Assignment 6

Hemalatha Ramakrishna

Trine University

BAN--6093-1P1-SU-2023 - Business Analytics Capstone

Shelby Davis

July 21, 2024

understand a thing. Humans typically gain meaningful perception from the chaotic stimuli

around them. The mind informs what the eye sees by perceiving a series of individual elements

or whole. A set of laws has been identified that address how humans interpret based on vision.

One such principle is Gestalt Principle.

What are Gestalt Principles?

Gestalt principles are human perception principles that describe how humans group similar

elements, recognize patterns, and simplify complex images when we perceive objects. Designers

use the principles to organize content on websites and other interfaces so it is aesthetically

pleasing and easy to understand. Gestalt principles are an essential part of visual design. Below

are the six principles commonly associated with Gestalt theory [1]

1. Proximity

2. Similarity

3. Enclosure

4. Closure

5. Continuity

6. Connection
 Colors used in the graphs are criteria to consider when choosing an effective visualization. The

use of colors in the charts enhances the visuals or spoils them. Colors can be used to highlight

important information or differentiate or compare. In the above figure, we can see how background

color determines each picture. Choice of color is a significant factor in creating effective charts. A

good set of colors will highlight the story you want the data to tell, while a poor one will hide or

distract from a visualization’s purpose.

Even though color can aid in strengthening our data storytelling, we still are working with

numbers that require more than just color for their full impact to be understood. We should never

use color as the sole indicator in a visualization. It adds a lot to your visualization, but we’re going

for data storytelling here, not color storytelling. Therefore, it’s not recommended to add a

background color.

It’s also important not to go overboard with our color selections; too many will be

overwhelming. It’s recommended not to use too many colors in the charts. We must always

consider our color choices as carefully as possible when presenting visualizations to others. We

should use color as a functional tool in our data visualizations — not an aesthetic. While it’s nice

to have our data look pleasing to the eye, having it tell a clear story is far more important.

Let’s see how different colors could help us understand the chart above.

• Use of color to make important information stand out: Color is used to highlight

important data. Different colors are used to make the important information stand out.

• Colors picked are easily distinguishable: We want the viewers to be able to interpret data

at a glance. So, we must make sure we use colors that we can easily distinguish.
 • Not many colors are used in the graph: Using a limited color set in our visualizations

will improve the speed of insight. Viewers can be overwhelmed by too many colors. We

must try to stick to fewer colors in a single visualization, the maximum number of items

the brain can easily hold at one time. We can quickly get insights into the data with just

three colors used in the graphs.

• Using contrast color to show comparison: When comparing or contrasting two metrics,

using contrasting colors will help viewers intuit that we are differentiating between the

two.

• Use of color to create association: Data visualization designers use colors to trigger

associations and streamline the understanding of the graph.

When the design is thoughtful, it fades into the background, so your audience doesn’t notice

it. When it’s not, however, your audience feels the burden. White text on a black background is

generally used when we want to draw attention to something, but it’s not a good idea when there

is much information to read. One of the reasons to not use the dark background in charts is because

it kills all the light emitted from the screen. We tend to focus more on dark colors. Dark color

makes our eyes work harder and open wider since it needs lighter to absorb. When this occurs, the

white letters can bleed into the black background and cause the text to blur. Focusing on the data

that’s in white can strain the user’s eyes. This makes reading white information on a dark

background stressful for the user.

Using color strategically is more than just choosing what looks good to you. You should never

select colors because you think they are trendy or cool or they’re the colors you always favor. You

must choose them carefully by understanding their meaning, considering your audience, and
knowing what’s appropriate for your brand. The value of picking the right colors for your data

visualization should never be underestimated.

Reference

1. Knaflic, C. N. (2015). Storytelling with data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business

Professionals. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2. Williams, J. M. (2021, March 12). The 7 gestalt principles of design: Webflow blog.

Webflow. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://webflow.com/blog/gestalt-

principles-of-design

3. 7 best practices for using color in data visualizations. Sigma Computing. (2022, January

26). Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.sigmacomputing.com/blog/7-best-

practices-for-using-color-in-data-visualizations/