Visual representations provide data with contexts that stimulate the viewer's brain, revealing information that is usually not obvious from tabular data. It's normally much more natural to capture the substantive content of data using visual artifacts. Charts and maps are a powerful, clear, and effective means to tell stories through data. They can pack huge quantities of information in small spaces and make it easier to compare data, provide insights, and reveal trends, relationships, causality, and other patterns hidden in the numbers.

Charts reveal and emphasize data by attracting the viewer's attention. They can simplify complex data sets to foster discovery and comprehension, helping viewers to analyze and reason about data in different contexts. But they can also exaggerate, mislead, and even lie. A visually attractive chart is important, but designers should discover how to achieve a balance between form and function.

Data visualization is both an art and a science. A chart does not need to explain everything. It doesn't always have to be precise. It may be directed toward a specific audience, which should provide the context necessary to understand and decode it.