Don't simply show your data—tell a story with it! Storytelling with Data teaches you the fundamentals of data visualization and how to communicate effectively with data. You'll discover the power of storytelling and the way to make data a pivotal point in your story. The lessons in this illuminative text are grounded in theory, but made accessible through numerous real-world examples—ready for immediate application to your next graph or presentation.
Storytelling is not an inherent skill, especially when it comes to data visualization, and the tools at our disposal don't make it any easier. This book demonstrates how to go beyond conventional tools to reach the root of your data, and how to use your data to create an engaging, informative, compelling story. Specifically, you'll learn how
Understand the importance of context and audience Determine the appropriate type of graph for your situation Recognize and eliminate the clutter clouding your information Direct your audience's attention to the most important parts of your data Think like a designer and utilize concepts of design in data visualization Leverage the power of storytelling to help your message resonate with your audience Together, the lessons in this book will help you turn your data into high impact visual stories that stick with your audience. Rid your world of ineffective graphs, one exploding 3D pie chart at a time. There is a story in your data—Storytelling with Data will give you the skills and power to tell it!
This book is super-useful for anyone dealing with data of any size or scope. It’s clear, practical advice backed by insight into how the human brain works.
As I’ve worked on improving my visual communication skills, I’ve gotten better at including visuals such as graphs. However, I tend to stop there — “okay, I have a graph; visual checkbox ticked off!” — which is necessary but not sufficient. Just because I’ve visually outlined information does not mean I have done so in a way that’s best for my audience, or in a way that best conveys the point I’m trying to make.
My favorite parts where when Nussbaumer Knaflic would present a first version of a data visualization, then walk through her principles of removing clutter, highlighting only key data, and telling a story. She changes the visual with each principle, and every iteration shows how more clarity emerges. The before and after comparisons really grounded for me how much all this matters. I wish I could go through old data visualizations I made and re-do them with this book (I may try and do so from memory using these tactics, just for my own purposes and practice).
The only reason it doesn’t get 5 stars is because I reserve that rating for books that make me think about the world at large differently. This will make me think about business, communication, data, and visuals differently. Would give it 4.5 stars.
Ever since I read The Visual Display of Quantitative Information when it came out in the 1980's, I have been awed by the power of a really good graphic to communicate insight. From time to time I pick up a book on the topic to find tips to help me improve my information design skills.
I have not seen a better introduction to the subject of data visualization for storytelling than Storytelling with Data. The audience is clearly analysts using basic tools (think Excel) who are new to the subject. The author patiently steps through the process, starting with consideration of the context (target audience, objective, format, etc.) and selection of the appropriate chart format. Perhaps the best discussion is on eliminating clutter, focusing the viewer on key elements, and other design considerations. She provides many examples and explains the cognitive considerations behind each design choice.
My reason for rating it 4 instead of 5 stars is that the book does not get far beyond the basics and only considers a narrow range of format options.
I'm new to project leadership so I've been trying to read at least one book about managing, data, and design every month to get fresh ideas about how to do my work and where to take my career (hence my new Goodreads shelf, tech-boss-babe-reading-list). STORYTELLING WITH DATA went on sale recently for $4.99 and I decided to snap it up since graphs and charts aren't exactly my strongest point as someone who tends to be more verbal and less mathematically inclined.
Some of the complaints for this book are that it teaches the basics. That might be disappointing for people who take to this sort of thing easily or have been doing it for years, but for newbies like me, it's really great. I like how the author included "before" and "after" examples, as well as examples of what "good" and "bad" displays of data look like.
My one complaint is that she doesn't really talk about tools. She says it's to make the stuff he talks about more relevant to everyone, by keeping things simple, and she does link to templates and other sources that give more in-depth how-tos with specific software, but I guess I was kind of hoping for a "Graphing on Excel for Dummies" checklist, so I will admit to being a little disappointed.
Overall, though, this has some really great lists of what to do and what not to do and it will help people who do not think abstractly or mathematically tell "stories" with data in a way that makes sense.
TODO full review: --- Overall, yet another book about information visualization. There is nothing bad in it, but also there is nothing particularly new, or particularly good, or particularly inspiring. + Summary: take the idea of storytelling being the most important part of communication (many sources, including authors of excellent books on presentations Scott Berkun and Nancy Duarte, plus pop-science authors Simon Sinek and Chip Heath), combine with the idea of communicating in visuals (Edward R. Tufte's Envisioning Information as trailblazer, but then also many popular and more accessible books from Stephen Few, Nathan Yau, etc.). --- Data means for this author merely classic charts, and visualization is much about de-cluttering these classics in ways already proposed by others. Extracting knowledge and actionable information are given lip-service. --- One more thing that should also bug you: when the author tells you to focus on the story, and push it through visual means, the author effectively tells you how to manipulate people viscerally. That is done by all information visualization, but particularly so by visualizations that use knowledge from cognitive sciences, such as the role of color and gestalt positioning on the brain, to persuade. What is missing? The warning signs concerning the ethics of this, and making sure you test the ethics of what you do before publishing the graph. There are many authors on information visualization cautioning about this; for an example, read Albert CairoThe Truthful Art. + The author has been part of the Project Oxygen at Google, about understanding what makes good managers for making successful the people and projects in global-systems engineering. There is even a nice endorsement by Laszlo Bock. (She's a good practitioner, he says, and she is also good with teaching others how to do this stuff. But has she has created in this book "a complement to the work of data visualization pioneers"? If not, why not simply get one of the books of Stephen Few, Nathan Yau, or Alberto Cairo?)
این کتاب واقعا یه هدف متمرکز داره، که بهتر نشون دادن نمودارها و به صورت کلی دادهها، در انواع ارائه است. و این کار رو به بهترررررین نحو ممکن انجام میده. جزو کتابهای شگفتانگیزیه که خوندم و دیدم. + خود کتاب یک نمونه زیبای کاریه که داره میگه انجام بدین. ترجمه خوب، صفحه بندی قشنگ و دقیق. همه چیزش رو دوست داشتم.
As the amount of data we generate grows exponentially, it is increasingly important that we can make sense of it for decision making. To do this we need to be able to use data visualisation to discover the story, the insight, behind the raw data. Knaflic sets out six key points for effective storytelling using data: start by understanding the context and choosing an appropriate method to visualise the data. Then focus attention on the key points and eliminate clutter. And adopt user-centred design thinking to tell a story. Given the number of times we see confused and confusing charts, there are many who would benefit from the tips in Knaflic’s book. However given much of this is available online (for example from sites like https://infogram.com/examples/charts) Knaflic needed to provide more indepth insights. While Knaflic provides many practical tips, her analysis is shallow. The book would have been more meaningful if it had included greater commentary and examples – perhaps even a decision tree – on what data visualisation techniques work most effectively for what type of information. And a major omission is the role and use of infographics as a way to provide engaging, data driven storytelling. So a practical guide for more effective charting but one which falls short of its broader goal of data visualisation for story telling.
Storytelling with data is a great book for anyone who desires to grasp the basic concepts behind communication with data. From general understanding of the different types of graphs to pick from to showcase different stories, to learn how to declutter and improve your creations, this book gives you great insights. It is a fun, enjoyable and easy to read book.
Q : ไม่ได้ทำงานด้าน data อ่านดีมั้ย A : อ่านก็ได้ไม่อ่านก็ได้ เราก็ไม่ได้ทำงานด้าน data แต่ชอบเก็บข้อมูลนู่นนี่ในชีวิตแล้วก็เอามาทำเป็นกราฟเพื่อวิเคราะห์ตัวเอง การได้อ่านเล่มนี้ก็ช่วยทำให้เราเห็นภาพง่ายขึ้นว่าเวลาจะทำกราฟออกมาเพื่อสื่อสารควรทำอย่างไรให้เข้าใจง่าย
One of the most important books I read this year. It's the kind of inspiring book that open your eyes and make you see the world differently. It also makes you a much better and nicer person, and will help you go to heaven when you die, because by finishing this book you will treat the audience of your visualizations with love and respect. Your data, your story, your friends, your colleagues, your clients... all of them deserve better.
An absolutely fantastic book and a must read for anyone who is doing any sort of data analytics. The author has an awesome simplistic style not only in her data visualization but also in her writing. The book was powerful and concise in its messaging. I don't think a single word in the book was superfluous, and the author does an amazing job of walking you step by step in how you can have that same power in communicating with data.
Для тех, кто ранее особо не задумывался и не читал о визуализации - отличная вообще книга! Для тех, кто постоянно рисует слайды и графики, удобно просмотреть и забрать для себя новые приемы и советы. Забрал штук 5 идей, что для 1 книги неплохо. Отлично структурированно и полно примеров.
The best business book I've read so far. It has clear examples, direct and concise language, and great points. I honestly believe every professional, especially in managerial positions should read it.
Coming from a design background, I was looking for more of something that could be relevant to UI design. I guess this book targets business people more than designers and I think ways to apply her ideas mainly concerns static powerpoint presentations rather than interactive user interfaces.
My take-away is the storytelling chapter. Other than that, it's basically just usability principles redefined in a business context.
Great book!! Lots of great reminders, and excellent points! Lots of us use data to help our clients (internal and external) but most of us don’t have formal training on how to make sense of it, and help our audience understand it. Like any other type of communication, you need to think about your audience and be organized. Very great read!
اگه تو کار آمار و ارقام و مصور سازی داده ها هستید این کتاب رو حتما بخونید حتی اگه دکترای آمار هم باشید!! خانم نافلیک با یک دیدگاه مختص خودش به مصورسازی داده ها میپردازه. من یکی که خوشم اومد
I've read a few more books on this topic before. Some points in this book contradict what I have read before. For example, in the book "Say it with Charts" I read before, pie chart was suggested in the representation of the components that make up the parts of the whole. In this book, it is suggested to avoid visualizations such as pie chart or donut chart and to focus on alternatives.
According to the author, it seems very important to focus especially on the story to be told. The graphs to be displayed can vary significantly depending on the story to be told. Furthermore, color, size and font used stand out as factors that determine where the audience should pay attention.
It is especially nice to use the 3-act rule in the cinema while telling the story and the gestalt theory while drawing attention to the points we want to emphasize, and to touch the scientific side of the work. As the author says, this is both science and art.
The biggest impact this book had on me was in changing the mindset of showing the data to actually telling a story with the data. The focus of the book is to make clear data visualizations that makes the audience see the results you want them to see. The author urges the reader to go beyond the default settings in your tool and guides the reader on choosing the right type of visualization, removing clutter and design tips. I think the design tips are especially helpful since most non-designers do not spend time thinking about the use of colors, white space, alignment, etc. Many of the concepts in the book are transferable to presentations too. Would highly recommend the book to anyone who has to present results using data!
Great resource for data biz basics ... explains the psychology and reasoning behind all of the best practices using the standard arsenal: gestalt principles and preattentive attributes. Would recommend to anybody who wants to spruce up their charts or data-based presentations.
Alguns livros técnicos tem títulos pretensiosos demais, talvez nem por culpa do autor e sim pela pressão das editoras pra venderem mais. Aqui não sei nem por onde começar minha crítica, já que a autora, mesmo usando como referência grandes gurus de storytelling (como o McKee), utiliza as 288 páginas pra dar dicas de como fazer gráficos de linhas / barras mais visíveis e fáceis de serem compreendidos e esquece a promessa do título.
Daí que o livro tem pouco ou quase nada de storytelling e menos ainda explora interfaces gráficas que, ao meu ver, tem muito mais potencial de contar histórias e não simplesmente servirem de meio para explicar esclarecer algum dado / número. Onde estão as matrizes? Os diagramas de Venn? Os gráficos de dispersão (acho que esse ela até cita, mas não usa nenhuma vez como exemplo)? Os mapas mentais? Me parece que em nome da simplificação extrema - o que passa por um certo menosprezo da audiência ou homogeneização delas -, a autora preferiu jogar num território seguro e fugir de temas mais controversos.
Pobres dos gráficos de pizza e rosca que ficam solitários no lado oposto do corner, como más práticas generalizadas...
For some reason I found it hard to finish this book.
Three words come to mind: superficial, redundant and obvious. This, rather than a book, felt like a long, long blog.
Okay, maybe this review is biased since I have been myself professionally trained in data visualization, but this book felt unusually worse than others I've read.
Sometimes I was simply learning the names of things I was already doing, other times I wondered if I actually needed a book to explain me that. Also, some graph problems might've been exaggerated, in my opinion.
This said, there are also a few positive things to mention. For instance, I think this is a good reference point to guide my plot design thoughts, and there are indeed many examples of good graphs.
Overall, I think I did learn a couple of things, but it wasn't exactly a pleasant reading for me.
I don't normally bother to log books related to work, but this one was at least peripherally related to story telling and it was a nice and easy read. As you'd expect from someone teaching aspects of how to clearly present data
There is always a story to tell. If it’s worth communicating, it’s worth spending the time necessary to frame your data in a story.
An amazing and very-on-point book with a lot of useful tips and examples to help understanding how to build better visualisations and why you should do it. Highly recommend it!
Rất hay và thiết thực. Mình cần những quyển sách như thế này hơn là self-help. Cá nhân mình là người thích thẩm mỹ theo phong cách tối giản nên gặp quyển này như cá gặp nước :))
Mình nghĩ ai đi làm văn phòng cũng từng gặp tình huống thấy người ta trình bày slide đẹp quá nhưng không biết làm như thế nào, bắt đầu từ đâu. Xong mở Powerpoint lên, ngồi gặm móng chân một hồi rồi gõ gõ mấy dòng, bullet, cùng lắm chèn cái biểu đồ vô cho có vẻ “chuyên nghiệp”. Mèo lại hoàn mèo.
Quyển này giải quyết triệt để vấn đề trên bằng cách cung cấp kiến thức nền tảng trong việc trình bày dữ liệu: 1. Xác định mục tiêu trình bày. Cái này nghe đơn giản và có vẻ sáo rỗng nhưng thực sự thì mọi người rất hay mắc phải: chỉ show ra những gì mình có trong tay. Một fact/figure hay đến mấy thì cũng khiến khán giả “wow... interesting” chứ không có action. Action phải là mục tiêu cốt lõi, trừ khi mình định trình bày để mua vui. 2. Chọn hình thức trình bày dữ liệu: line graph vs. bar graph, chiều dọc hay chiều ngang, tại sao không nên sử dụng pie chart và 3D v.v.. 3. Tinh giản. Đa số đều có tâm lý sợ slide của mình “trống trống” nên sẽ thêm thông tin vô. Khán giả thì ngược lại. Tưởng tượng ta có một tờ giấy trắng: mỗi một nét bút ta đặt lên đều khiến người đọc phải xử lý. Do đó, chỉ giữ lại những gì không thể bỏ. “You know you’ve achieved perfection, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing to take away”. 4. Làm nổi bật dữ liệu quan trọng: bằng màu sắc, kích thước, thứ tự v.v.. Thường mọi người hay bỏ qua bước này, chỉ show lên những gì mình có một cách đẹp mắt và để người đọc tự rút ra kết luận. Sự thực là, vừa nghe vừa xem một thông tin mới người ta không đủ thời gian để rút ra thông tin quan trọng. 5. Kể một câu chuyện dẫn dắt. Human love story.
Một tips quan trọng: bắt đầu bằng giấy bút phác thảo Ý TƯỞNG, chứ không phải mở slide lên. Câu này làm mình nhớ hồi trước có một anh từng nói tương tự khi lập trình: phác thảo giải pháp xong rồi mới gõ code. Công cụ chỉ để hiện thực ý tưởng.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.