Visual Communication: Image, Video, & Visualization Tools
This guide provides links to resources and tools for creating visual materials to communicate a message and present information/data visually.
Image Manipulation & Video Creation
These are just a few of the many free tools online to easily create and edit images and videos.
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KnightLab Storytelling ToolsTimeLine, StoryMap, SoundCite, and Juxtapose
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LunaPicEdit images & video to upload to social media sites.
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Pic MonkeyOnline photo editing tool. Add graphics & text to your photos.
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WideoCreate Flash-based videos in minutes. Share them online for free. (Watch this Wideo about the Elements of Design for ideas of what can be done.)
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Visual QuiltsMerge a collection of images into a single unit. (Look for the app and instructions near the bottom of the page.)
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GiphyGIF maker to create short, automated image-based animations and slideshows.
Data Visualization
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RAW GraphsOpen-source, intuitive, drag-and-drop visualization tool with over a dozen visualization output types.
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PalladioData-driven tools for modeling historical data and analyzing relationships across a timeline.
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TableauFor-fee tools (cloud- or server-hosted) that can help you see and understand your data. Connect multiple data sets, drag and drop to utilize visualization templates, and export to share.
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Visualising Data, Ltd.Directory of free and for-fee data visualization tools broken down by function: Data handling, Charting, Programming, Multivariate, Mapping, Web-based, Color, and "Specialist".
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PiktochartFree data visualization tools: icons, images, maps, charts, ready-to-use graphics. Get added features at an educational rate, too.
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Watson Analytics (formerly Many Eyes)Cloud-based data visualization tools that "guide data exploration, automate predictive analytics, and enable dashboard and infographic creation."
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CytoscapeCytoscape is an open source software platform (which must be downloaded and installed) for visualizing and annotating networks and pathways. Originally designed for biological research, but works well for complex network analysis and visualization.
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Software Studies suiteSoftware Studies Initiative, a digital humanities research group, has developed several free programs and apps for image analytics and data visualization.
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Google ChartsGoogle's development and beta-testing site for data visualization tools.
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FusionChartsWeb-based, mobile-friendly, and JavaScript-created charts and graphs. Free trial never expires!
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GitHub D3 GalleryJavaScript code library for web-based data visualization tools. These are not plug-n-play, so will require a know-how than the other tools listed above.
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ChartedDeliberately minimal: upload file, choose line or bar chart, vary colors, add labels, export.