Data visualization tools and resources

This list is kindly provided by our partner, On Think Tanks. Click on the name of the tool/blog to be taken to the associated website.

Data visualization tools 

  • Infogram: Infogr.am is user-friendly interface to help develop creative, interactive infographics.
  • Piktochart: Piktochart is a simple WYSIWYG editor to help develop and design charts and infographics.
  • Easel.ly: A digital canvas to help develop unique data visualizations.
  • Google Fusion Tables: Bust your data out of its silo! Combine it with other data on the web. Collaborate, visualize and share.
  • Visual.ly: Create, share and explore great visual content.
  • Tableau Software: A free data visualization tool that can help you create an interactive viz and embed it in your website or share it. Anyone can do it, it’s that easy—and it’s free.
  • Datawrapper: An open source tool helping anyone to create simple, correct and embeddable charts in minutes.
  • SwayWhat: A platform for creating, sharing and finding data.
  • VIDI: A suite of powerful intuitive Drupal data-visualization modules for anyone to use on any standard set of data ranging from government databases to demographics and statistics.
  • IBM Many Eyes: Collection of data visualizations, and a tool for infographics.
  • Gapminder: Is a non-profit venture to help make public data from several multi-national organizations accessible.
  • D3.js: D3.js is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data. D3 helps you bring data to life using HTML, SVG and CSS.

Data visualisation blogs and resources

  • Drawing by Numbers: Drawing by Numbers is a resource on data visualization for activists. It features a guide on working with data and information for advocacy, and reviews of visualization tools.
  • Examples of innovative think tank communications: A Pinterest Board from WonkComms that includes data visualizations.
  • Information is Beautiful: A blog dedicated to distilling the world’s data, information and knowledge into beautiful, interesting and, above all, useful visualizations, infographics and diagrams.
  • Guardian Datablog: Facts are sacred, and so is this blog. It is a fine purveyor of open data sets and is full of great ideas about how to make that information accessible.
  • On Think Tanks – On Data Visualization: These blogs have been crafted specifically to support the On Think Tanks Data Visualization competition. The wider blog also has helpful resources on digital communication.
  • Visualizing Data: This website provides readers with inspiring insights into the contemporary techniques, resources, applications and best practices in data visualization.
  • Views of the World: A blog that explores the representation of cartographic data.
  • Visualizing Information for Advocacy – An Introduction to Information Design: This manual from the Open Society Foundations helps NGOs and advocates strengthen their campaigns and projects through communicating vital information with greater impact