Data visualization is the study of the visual representation of data, meaning “information which has been abstracted in some schematic form, including attributes or variables for the units of information”. Wikipedia
“Information visualization is traditionally viewed as a tool for data exploration and hypothesis formation. Because of its roots in scientific reasoning, visualization has traditionally been viewed as an analytical tool for sensemaking. In recent years, however, both the mainstreaming of computer graphics and the democratization of data sources on the Internet have had important repercussions in the field of information visualization. With the ability to create visual representations of data on home computers, artists and designers have taken matters into their own hands and expanded the conceptual horizon of infovis as artistic practice.” Fernanda B. Viégas and Martin Wattenberg