Vizuala

Vizuala is a term used in data visualization to describe an integrated approach to presenting data through linked, interactive visuals that tell a coherent story. It combines visual encodings, interactive controls, and contextual metadata to support exploration and understanding.

Core ideas include narrative coherence, user agency, accessibility, and modular composition. Visual components are designed to be composable, enabling dashboards, reports, and interactive explainers to reuse common data models.

Typical components include visual encodings such as charts and maps, interactive widgets like filters and sliders, narrative frames such as headings and captions, and metadata including data sources and assumptions.

Applications of Vizuala span journalism, education, business analytics, and research visualization. Practitioners use it to build explorations that reveal relationships, trends, and uncertainties while maintaining clear provenance and context.

History and reception: The term has appeared in design blogs and academic discussions since the early 2020s, and there is no single canonical standard. Many see Vizuala as a flexible framework rather than a fixed toolkit. Critics caution that without thoughtful design, complex Vizuala interfaces can overwhelm users or obscure conclusions.

See also: Data visualization, Information visualization, Visual analytics, Data storytelling.