID, which can be extracted from the certificate link. This ID will begin with "mcc_" and be followed by a string of numbers and letters.")
Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your course page
4. Click the Save button.
Congratulate yourself! Earning the certificate is a great accomplishment and now you can share it with the world!
How do I add the Interaction Design Foundation Membership Certificate to my LinkedIn Profile?
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your Interaction Design Foundation course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:
Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
Below your profile description, click on the button Add profile section, choose Recommended and then select Add license or certification.
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3. In the following fields add:
Name – Membership Certificate
Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
Check the field “This credential does not expire”
Issue date - Input the date when you joined our community (e.g., May 2019)
Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your profile page
4. Click the Save button.
It is as simple as that. Now, anyone who visits your profile can see your certificate!
How much will I have to pay for the courses?
After you pay for your membership, you can take as many courses as you want with no additional costs. There are no further charges on top of the membership fee.
Do you provide mostly beginners' or more advanced courses?
How long does it take to complete a course?
You will need approximately 5-8 hours to complete one lesson. Each course has between 3 and 16 lessons.
Once enrolled in a course, you will gain access to a new lesson each week, which you are free to complete without any deadlines and no end date, either.
I scored less than 70% in a course, so I didn't qualify for a certificate. Can I try again?
Yes! Everyone's learning journey looks different, and we'd never stop our members from trying again. To retake a course, just follow these steps:
1. Go to your profile and click on the relevant course you'd like to retake.
2. Underneath your progress bar, you'll see a phrase "UX Courses" with an arrow (>) pointing to a clickable landing page of that course. Click on that link.
3. Once on the landing page, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. You'll see a red button, which you can simply click to drop the course.
4. Head back to our main list of UX Courses, and re-enroll yourself in the course. You'll all set to try again!
Please note that when you drop a course, you will lose any answers and progress you submitted. We advise that you screenshot or save any answers you'd like to reuse.
In some cases, we can open up lessons for members who are retaking a course, so that they don't have to wait for familiar lessons to unlock each week. If you'd like us to do this for you, please get in touch with our support team at hello@interaction-design.org, and we can help you out.
How do I drop a course?
To drop a course, the following should be done:
1. Visit your profile page and click the 'continue lesson...' button for the course you want to drop.
2. Click the course name link breadcrumb near the top of the page that opens (this only appears in unlocked lessons, not upcoming lessons)
3. Click the red 'drop my course now' button at the bottom of the page that opens
