Not everyone learns the same way; some of us are undoubtedly more visual learners, others more aural, and some are more textual. Despite the differences in various ways we all prefer to learn, there is evidence to suggest that a well-designed visualisation can be the most effective and fastest way to absorb complex information.
The way we apply our knowledge of human cognition in the creation of data visualisations determines the clarity of understanding that can be extrapolated from a data set.
By providing clear, visual ways for your employees to interpret information and data, you’ll be saving company and employee time and in turn money.
How can visualisations save you money?
By providing clear, visual ways for your employees to interpret information and data, you’ll be saving company and employee time and in turn money.
According to a study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the human mind can unconsciously detect a limited set of visual characteristics with our eyes, and combine them to form an image; this is called pre-attentive processing.
Pre-attentive unconscious processing is in contrast to attentive processing, which is the conscious activity of our brain when absorbing images and perception.
This form of conscious, attentive thought is slower and allows the cognition of serial information. In order to process simultaneous information swiftly, it is best to appeal to the pre-attentive side of our unconscious – this is where visualisation of information becomes invaluable.
Memory and image
A study by Boston University titled ‘Visualization of Network Concepts: The Impact of Working Memory Capacity Differences’ found that knowledge and memory retention were enhanced by computerised visualisations. This was found to be especially helpful when trying to understand stocks and flows, as this information is generated from larger data sets.
Independent non-profit initiative the Interaction Design Foundation states in its encyclopedia of human-computer interaction that data visualisations have two main objectives: sense-making (also called data analysis) and communication.
Sense-making and communication
So what is sense-making? It can, in our context, be broadly understood to be a mode of understanding and guessing. When provided with information, sense-making is what we are doing when we extrapolate secondary answers.
A study from the Educational Technology Research and Development journal states that our sense of vision represents our most manifold source of information, which makes the visualisation of information so crucial for businesses and educational facilities.
Businesses should look to utilising the biggest cognitive asset it’s employees have: their ability to absorb visual information swiftly and with ease. Visualization as a tool for communication offers a deeper level of understanding, especially for those who find sets of numbers more difficult to understand than others.
For information on how CDP can help your company, get in touch today.