mcdonald

Simplifying the process of creating stunning charts with MatplotxExample of a matplotlib scatter plot with the matplotx theming applied. Image by the author.Matplotib is one of the most popular data visualisation libraries available within the Python world. However, over the years, it has gained a reputation for creating boring figures and being awkward to use.As seen in my latest articles, converting the basic matplotlib charts to something visually appealing does require several lines of code. Don’t get me wrong; I…

Easily Improve the Quality of Your Matplotlib Data Visualisations With a Few Simple TweaksMatplotlib horizontal bar chart after changing several features to make it more visually appealing. Image by the author.Bar charts are a commonly used data visualisation tool where categorical features are represented by bars of varying lengths/heights. The height or length of the bar corresponds to the value being represented for that category.Bar charts can easily be created in matplotlib. However, the matplotlib library is often…

Utilising Python’s Matplotlib to Create Advanced Data VisualisationsExample Gantt chart created using matplotlib — image by the author.Often matplotlib has a bit of a reputation for creating boring figures and being awkward to use. However, with some patience, research and extra lines of python code, we can create some unique and very visually appealing figures.When learning python, matplotlib is often the first data visualisation library that people come across. With a few lines of code, you may end up generating a…

Two Great Python Options for Visualising Geospatial VariationPhoto by KOBU Agency on UnsplashHeatmaps, also known as Density Maps, are data visualizations that display the spatial distribution of a variable across a geographic area. They can be great tools for visualising and identifying trends, supporting decision-making, detecting outliers, and creating compelling visualisations for presentations.There are several mapping python libraries available, however, two very popular and easy to use libraries are Folium and…

Tools for Making it Easy to Select Colour Palettes for Data VisualisationsPhoto by Daniele Levis Pelusi on UnsplashSometimes the smallest of things can take a lot longer than we think. When building data visualisations, we will reach a point where we need to decide on a colour scheme — something that may seem simple but is very important and can either make your data visualisation flop or pop. At this stage we can often spend hours choosing the right shade of blue or checking whether we have enough contrast between…

Easily Create Visually Appealing Circular Bar Plots in PythonRadial bar chart created using matplotlib. Image by the author.Radial bar charts are a visually attractive alternative to traditional bar charts. Data are plotted on a polar coordinate system instead of the conventional cartesian coordinate system. This allows the bars to be represented by rings rather than as vertical bars.Radial bar charts can make a great and visually appealing graphic to include in a presentation or poster if you are looking to catch the…

An Introduction to the PyGWalker Library for Easy Data VisualisationPyGWalker showing multiple plots within the same view. Image by the author.Creating effective and compelling data visualisations quickly and efficiently is a key part of the data science workflow. There are several options available to do this ranging from commercial software like Tableau to free alternatives like dedicated python libraries. The amount of skill and time needed to generate plots can vary between the different options.Over the years,…

Using the Python Streamlit Library to Track and Monitor Medium StatisticsPhoto by Markus Winkler on UnsplashI have been a writer on Medium for a while and recently started tracking my statistics using Excel. But, more recently, I have been thinking of building an app using Streamlit to provide a better experience. So I thought why not give it a go and write an article as I build it?Within this article, we are going to go through the process of building a simple Streamlit dashboard and provide a way for the end user to…

HONG KONG—Large American companies from fast food to high-end fashion are increasing their bets on China’s consumers in anticipation of a postpandemic rebound for the world’s second-biggest economy. Retailers Ralph Lauren Corp. and Tapestry Inc., TPR -1.18% the owner of the Coach and Kate Spade brands, are launching new stores.   And Tyson Foods Inc. TSN -1.81% and…

Creating Interactive Maps of UKCS Oil and Gas Field OutlinesPhoto by Aksonsat Uanthoeng, downloaded from Pexels.Folium is an excellent python library that makes it easy to visualise geospatial data on interactive maps using the power of Leaflet.js. In my previous article, I covered how to display individual markers on a folium map, but we can use folium also display data that has been stored within a GeoJSON file.GeoJSON is a commonly used file format for storing geospatial data and uses JavaScript Object Notation. These…