For constructing visualizations, technology matters

The importance of being able to rationalize options has been a central theme of this book. As we reach the final stage of this journey and we are faced with the challenge of building our visualization solution, the keyword is, once again, choice.

The intention of this book has been to focus on offering a handy strategy to help you work through the many design issues and decisions you're faced with.

Up to now discussions about issues relating to technology and technical capability have been kept to a minimum in order to elevate the importance of the preparatory and conceptual stages. You have to work through these challenges regardless of what tools or skills you have.

However, it is fair to say that to truly master data visualization design, it is inevitable that you will need to achieve technical literacy across a number of different applications and environments.

All advanced designers need to be able to rely on a symphony of different...