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...