Data Visualization in Environmental Public Health: From Data to Insight
Overloading the Visualization
How to Make It Better Simplify the visual by focusing on the measures that are most relevant to the question or message. Instead of showing every program metric in one chart, split unrelated measures into smaller, more focused visuals. This change makes patterns easier to identify and reduces the effort required to interpret the information. • Group only measures that are meaningfully related. • Avoid multiple y-axes with different units when possible. • Reduce unnecessary colors, symbols, and data labels. • Use a descriptive title and brief annotations to emphasize the key takeaway.
What’s Wrong with This Visual? Too much information is displayed on one chart. • Too many data series are combined in one chart, making it difficult to identify the main message. • The chart uses multiple y-axes with different units, which makes comparisons confusing. • Too many colors, line styles, symbols, and data labels compete for attention. • The title identifies the topic but does not communicate a key finding. • Viewers must work too hard to determine which measures matter most and how they relate to program performance.
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