Course Overview
Cluttered visuals, confusing colors, and hard-to-read labels can undermine even the most insightful data. In this course, Data Visualization Foundations: Visual Design Principles, you’ll gain the ability to create clear, engaging, and effective visualizations. First, you’ll explore how to apply color theory to communicate meaning and avoid common pitfalls. Next, you’ll discover how to use typography and labeling techniques to improve readability and guide viewer attention. Finally, you’ll learn how to design clean chart layouts using spacing, alignment, and annotations to enhance comprehension and storytelling. When you’re finished with this course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge of visual design principles needed to make your data visualizations more accessible, professional, and impactful.
Course prerequisites
- Basic math and statistics (mean, median, variance, percentages)
- Understanding of datasets, rows/columns, and file formats (CSV, Excel, JSON)
- Comfort with using spreadsheets (Excel or Google Sheets)
- No coding background required (but Python/R is helpful for advanced learners)
- Familiarity with simple charts (bar, line, pie)