Infograph: How we process data

As the data explosion continues to accelerate, data visualisation may help one critical element of making your communications work harder, new research from Thomson Reuters shows.The infograph explains that 70% of human sensory receptors are in the eyes. But when audience are invited to understand something quickly, like a TV commercial, an outdoor ad, or magazine ad - they can remember just 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, but 80% of what they see."Without visualisation, data is just an account of the facts, but with it, data has the ability to inspire and transform the way people see the world around them," said Brian Romer, data visualization lead at Thomson Reuters Data Innovation Lab.He suggests three ways to achieve better data visualisations:Surprise: We’re great at pattern recognition, but shapes that are too plain or predictable don’t capture our attention. Outliers, peaks, gaps, exceptions to the rule and thwarted expectations are often the most interesting and noteworthy parts.Delight: Beautiful pieces that have a sense of joy, play or discovery are not just prettier and more fun, but we spend more time with them. They stick in our memories and we share them with others.Inform: Great visualizations are teaching tools that accurately encode values and relationships and efficiently convey information. They stand the test of time and retain utility long after they’re created.Source: Thomson Reuters