Introduction:

Plotly is one of the most powerful and versatile tools for creating interactive data visualizations in Python. This 5-day training course is designed for data scientists, analysts, and developers who want to master the art of creating interactive, publication-quality visuals using Plotly. The course covers the essentials of Plotly, from basic chart creation to more advanced features such as multi-plot dashboards, animations, and integrating Plotly with other Python libraries. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to build visually appealing, interactive, and dynamic visualizations that can be used in data analysis, presentations, and web applications.

Objectives:

By the end of this course, participants will:

• Understand the basics of Plotly and its integration with Python.
• Be proficient in creating a wide range of interactive charts and visualizations.
• Learn how to customize Plotly visuals using themes, layout options, and annotations.
• Master advanced visualization techniques, including subplots, animations, and 3D charts.
• Learn to use Plotly with Dash for building interactive web applications.
• Gain the skills to optimize Plotly visualizations for performance and large datasets.

Who Should Attend:

This course is ideal for:

• Data scientists, analysts, and business intelligence professionals who want to enhance their data visualizations.
• Python developers who wish to use Plotly for interactive data visualization in their applications.
• Professionals who want to create compelling, interactive reports and dashboards for data exploration and storytelling.
• Anyone interested in learning how to build engaging and visually appealing data plots for web or presentation use.

Day 1: Introduction to Plotly and Basic Visualizations

• Morning:
  • Overview of Plotly:
    • Introduction to Plotly’s capabilities: understanding its interactive features and flexibility.
    • Installation and setup: installing Plotly and necessary Python dependencies.
    • Understanding the Plotly ecosystem: Plotly Express vs. Plotly Graph Objects.
  • Basic Plotly Visualizations:
    • Creating basic charts using Plotly Express: bar charts, line charts, pie charts, scatter plots.
    • Customizing chart appearance: adjusting axis labels, titles, colors, and markers.
    • Introduction to figure objects and layout management.
• Afternoon:
  • Interactive Features:
    • Understanding interactivity: zooming, hovering, and clicking.
    • Adding interactive features like hover tooltips and legend interactions.
    • Customizing interactive elements using Plotly Express and Graph Objects.
  • Hands-on Session:
    • Create basic interactive visualizations with Plotly, focusing on user interactivity.

Day 2: Customizing Visualizations and Advanced Chart Types

• Morning:
  • Customizing Chart Styles:
    • Advanced customization: modifying color schemes, fonts, and markers.
    • Using Plotly’s built-in themes and creating custom themes.
    • Customizing layout elements: axis ticks, gridlines, and background color.
  • Advanced Chart Types:
    • Creating specialized charts: histograms, box plots, heatmaps, and choropleth maps.
    • Understanding and creating categorical plots: violin plots, strip plots, and bubble charts.
    • Working with time-series data: customizing date and time axes.
• Afternoon:
  • Multiple Plot Layouts:
    • Creating subplots and multi-panel visualizations.
    • Using make_subplots to organize different charts into a grid.
    • Managing axis titles, tick labels, and legends across subplots.
  • Hands-on Session:
    • Build advanced customized charts with interactive elements and create multi-plot layouts.

Day 3: 3D Visualizations and Animation in Plotly

• Morning:
  • 3D Plotting with Plotly:
    • Creating 3D scatter plots, surface plots, and mesh plots.
    • Customizing 3D charts: adjusting lighting, viewpoints, and axes.
    • Interactive 3D chart features: rotating, zooming, and panning.
  • Creating Animations:
    • Introduction to Plotly’s animation capabilities: animating traces and layouts.
    • Animating scatter plots, line charts, and other visual elements over time.
    • Customizing animation transitions: duration, easing, and frame updates.
• Afternoon:
  • Integrating Animations into Dashboards:
    • Best practices for using animations in data exploration.
    • Creating dynamic and engaging animations for visual storytelling.
  • Hands-on Session:
    • Build and animate a 3D chart and animated visualizations to display changes over time.

Day 4: Advanced Features, Dashboards, and Plotly with Dash

• Morning:
  • Advanced Layout Customization:
    • Advanced features: adding annotations, shapes, and images to plots.
    • Using sliders, buttons, and other controls to customize visualization interactions.
    • Controlling figure updates dynamically (e.g., updating plots on user input).
  • Building Dashboards with Plotly:
    • Introduction to creating dashboard layouts with multiple charts.
    • Using Plotly in conjunction with Dash for interactive web-based dashboards.
    • Setting up dashboards with user controls, such as drop-downs and radio buttons.
• Afternoon:
  • Integrating Plotly with Dash:
    • Introduction to Dash: setting up a basic Dash app with Plotly visualizations.
    • Handling user inputs: linking interactive components with Plotly visualizations.
    • Organizing and styling Dash apps using HTML and CSS.
  • Hands-on Session:
    • Build a complete interactive dashboard using Plotly and Dash.

Day 5: Optimization, Best Practices, and Real-World Applications

• Morning:
  • Performance Optimization:
    • Best practices for optimizing Plotly visualizations for large datasets.
    • Using WebGL and other rendering techniques to speed up rendering.
    • Optimizing interactivity in complex plots and dashboards.
  • Real-World Use Cases and Best Practices:
    • Building visualization solutions for various industries: finance, healthcare, marketing, and more.
    • Real-world examples of interactive visualizations and dashboards.
    • Designing intuitive visualizations that communicate insights effectively.
• Afternoon:
  • Deploying Plotly Visualizations:
    • Exporting Plotly charts as images or HTML files.
    • Embedding Plotly visualizations in web applications or reports.
    • Sharing and collaborating on Plotly charts in Jupyter Notebooks and web apps.
  • Final Hands-On Project and Group Discussion:
    • Work on a final project to create an interactive, data-driven dashboard using all learned skills.
    • Peer review and feedback on final projects.

Key Takeaways:

• Expertise in creating a wide range of interactive visualizations, including charts, maps, and 3D plots.
• Advanced understanding of customizing Plotly visualizations with themes, annotations, and interactivity.
• Skills in creating animations and dynamic updates to bring data stories to life.
• Proficiency in building interactive dashboards and web applications using Plotly and Dash.
• Knowledge of optimizing Plotly visualizations for performance and handling large datasets.
• Experience deploying and sharing visualizations across various platforms, including the web and Jupyter Notebooks.