ABSTRACT
Graphs, charts, diagrams and figures of various types have been in use for presentation of raw and processed data for a long time. They have been accepted as a part and parcel of descriptive statistics for data summarization, as discussed in Chapter 3. There we have presented a few common examples of visual summarization. Historically, graphics were used for presentation purposes. Only recently they are also being used for exploration, which has opened up a whole new focus area, more familiarly known as visual analytics. To make informed decisions in business as well as in the fields of science, in government and public policy making, visual analytics is essential. However, it does not seem as though a lot of attention has been given to developing any theory of graphics. Several guidelines for practitioners have been propagated, but again most of that involves only common sense.
