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The "eight hats" of data visualization
design
The final scoping issue to consider at this stage of your visualization design project
is an assessment of your personal capabilities and those of any collaborators that
you involve in the work. What skills and knowledge do you collectively possess or
lack? This is a big issue for many, so we need to spend the remaining pages of this
chapter looking at it closely.
The demands on a visualization designer in terms of capability are many, reflecting the
truly multidisciplinary nature of the subject. The convergence of different ingredients
introduces a wonderful richness and variety of issues to be concerned with, but it can
equally present quite a challenge for people looking to master the subject.
For many, the prospect of trying to acquire the necessary array of knowledge and
skill across the entire range of capabilities is something that can be intimidating or at
least exist as a perceptual barrier. There is a sense that to be successful you need to be
some sort of superhero.
Taking an analytical look at the range of required capabilities reveals a role and need
for many types of people, which can of course be fulfilled by a number of people or
just one.
These are proposed as the "eight hats of data visualization design". Influenced by
the concept of Edward de Bono's six thinking hats, which related to the different
thinking perspectives we should try to occupy when tackling complex problems,
this is an attempt to organize the different attributes required to accomplish
success in visualization.
It should help you recognize where you it it in to the spectrum of duties and
responsibilities, helping you identify your strengths and your weaknesses accordingly.
You may then choose to address these weaknesses personally or plug the gaps with
support from others.
The initiator
The
initiator
is the leader, the person who is seeking a solution to the task as per
the brief or self-initiated curiosity. The hat is that of an explorer; they want to
explore data and different design avenues to find answers to problems or evidence
to serve their researcher mindset. The initiator will be responsible for much of the
considerations covered in this chapter. They will establish the functional and tonal
direction of the project, as well as identify and profile the target audience. The
initiator will also define other parameters such as the intended format/platform of
the solution and some of the key technological issues.
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