What is Data Visualization?

Data visualization is the practice of representing data graphically so that patterns, outliers and relationships become apparent faster than they would from reading numbers.

The value is perceptual rather than aesthetic. People compare lengths and positions far more accurately than they compare raw figures, so a bar chart answers *which is biggest* in a glance where a table takes a minute.

In a business setting it matters because decisions get made from what people notice. A well-built view surfaces the thing that needs attention; a badly built one buries it. That is why chart choice and formatting are treated as analytical decisions, not decoration.