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Storytelling With Data - The New Visualization Data Guide To Reaching Your Business Aim in The Fastest Way
Storytelling With Data - The New Visualization Data Guide To Reaching Your Business Aim in The Fastest Way
By
James Gates
© Copyright 2020 byJames Gates
I've always been drawn to the room where business and mathematics
converge. My educational experience in mathematics and industry, which
allows me to interact with both sides efficiently–as they don't always speak
the same language–and help them understand one another better. I want to be
able to use data analysis to make informed business decisions. Over time, I
have found that one key to success is the ability to interact with data visually.
I first realized the value of my first job outside of college as a skilled person
in this field. I served as a credit risk management consultant (before the
subprime crisis and, thus, before anyone understood what credit risk
management was). My task was to create and test statistical models for the
prediction of crime and loss. It meant making complicated things and
ultimately making it into a simple statement whether we had enough money
for expected losses in savings, in what situations we would be exposed to,
and so on. I quickly learned that my colleagues didn't usually spend time on
the esthetic piece— to get more support from my boss and my boss's boss. To
me, this was the beginning of the visual exchange of data in spending time.
After advancing through several roles in loan risk, fraud, and management,
followed by some time in the world of private equity, I decided that I wanted
to continue my career outside banking and finance.
I stopped to consider the skills that I had that I wanted to use every day: in
essence, it used data to influence business decisions. I landed at the People
Analytics team at Google. Google is so data-driven that it even uses data and
analytics in a field not often seen: human resources. People Analytics is an
analysis team incorporated into Google's HR organization ("People
Operations" in Google). This team's mission is to help ensure that decision-
making by Google employees or potential employees is focused on evidence.
This was a perfect way to develop my leadership skills further and use data
and analytics to better understand and educate decision-making in ways like
targeted jobs, staff engaged and inspiring, team building, and talent retention.
Google People Analytics is cutting-edge and helps to build a direction that
other businesses have started to pursue. It was an amazing experience to be
involved in creating and developing this squad.
WHAT IS DATA STORYTELLING
The quickest and easiest way to inspire the team to understand and act on
data through the power of stories is through data telling. It builds a data-
driven, open community, facilitates talks about what matters, and frees the
people from doing what they are asked to do.
Information history takes the information literally and instantly turns it into
simple English tales. Through offering information that can be interpreted by
all, data storage allows the team the opportunity to get the story of what
matters for them in seconds of language. There is an issue with how
everybody has been trained to communicate with data–we want everyone to
be able to interpret and explore it. We believe that they can enjoy their time
and learn the skills to do so well, but expect the same in their real work.
Think about it— how do you still communicate with technology? This looks
like Spotify, Alexa, and Netflix for most users. Users like these tools because
they're simple, customized, and with zero work, you get what you want. Yet,
most businesses tend to force people to jump a million hoops to get the story
from their results. The focus on results, though theoretically fantastic, has
become more and more difficult, time-consuming, and much more frustrating
for everyone concerned. Data must begin to come to us. We must give our
workers a way to understand their data without requiring them to learn
computer skills. We need to provide them with information wherever and
whenever they work. Software storytelling helps everyone, regardless of their
level of expertise, to understand and use the software every day in their
careers.
Rather than asking people to learn to interpret tablets or explore dashboards,
data history uses clear, easy-to-understand language and one-click
collaboration to ensure that everyone in the firm understands knowledge. It
makes it easier for you to make the right choices faster, which eventually
leads to happy workers and better business performance.
As data is even more omnipresent, businesses actively pursue talent with
such technology competencies. Over the last two years, the data analysis
study by LinkedIn is one of the highest ability categories for recruiters and
was the only category that has consistently placed in the top 4 across all the
countries they evaluated. Interestingly, much of the current emphasis has
been on data preparation and analysis–not "last miles" to help turn insights
into practice. Most highly qualified people with a high degree in economics,
mathematics, or statistics fail to convey their knowledge effectively to others
— primarily saying their numbers.
The need for additional data storytellers will only grow in the future. With
this move to more analytical and business intelligence self-service capability,
the pool of people who produce insights is growing beyond analysts and data
scientists. This latest set of data resources will enable the exposure and
discovery of data on their own for people across business functions. As a
result, we will see an enormous number of insights created more than ever
before inside companies. Furthermore, if we do not enhance the
communication of these observations, we will also see a lower rate of insight
into value transfer. If an idea is not understood and persuasive, nobody will
take action, and there will be no improvement. Numbers have to tell a
remarkable story. We depend on you for a strong and convincing speech.
Any useful insight is probably best conveyed as a data story. A lot of items
were correlated with the term "data storytelling," data analysis, computer
graphics, dashboards, data presentations, etc. Software storytelling is all too
often interpreted as only effectively visualizing software, but is far more than
only making visually pleasing data charts. Data history is a systematic
approach to data analysis that provides a mix of three main elements: data,
visuals which narration. It is important to understand how these different
elements interact and function together in data history. If narratives are
combined with data, they allow the audience to understand what happens in
the data and why it is important to have a specific perspective. A broad
context and analysis are often needed to understand and insightfully. When
graphics are added to results, they expose the public to facts that without
charts or graphs, they will not see. Without data visualizations, many
fascinating trends and outliers in the data will remain concealed in the rows
and columns of the data tables.
Ultimately, if stories and pictures are combined, a viewer will be interested or
amused. Every year, we spend billions of dollars collectively on films to
immerse ourselves in diverse lives, cultures, and adventures. When you mix
the right graphics and stories with the right data, you have a data table that
can transform and move them.
Learn what you need to know to make better decisions every single day.
The traditional approach to data comprehension takes minutes to days.
Employees wear long smartphones, dig through dashboards, or ask their
operations or analytics teams a million questions and wait hours for answers.
With data storytelling, your team will automatically read a customized story
that tells you what you need to know about your company, tailored to your
needs. The data telling technology is smart–it, of course, articulates every
day, for each employee, the most relevant and fascinating information. And it
also helps them to share this knowledge.
Start the conversation with your team about how to take action.
Stories are the best way to make sure everyone understands the facts. Stories
are how we interact best as humans. It's like reminding us of what counts and
inspiring action. It is how we persuade and inspire. Stories help us to learn
something different — to answer new questions.
Instead of asking employees to find answers, data stories make sure the
employees are aware of the correct information where it is already. Since data
storytelling is simply language stories, it facilitates things like comment and
collaboration, integration with other communication platforms, such as Slack,
and comprehensive email sharing. And since data stories are written, they
work on a mobile device just like they do on a desktop. Once you leave your
office, the business doesn't end. Wherever you are — on a plane or a soccer
game with your child or even having a meal, data telling lets you and your
whole team hold the pulse anywhere and every time.
The Different Between Data Storytelling And Data Visualization
Information history is becoming a common concept in the field of analytics–
looking at the data carefully to find the relevant meanings and to
communicate them as easily as possible. It's sadly a strong term diluted by
those who make it synonymous with data visualization–data visualization
companies who follow it as a slogan for marketing. These experts balance it
with best practices for visualization etc. The presentation of data is far more
than complex methods of visually displaying data. Data reports blend data
with tales.
Stories are powerful things. Across history, we have used them to capture
consciousness, express thoughts, ignite creativity, and revitalize the spirit.
Statistics can be compelling, but stories are a lot more. A well-told tale is an
engaging tale intended to get the viewer interested. Stories affect data alone.
That is not possible. You are unforgettable, frequently passed on, and
replicated, encouraging people to engage and inspiring people to act. At the
surface, storytelling is the opposite of analytics–qualitative rather than
quantitative. But quantities are not the only way to convey knowledge, or
necessarily the best way. Not everybody in the company is a quantum who
thinks in numbers natively. Others think of the popularity of the
representation of data in pictures: "Present to me the type of things, not the
numbers. "The visualization is strong, but the ability to combine graphics and
tell stories with data is even more strong. The secret is narrative. The data is
vague and lacking in meaning. Visualizations (and misinterpretations) are
open to interpretation. Tales eliminate uncertainty, link data to context, and
explain a specific interpretation. Swedish professor Hans Rosling was the
master of data storytelling. On 7 February this year, Rosling died. He left a
legacy of data history and a passion for social and economic justice.
There is a technology boom around the world. From scholars to politics, and
everywhere, the stories of the world are revealed by their data points. And
while visualization is by no means new to data stories, we are now telling
them in more common and effective ways than ever. The charts and graphs
that were produced in Excel five years ago are very different from the
incredible graphics that we are currently creating with best-of-breed software
such as Tableau or JavaScript libraries such as D3.js.
Nonetheless, all these views, from the most fluid to the most static, need
more than data to make the transition from representation of information to
resonation. You need a story— something to demonstrate, or, more aptly, to
visually "say," and when you dig through details, it is not always obvious to
see the story. Exploration, curiosity, and a change of mind are required to
shift from data visualization to a data narrative. They are similar, but they are
not identical. They will open up a whole new world of data communication
once mastered.
Data narration may sound like a vague or overwhelming process. After all,
many of us would describe us more easily as' data people' before we tried our
hat. Nevertheless, all of them are inherently interconnected; we have to know
our data, its context, and the effects of analytics to bring value to an audience
that does not. All this is a story: someone shares something fresh and
unfamiliar in a way that is easily understandable and narrative. The fine
news? There's no way to do that. There are as many quintessential examples
of each validated narrative structure we might use to build a data storyboard,
where a data storyteller has exercised a generous amount of artistic freedom
and done something completely different (this is a perfect example of
Minard's 1869 depiction of Napoleon's March). After all, data stories like any
story need some imagination— and while tools and technology can do a great
deal with our data, imagination contributes exclusively to any story.
Yes, data visualization and data history are not synonymous— there are
many differences between them— but two sides of the same coin. An
accurate data tale uses data visualization as a kind of literary tool — proof
that supports the narrative. So while the information visualizations include
"what" in the story, it's the narrative that responds to "why." Here, it is
important to remember that research visualizations and presentation
visualizations are not precisely the same thing. Instead, they work together to
turn data into something important for their audience. Remember, for
example, the Gigantic Costs chart of Nigel Holmes. Great analytically? No.
No. Visually appealing and memorable?Completely. Any important
visualization is a double visualization. Analytical perfection and accurate
statistical knowledge rendering are needed to encode these data with
meaning, as well as a well-coordinated balancing of graphic design signals
(color, shape, scale, etc.). So, what is the core theory that connects data
visualization and the history of visual data? It's this, I think: data visualization
is as powerful as the insights it shows and how long we remember them.
Effectiveness is a feature of careful planning in this case.
Builds Credibility
Let's face it; more material is just garbage out there today. In a world full of
assumptions, people want hard, challenging facts that hold them right. When
you can provide accurate details in your narrative, the more people are
inclined to trust your brand and your message. In other words, it leads to
establishing your reputation.
It encourages dedication
In addition to the intrinsic stimulus provided by data visualization, data
history often promotes participation. People view and are encouraged to
participate in the story. There are two forms of data storytelling: narrative and
exploratory. Both types encourage participation but allow viewers to follow
different approaches.
Explorative: audiences are encouraged to explore data and to draw their
conclusions. They are encouraged to concentrate on data-related stories.
You may also repurpose or find some way to enhance certain forms of
material for a new status or data visualization.
Storytelling with data is crucial for every business ' marketing performance.
The development of reliable, usable content and data-based content not only
complements your other marketing initiative but also enhances your entire
marketing strategy. When you build brand awareness and good relationships,
you create a strong base for the reputation of your site and consequently
boost all other marketing efforts with which you work.
THE EVOLUTION OF DATA STORYTELLING
Data storytelling is a top priority today for technology explorers of all kinds.
Those include market users who pursue insightful insights, analysts who
share findings with non-technical users and even vendors who say their
platform is best able to tell data stories. However, the concept and methods
used to construct stories significantly varied. In both complexity and
automation, they have often evolved. Also, with the development of better
data analytics tools, data history has evolved. At the start, people collected
their data manually and reported analysis. Then came the age of immersive,
annotated storyboards, and contextual perspectives. And today, with the
increase in digital narrative perspectives and studies, we are progressing
again.
Here is a look at how our capacity for data storytelling has evolved over the
years.
The growing popularity of big data and data analysis projects has made
visualization more important than ever. Companies use machine learning
increasingly to capture vast quantities of data that can be difficult and slow to
process, interpret, and describe. Visualization provides a way to speed up this
and offer company owners and stakeholders with knowledge in a way they
can understand.
Large-data visualization also stretches beyond conventional visualization
methods such as pie charts, histograms, and corporate graphs. This uses more
detailed graphics, including heat maps and fever charts, instead. Big data
visualization requires powerful computer systems to capture, process, and
transform raw data into graphical images, which humans can use to gain
insights quickly.
Although big data visualization can be beneficial, organizations can have
some drawbacks. The following are:
An analysis expert must be employed to take advantage of big data analysis
software. An expert will be able to define the best data sets and viewing types
to ensure that companies maximize data use.
Large-scale data visualization projects often need IT support and
management, since big data visualization requires powerful computer
hardware, reliable storage systems, and even a transition to the cloud.
Big data visualization perspectives are just as accurate as the information is
visualized. Therefore, people and processes are important for the quality of
organizational data, metadata, and data sources to be regulated and managed.
A view of despair: Not many people with bad details and data will build
beautiful things. It is particularly impactful if the data artist has a personal
story and reason for visualizing it. A vision of Desperation is Sonja Kuijpers '
beautiful depiction. This tells the story of all the people in the Netherlands
who lived in 2017. Every natural symbol shows how life and the scale of the
age were lost.
Often, the best views of data are those that tell an intimate, narrative story.
Drowning in plastic: humans are reliant on plastic bottle drinking water. This
has become an enormous waste epidemic. This view shows the piles of
plastic bottles about cityscapes and prominent landmarks.
Plastic Drowning is a visualization by Reuters Graphics that makes a major
attempt to illustrate how we flood the world with plastic.
Starbucks data wall experience: Not every cafe in Starbucks has the luxury of
saying that it is home to an award-winning view of data. The first Starbucks
Reserve Roastery in Milan hired Accurately, a group of professional data
show artists.
This data view is an immersive wall of augmented reality that displays
Starbucks ' history in a network of multiple data layers. The wall was
produced in 2018 but won a gold cantar for the particular category in 2019.
On the Accurate website, you can see the wall in practice, but it's much easier
to see it in person.
What to dress for space: Astronauts use different costumes on their journeys
in 50 years of space exploration and space travel. This view displays
extensive 3D visualizations of five space suits, from the first mercury-
covered suits to the one-piece SpaceX suit.
The research included an insightful conversation between a reporter in the
space industry and a design critic. You can read the thoughts as each match is
tested. This perspective is better pursued with a certain degree of maturity
and curiosity.
The many different types of cricket stadiums in England: Google Maps and
cricket buffs came together for this view of cricket stadium shapes in
England. The analysis is focused not on the roundness of all stadiums, but a
selection of uneven shapes.
Every stadium is first viewed with a Google Maps satellite image and then
graphics with field length and width data and a detailed representation of the
structure. The various types of cricket stadiums in England are a view of the
BBC Sports version.
Symbolic: The visualization and design of data is the kind of research that
takes a long time to complete. This usually takes a lot of effort, as well. This
is valid for several examples in this list, but Symbolikon is one especially
memorable one.
MichelaGraziani's visualization of Symbolikon data is a broad array of
artistic symbols from different cultures and periods in history. In more than
28 categories, it has more than 700 symbols and continues to expand.
The expanding symbol was scanned into three styles: PNG, JPG, and SVG.
The range is for sale to designers to do what they want.
Space Junk: the BBC commissioned data artist Federica Fragapane to create a
data analysis on Space Junk. Data sets are divided into various categories:
earth reach, space junk type, and the objects ' size and mass. The most
noteworthy thing about the best data visualizations of Federica Fragapane is
their attention to detail and colorization of the details. This is a perfect
example in particular of her style and how it develops.
Space Springs: As we saw over the years of this roundabout, space is a
popular source of inspiration for many data artists. An outstanding example
of this is the Oberhauser Leaps Office in Space 2020 calendar.
Visualization has been developed by the Oberhauser design agency to display
data about unusual and unforgettable space activities in 2020 and some
historical events. The show is available as a screen or wallpaper or even as a
poster.
When a traveler is on a winter night, in 1979, the Italian author Italo Calvino
wrote a book on the philosophical reading of a novel. It was a cult book for
writers, readers, and conceptual artists alike for a long time. In 2019, Hanna
Piotrowska, a data visualization artist, used the book as a data visualization
project. The result is an original text magnificently printed edition plus a twin
book with a data visualization set. The data sets include terms, sentences, and
arcs of history. The maps are beautiful and are a joy to look at.
LGBT: Unprotected by law: Graphic designer Gabrielle Merite has taken it
upon herself to construct a diagram of information about how the LGBT
community is unprotected by particular legislation in the US.
Each circle represents a state, and the charts display various items from
which security is required. This infographic should be shared to show how
vulnerable the LGBT community is in many countries of the world.
Software grammar: Software is not necessarily dull to be studied. For
example, data grammar is a delight. It wasn't discovered by major
publications and didn't yet win any prizes, so it isn't worth this list.
Data Grammar is a lovely glossary of data visualization maps. The colors are
inspiring, and the style is completed by the use of black and white
photographs with conceptual labeling.
Georgia Lupi data fashion; Georgia Lupi is renowned for its data artistic
view. Her data designs are also very detailed and artistically interesting. Not
unexpectedly, its data art makes it our roundups still. We have co-lab with
Other Stories in this year's set. The main concept behind this trendy view was
to honor three women scientists. Georgia's sketches used data from the
extraordinary projects of each woman to produce reusable graphics that were
printed in handmade cloth. The garments are sold in a customized bag that
describes the data and inspiration.
Beautiful news every day: David McCandless, the founder of the Kantar
Knowledge Awards, has this year a wonderful new project. Over a year,
David and his team have compiled and visualized more than 300 datasets
over various categories. Beautiful News Daily publishes and will post a new
visualization every day. Info is a lovely team that has long been an important
name in the field of data, and it is no wonder that Beautiful News Daily is a
great project to watch as it expands.
Global commodity: visualizations of spinning globes are typically very fun to
show. But they're just often full of data in various colors. This is the case with
this visualization of global commodities data.
Over the past ten years, the statistics have been for imports and exports
around the world. The show is adaptive according to product types, years,
and locations.
Building hopes: The visualization of data in Building Hopes is an AR
visualization that explores people's expectations for life in general. The
software is on the web, so installing the app onto a mobile device is the safest
way.
When you open the app, you are asked to walk around your immediate world
and choose how hopeful you are. Each hope consists of colorful stone and is
arranged into a revolving sculpture.
You can now explore your data and how it compares to the Google Trends in
your area after the sculpture is finished. Then you can also find other data
sculptures created in the same area by people.
Market cafe mag: This knowledge visualization was also included in our set
last year, as it is an annual affair. Market Cafe Mag is the only' zine' for data
visualization and has just been given a Gold Kantar Information Prize. The
topic this year, is called Data Visual Activism.
Common Data Visualization Use Cases
Common use cases for data visualization include:
Sales and commercialization. The marketing firm Magna's report predicts
that by 2020, half of the global advertising dollars will be invested online. As
a result, marketing departments need to pay careful attention to their web
traffic sources and how their web assets generate profits. Data analysis allows
the time analysis of traffic patterns through marketing activities.
Who
Your audience
The more informed you will be with your audience, the more you will be able
to communicate. Do not have a general audience, such as "internal and
external stakeholders" or "anyone interested"–by attempting to communicate
at one time with so many different people with different interests, and you
can interact with anyone as easily as you might if your target market was
reduced. This also means producing different messages for various audiences.
One way to limit the audience is to define the decision-maker. The more
information you have on your audience, the more you can understand how
you can communicate with them and fulfill your needs.
You
It is also important to think about your interaction with your audience and
how you want to view it. Would you meet each other for the first time in this
conversation, or have you an existing relationship? Would you already have
faith as an expert, or do you need to search for credibility? These are critical
criteria for deciding how the correspondence can be organized and whether
and when data can be used and for influencing the order and flow of the
entire story you want to tell.
What
Action
What do you need to ask or do for your audience? This is where you think
about how to make what you share important for your audience and why they
should care about what you say. You will still want to ask or do something
for your audience. If you can't express this concisely, you can examine
whether you first have to talk. For many, this can be an uncomfortable spot.
Sometimes this frustration is motivated by the presumption that the viewer
knows better than the interviewer and can thus determine whether and how
the information presented is to be acted upon. This theory is false. If you
analyze and communicate data, you probably know it best— you are an
expert on the subject. This helps you to view the data and enable people to
understand and to act. In general, those who work with data have to be more
comfortable in making clear conclusions and recommendations based on their
studies. If you have not done it regularly, this will feel beyond your comfort
zone.
Start doing it now— with time, and it will become easier. And you know that
even if you stress or prescribe the wrong thing, it gives you the right kind of
talk about practice. If it is not right to directly suggest an intervention,
promote discussion of it. This can be a perfect way to get the conversation
started because it gives the audience response to something rather than a
blank slate. When you present data, it is easy for your audience to say, "Oh,
that's interesting." However, when you call for action, the audience must
determine whether or not to comply. It offers the audience a more positive
answer that can lead to a more constructive conversation — one that could
never have been begun had you first suggested the intervention.
Mechanism
When are you going to interact with your audience? How you interact with
the audience is influenced by a variety of factors, including how much
influence you have over the information that the audience receives and how it
needs to be. We may think of the process for communication on a spectrum,
with a live presentation on the left and a written document or email on the
right. Take into account the level of control over the processing of
information and the amount of detail required on both sides of the continuum.
You (the presenter) are an incomplete charge on the left with a live show.
You decide who and what the viewer sees. You may respond to visual
information to speed up, slow down, or go into more or less detail on a
specific point. The communication (presentation or slide deck) should not
include all the information because you, the subject matter expert, have to
answer any questions that occur during the presentation, and you will be
prepared and willing to do so regardless of how the detail is given.
On the right-hand side of the continuum, you (the document writer or email)
have less power over a written text or email. In this scenario, the listener is in
charge of how the material is processed. Usually, the degree of detail required
here is higher because you cannot see and respond to the questions of your
audience. The paper must answer some of the possible concerns explicitly. In
an ideal world, the working product for both sides of this series will be
entirely different — minimal slides for a live show (as you can describe it in
more depth when needed), and more detailed documents when the audience
can absorb on its own. It is often the same product that is produced to try to
meet both these needs, due to time and other constraints. This leads to the
slide meant, a single document designed to address these two needs. This
raises some obstacles due to the varied requirements to be met, but we will
look at approaches to resolve and solve these problems later in the book.
At this point at the beginning of the communication process, it is necessary to
define the primary means of communication that you will use: live
presentations, written documents, or something else. When you start creating
content, consideration of how much influence you have over how your
audience absorbs information, and the degree of detail you need is becoming
very critical.
Tone
What sound would you like to set your communication? Another essential
factor is the tone you want to communicate to your audience. Do you
celebrate success? Do you attempt to light a fire to lead action? Is the subject
bright or serious? The tone you want for your contact will influence our
design choices in future chapters. For now, consider and define the general
tone you want to set when setting the data visualization route.
How
Finally, and only when we have a good understanding of who our target is
and what we need to know or do, will we be able to access the data and ask:
What is the data available which will help me make my point? Data are proof
of the story that you are going to construct and tell. We will talk much more
about the visual presentation of this knowledge in the following chapters.
Big Idea
The Big Idea comes down to the same thing: a single sentence. Nancy Duarte
explores this idea in her book Resonate (2010). She says that the Big Idea has
three parts:
It must articulate your unique point of view;
It must convey what’s at stake; and
It must be a complete sentence.
Consider an illustrative three-minute story and a Major Idea, using the
previously implemented summer learning curriculum on the example of
science.
Story of 3 minutes: A group of us in the science department brainstormed
how to fix the current dilemma we have with incoming fourth graders. It
seems like when children get to their first class in science, they have this
mindset that it is going to be complicated, and they won't like it. It takes a
good deal of time to get over that at the beginning of the school year. And we
wondered, what if we were to try to introduce children earlier to science?
Can we affect their perception? Last summer, we piloted a learning
curriculum to do precisely that. We invited primary school students and
finished with a wide group of graduates. We aimed to introduce them to
science earlier in the hope of shaping positive perceptions. To check whether
we succeeded, we tested the students before and after the program. We found
that the largest student group, 40 percent, felt "Good" with the program. At
the same time, most of these shifted to positive attitudes after the program,
with approximately 70 percent of the students showing an interest in science.
We assume that this demonstrates the program's popularity and that we
should not only continue to deliver it but that we will also extend our scope
with it.
Large Idea: The pilot summer learning program has effectively changed the
expectations of students in science; we suggest that you continue to deliver
this curriculum because of this success.
When you have clearly and concisely outlined your plot, it is much easier to
build material for your correspondence. Now let's shift gears and think about
a different content creation strategy: storyboarding.
Storyboarding
Storyboarding is probably the most important thing you can do to ensure that
the correspondence is right. The storyboard creates a coordination
framework. The content summarizes what you plan to make. This can be
changed as you move through the specifics, but you can make the system
effective early. When you can (as makes sense), get your customer or
stakeholder's acceptance at this point. It helps to ensure that what you are
doing suits your needs. The most significant piece of advice I have about
storyboarding is this: don't continue with presentation tools. It's too quick to
go in a diaphragm mode without worrying about how the pieces fit together
and end up with an enormous deck that does nothing effectively.
Furthermore, when we start producing content through our device, something
occurs that makes us bind to it. This connection may be such that even
though we realize what we created doesn't necessarily appear on the mark or
should be modified or removed, we often avoid this because of research we
have already done to get it to where it is.
A whiteboard, post-it notes, or plain paper can be used. It is much easier to
line up an idea on a sheet of paper or recycle a post-it note without having the
same sense of loss as when you cut something with your machine that you
have spent hours making. I prefer to use post-it notes on my storyboard, so
you can quickly rearrange (and add and remove) the pieces to explore various
flows.
When we test our communication in science for the summer learning
program.
Through the explanatory analysis, iterations are minimized by being able to
express specifically with whom or what you want to communicate before you
begin creating content and to ensure that the communication that you create
serves the intended intent. Comprehending and using techniques such as the
3-minute script, the big idea, and storyboarding helps you to say your script
and easily and to define the perfect flow.
Although the communication may sound like it is a phase that slows you
down before you develop it, in reality, it allows you to have a good
understanding of what you want to do before you start to create content that
saves you time on the move.
CHOOSING AN EFFECTIVE VISUAL
There are many different graphs and other types of visual representations, but
a few fulfil the bulk of your needs. As I look back at the at 150 visuals I
created last year for seminars and consultation projects, just a dozen different
kinds of visuals were used. These are the visuals on which we should focus.
Simple text
If you have only one or two to communicate, quick text can be an excellent
way of communicating. Think by using just the number— making it as
popular as possible— and a few words to make the point clear. In addition to
being potentially deceptive, adding one or even a few numbers into a table or
graph causes the numbers to lose their oomph. When you have a number or
two you want to communicate, try using the numbers yourself.
The fact that certain numbers are available does not imply you need a graph!
For a large total of two numbers, a lot of text and space are used. The graph
does not help much in the analysis of numbers (and by placing data labels
outside the bars the sense of relative height can even get skewed to such a
degree that 20 is less than half the 41 does not match visually).
A single sentence will suffice in this case: 20% of children had a
conventional home mother in 2012, compared with 41% in 1970.
One consideration in this particular case, as a side note, is if you want to
display a completely different metric. You may reframe, for example, from
the numerical change:' The number of children with a typical mother-at-home
stays decreased more than 50% between 1970 and 2012.' I caution you,
however, when you reduce from several figures to one, think of the
background you may lose. In this instance, I find that the actual size (20%
and 41%) of the numbers is useful to view and understand the shift.
If you have only one or two numbers, you want to communicate: use them
directly.
When you have more data to display, a table or a graph is usually the way to
go. One thing to remember is that people deal with these two kinds of visuals
differently. Let's analyze each in-depth and investigate those different
varieties and use cases.
Tables
Tables communicate with our oral system, and we read them. I usually keep
my index finger off when I have a table in front of me: I read through rows
and columns, or I compare my values. Tables are perfect for that— to
connect to a diverse audience whose members each try their special interest.
When you need to communicate multiple measurement units, a table is
generally often simpler than a graph.
One aspect that needs to be remembered in a table is that you want the design
to fade into the background so that the data is key. Don't let strong borders or
shading compete. Alternatively, think about using light borders or only white
space to break table components. Borders should be used to boost the table's
readability. Talk of moving them into the background, making them grey or
completely rid of them. The details will stand out, not the frontiers.
Graphs
Although tables interact with our oral system, graphs interact with our visual
system that processes information faster. This means that a well-designed
graph usually transmits information faster than a well-designed table. As I
said at the beginning of this chapter, there are various graph forms. The good
news is that a handful will meet much of your daily needs.
The graph forms I use mostly fall into four categories: points, lines, bars, and
regions. We will look at these more closely and explore the subtypes that I
currently use with different use cases and examples.
Points
Scatterplot
Scatterplots will help you demonstrate the relationship between two objects
as they permit you to simultaneously encode data on a horizontal-axis and
vertical y-axis to see whether and what relationship occurs. These appear to
be seen more commonly in the field of science (and can often be seen by
people who are not familiar with them as difficult to understand). While rare,
scatterplots are also used in the business world.
For example, if we want to concentrate primarily on situations where costs
per miles are above average, a slightly changed dispersion designed to attract
our attention more quickly. For example, let's assume we are operating a bus
fleet and want to understand the relationship between miles driven and cost
per mile.
Lines
Line graphs are used most frequently for continuous data monitoring. Since
the points are physically linked along the line, it requires the connection of
points that cannot make sense for categorical data (a collection of data which
is sorted or divided into categories). Sometimes in a certain unit of time, our
continuous knowledge is days, months, quarters, or years.
There are two types of charts in the line graph group that I often use: the
regular line graph and the slope graph.
Line graph
The line chart will represent a single series of data, two series, or multiple
series. Note that the data collected must be at regular intervals in the
horizontal X-axis of a line graph. I have recently seen a graph in which the x-
axis units have been decades after 1900 (1910, 1920, 1930, etc.) and have
advanced into annual after 2010 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014). The difference
between the decade points and the annual points was the same. This is an
erroneous way of displaying the results. Be consistent with your schedule.
Slopegraph
Pitches can be helpful when you have two spans of time or points of
reference, and you want to display relative increases and decreases or
discrepancies between the two data points in different categories quickly.
The best way to illustrate the importance of slope graphs and how to use
them is with a simple example. Imagine the study and exchange of data from
a recent input survey by employees. Slopegraphs provide a significant
number of details to demonstrate the relative change in survey categories
from 2014 to 2015. In addition to the absolute values (the points), the lines
that link these points allow you to increase or decrease visually (via the path
or direction) without having to clarify what they are doing or precisely the
"change rate"–instead, it is intuitive.
Bars
Bar charts are often avoided because they are popular. It is an error.
Alternatively, bar charts can be leveraged because they are popular, and they
are less of the audience's learning curve. Rather than using their brainpower
to try to understand how to read the diagram, the audience can figure out
what detail is needed. Bar charts are easy to read for our eyes. Our eyes
measure the endpoints of the bars so that we can easily see which category is
the biggest and smallest, as well as the slight difference between categories.
Remember that it is crucial that bar charts also have a baseline at zero (where
the x ‐ axis crosses the y ‐ axis at zero) since our eyes compare the relative
endpoints of bars, others over, it gives a false visual comparison.
The Basics Of Visual
Good authors make deliberate choices. You understand your intent and your
audience. Every decision on the web, from the arrangement of an experiment
to the selection of a word with the correct connotations, is made for its intent
and its audience.
The same is true in visual contact. You choose the following as a presenter:
When you view photos or videos for the greatest effect, the photos
Will make the best result
When presenting information through a table, map, or other graphs
How much text is included with slides or information graphics
Your goal is to use visual media to help and enhance your presentation. At
the same time, you must ensure that these media will not interrupt or affect
the audience. The thoughts should be the priority, not the visuals. As you
build the visual side of your presentation, you adopt a method similar to what
you write. You must brainstorm ideas, create an organizational plan, write
drafts, and then refine and edit your work. The following parts offer
guidelines for making the right decisions in the process.
Photographs
A compelling image can more effectively catch the attention of the audience
than words can. Consider using photos at the beginning or the end of your
presentation to illustrate your key ideas or to accompany an important item in
your presentation. Note that less is always enough, as in other types of
graphics. Two or three photos that are well-chosen are more successful than a
dozen mediocre ones.
Ask yourself the following questions when you pick photographs:
What is the intention of this picture? Would the listener be surprised? Is it
going to trigger a strong emotional response? Will this help a key point?
Is this picture more productive if shown only with a subtitle, or does it need
additional text?
Will the public understand what's going on in the photo? Is the meaning
instantly apparent, or does the photograph need any context?
Would it be more productive to edit the image? Try using image editing tools
for taking images, adjusting luminosity, or making other cosmetic
improvements. (No, indeed, overboard. A slightly distorted, but authentic
picture is better than an altered one.)
A student may use a photograph to demonstrate the sense of helplessness felt
in the middle of tragedy, showing terror, tiredness, or failure in the subject.
Illustrations
The same intention as the images is used for illustrations such as editorial or
political cartoons. Because an illustration does not catch the image in a
moment, it may have less effect. However, diagrams can also be very useful
depending on your subject and the impact you want to achieve. Using the
same photo selection criteria to help you pick illustrations.
Video Footage
Video footage can create a sense of immediacy even more than photographs,
particularly when your video includes sound. Showing a short video clip will
make the viewers feel as if they're present at a big event, communicate or
understand a process better. Have the following questions once again to make
sure you use the footage well:
✓ What is the intention of the video? (Never depend only on video
clips to fill the time.)
✓ How much footage will your intent be shown?
✓ What should be clarified before or after the video is shown to
ensure the audience understands its importance?
✓ Would you need to edit the video to stay on schedule or
concentrate on the most important parts?
Tables
Knowledge graphics, such as tables, charts, and graphs, do not give the same
response as pictures. Such graphics may nevertheless have a strong impact.
Its main objective is the organizing and simplification of knowledge.
Tables are useful when you have to identify and categorize details. Tables are
especially good when you present qualitative data, which are not purely
numerical. For a presentation on the subprime mortgage crisis, a quality data
table was created. This offers knowledge about individuals who have held
prominent positions both in the public and in one of the investment banking
firms involved in the sub-prime mortgage business.
Pie Charts
Pie diagrams are useful for showing the percentage of numerical information.
You may, for example, use a pie chart to reflect the outcomes of presidential
elections by displaying the number of electors that voted for the Democrat,
the Republican, and other political party candidates.
Bar Graphs
Bar graphs work well when you want to show numerical data similarities, and
differences. Horizontal or vertical bars allow viewers to compare data from
various categories, periods, etc. The bar diagram allows viewers, for
example, to compare data on the five countries which have won the most
Olympic medals ever since the beginning of modern games in 1924: Norway,
the United States, the former Soviet Union, Germany, and Austria. Bar charts
may also display trends or patterns effectively in data.
Writing captions
Any media that you use should include a title or other informational text. A
caption is a summary or interpretation of a visual picture in one to two words.
Make sure your subtitles are simple, precise, and correct. Use full phrases
when you write them. Captions should always be used for images and, in
some situations, may be useful to illustrate information graphs that visually
reflect qualitative data. Infographics do not, however, need a title if the title
and labels are plain enough. For other visual media like video recordings, it is
necessary to include explanatory texts before or after the images. The crucial
thing is to ensure that you always provide some media clarification.
IDENTIFY AND ELIMINATE CLUTTER
Photograph a blank or a blank page: each item you add to that page or screen
will take on your audience's cognitive load–in other words, it will take your
brain to process it.
So we want to look carefully at the visual elements we include in our
communications. In general, find something that does not add insightful
value— or adds insufficient information to make up for your presence— and
deletes it. This chapter focuses on recognizing and removing these clutter.
Cognitive load
You've previously felt the pressure of the cognitive load. Perhaps you were in
a conference room when the person who led the conference went through his
prepared slides and stopped for one that seemed incredibly busy and
complicated. Yikes, did you say "hard" clearly, or was it just in your head?
Or, maybe, you read through a journal or a newspaper, and you just picked up
the story for long enough to say, "it looks fascinating, but I have no idea what
I'm going to get out of it "— and you turned the page instead of spending
more time decrypting it.
In all cases, the unnecessary or alien cognitive strain is what you have
encountered.
We have cognitive load whenever we receive information. Cognitive load can
be seen as the mental energy required to know new knowledge. If we ask a
machine to do its job, we depend on the processing power of the machine. If
we ask our audience to do their job, we use their mental processing capacity.
It's emotional pressure. The brains of people have a certain amount of this
intellectual processing capacity. As content designers, we want to be
informed on how we exploit the intellectual power of our audience. The
examples above point to international cognitive load: processing that requires
mental energy, but does not enable the audience to understand knowledge.
What matters most when it comes to our visual communications is our
public's presumed cognitive load: how difficult it is to assume they would
have to struggle to get the details out of your correspondence. It is a decision
they possibly do without giving it much (if any) conscious thought, and yet it
can differentiate between transmitting or not the message.
Try reducing the perceived cognitive burden for your audience in general (to
the degree that it is fair and still possible to get the information across).
Clutter
One culprit who can lead to unnecessary or international cognitive stress is
what I refer to as uncertainty. Such visual elements take space but do not
improve comprehension. We will discuss exactly what items can be
considered clutter soon, but I want to talk about why clutter is a bad thing in
the meantime.
There is a simple explanation of why we should aspire to reduce confusion:
because it makes our graphics more complicated than required.
The presence of clutter in our visual communication may maybe give our
audience a less-than-ideal — or worse— unpleasant user experience (this'
hard' point I alluded to earlier in this chapter). Clutter can render it more
complex than it is. If our graphics sound confusing, our audience is at risk of
deciding that they don't want to spend time to understand what we present,
because we have lost our communication skills. It's not a positive thing.
Alignment
The one move from center-aligned to left-justified was the main influence in
the previous example before and after. Every block of text on the page is
centrally aligned in the original edition. This does not produce clean lines,
either on the right or on the left, but can also produce a thoughtful layout. For
this purpose, I prefer to avoid center-aligned email. The decision as to
whether to explain the text to the left or the right should be based on the other
elements on the document. The aim is generally to create clear lines of
elements and white space (both horizontally and vertically).
In any other visual indicator, the viewer usually starts at the top left of the
page or screen and shifts the eyes across the page or screen as you enter
details in the form of "z" (or several "z" shapes according to the layout).
Therefore, with regard to tables and graphs, I prefer to explain the text at the
upper-left-most (title, axis numbers, the legend). In other words, the listener
enters the specifics of how to read the table or graph before entering the data
itself. Let's spend a little time on diagonal elements as part of our discussion
of alignment. For the previous example, the original version had diagonal
lines connecting the collection lines to the data and x-axis markings
diagonally; the former was eliminated, and the former changed to horizontal
orientation during the update. Diagonal elements like lines and text can
usually be avoided. These feel sloppy and are difficult to read when it comes
to text than their horizontal counterparts. With regards to text orientation, one
study found that reading rotated text in either direction was 52 percent slower
on average than reading usually orientated text (the text rotated in both
directions was about 90 degrees on average 205 percent slower). Diagonal
elements on the website are better avoided.
WHITE SPACE
I have never understood this phenomenon very well, but people seem to hate
white space on a website for some reason. I use a "blank room" to refer to the
page's white room. If your pages are blue, for instance, it's "blue space "—
I'm not sure why they're blue, but color use is a topic that we'll have later.
Perhaps previously, you heard this feedback: "There's still some space on this
page left, so add anything there," or worse, "there's still space left on that
page, so let's add more info." No! Never add data for the sake of adding data
— only add data for a thoughtful and precise sake!
With a white room, we need to be more relaxed.
White space is as relevant in visual communication as pauses in public.
Perhaps you sat in a lecture that had no pauses. It feels something like that:
there's a speaker up there and perhaps because of your nerves or because
you're trying to get through more information than you should in the time
allowed, they're talking a mile a minute and you wonder how they can even
breathe, you want to ask a question, but the speaker has already gone to the
next issue and doesn't pause long in the end. This is an uncomfortable
experience for the listener, close to the frustration you could have felt reading
the preceding sentence.
Space can be used strategically to draw attention to the non-white portions of
the website. Here are some basic guidelines for protecting white space.
Margins of text and visuals will remain free. Resist the urge to stretch visuals
to fill up the space available, then scale the visuals properly to its content.
Consider how you can creatively use white space beyond these rules, as
shown by a dramatic split earlier. Think about making it the only thing on the
page if there is one thing that is really important. This could, in some cases,
be a single sentence or even a single number.
Tell them first what happened. Then get them to understand why your
personal information is important to what happened. Finally, they need to
learn how the data can be made workable. When you understand your
position in this story, you are more likely to be interested in what happens
with your results. Using data visualization, you can pull us more creatively
into the plot. You may present trends, draw conclusions, or explain
hypotheses that change the way your organization makes decisions. It is
helpful to tell a story with data as both sides need to make decisions without
knowing a lot of data. It's hard to try to find time to talk to someone for an
hour. Give them a photo to clarify quickly what you're talking about. Your
clients may want to see information about your goods and services to
promote conversations. Don't keep it secret if you have good data about your
goods. You still need to show it to others in a simple and effective format.
With data visualization, you can comment on your product. Instead of trying
to focus on the leads and customer satisfaction with phones, make the job
simpler. Instead of trying to plan or wade through a swamp of information,
visualization will allow you to know what your clients want and need.
Effective narration relies heavily on visuals. As humans, we have a hard-
wired visual knowledge preference. The eyes contain 70 percent of the
sensory receptors of the human body. Books with related pictures earn 94
percent more cumulative views on average than books without pictures.
Your business relies almost certainly on data visualization to explain the
experience of your customers and illustrate the effect of your brand. So, for
good storytelling with data, we researched these top tips from storytelling and
data visualization experts.
Using colors sparingly and with their accompanying meanings: Do not seek
to create your colors. Make your map or graphics program free of default
colors. If you work with a company, the design team of the organization will
help you develop a good color scheme for easy reading and clarifying its
purpose.
Less is more when it comes to dashboards; the more colors, the less
successful they are—using common associations such as red for risk, green
for desired results. Use no more than 3-4 colors and ensure that the color
level is strategic on the dashboard.
Use only the words needed: use only the words to understand your results.
Don't sign it, recommends Shandler. Nonetheless, failure to define the axis or
to sever the axes is two of the most common data visualization errors to
avoid.
Although the labels should be used sparingly, they should not compromise on
design. Nonetheless, there will still be a prominent headline. This allows
readers to understand the message.
CONCEPTS OF DESIGN IN DATA
VISUALIZATION
In communicating the sophisticated insights hidden within data, the task of
data visualization is vital. This is more and more relevant as the audience is
also growing for data visualization with data size. Practitioners of all kinds
now use data visualization. The simple consumption is now a hot topic for
the same cause. Data scientists and analysts will discover the main findings
from even complicated visualizations, but the same may not be achieved by a
top business leader or an ordinary citizen. And this is what makes effective
data analysis time-consuming. Effectively transmitting data is an art. Many
data scientists, however, are lagging in developing and esthetic aspects of
data visualization.
The Reddit r / dataisbeautifulsubredditis a fantastic place to find curated data
views across the site. Here are some of the main design principles to create
beautiful and efficient data views for all.
Proportion
When you draw the image of a bird on a tree, the tree is considerably larger
than the bird. Because of the results, the proportion is the size of each item on
the list. Proportions may indicate the weight of different data sets and the
relationship between their values in data visualization. When you have to
emphasize that a particular data point is significant, you have to make it
bigger than the rest. Also, you will ensure that the chart represents as
accurately as possible the interrelation of different numbers. For example, if a
section of a pie diagram is marked 36%, 36% of the area in the diagram will
be used.
Proper rhythm
Rhythm is a very abstract architecture term closely related to the movement.
It is said that a design has a balanced rhythm when the design elements
generate a fun eye movement. If design elements such as shapes, colors, or
proportions build a "shack," you might want to rearrange them so that you
can move the eye smoothly over the data.
Variety
Variety is an important factor that keeps viewers engaged and involved in
your data. This is all about finding ways to imagine the data with various
unique design features to avoid repetition. The result is a data visualization
that is not only enticing, but also allows the user to retain the displayed
information longer.
Theme
A single theme means that each aspect of the design is consistent, and a
pattern follows. It will happen if you have taken care of the design principles
listed above. You may include a theme for your organization or based on the
visualization niche. It allows for a stronger interaction with the user and
enhances the visual interface.
Data Visualization Design Process
It is no secret right now that data visualization is hot. And it should be... from
the public sector to private corporations, data, and how we use it, is
refurbishing our planet. Perhaps none of the data is more common than the
visualization of data, where designers work hardly anywhere else. Does all
this pose the inevitable question, is data visualization a fad that will otherwise
dress up unattractive information? And does it emphasize our deeper need for
people to simplify, coordinate, and make knowledge easier to access so that
we can increase our understanding of the world around us?
Put the latter camp to me. Data visualization and data design cover the aging
quest to reconcile form and function effectively. Form (in this case, how we
design our information) makes it more visible and meaningful for those who
would not otherwise find it. And this improves comprehension in turn. Role
(in this case, how these data can be used) requires that we render practical
and usable knowledge we design. That is the essence of the design— it is
both practical and formal. And it is important to balance our design choices
between these two priorities to successfully design data visualizations that
deliver appropriate, meaningful, and useful experiences with dense
information.
At Constructive, we were lucky to collaborate with some very great
organizations with ambitious data— from assessing global environmental
performance and researching the effect of climate change on economic
performance to monitoring the global TB response. Based on these and other
observations, I want to unmystify what can be an awkward exercise by
sharing those lessons we've learned over the years, as we continue our
continuous search to enhance our customer data design process.
Design research
Successful design research allows us to ask the right questions, like all
science. Start with a step back from the data itself and discuss the project
with stakeholders to decide wider work objectives. What details are we trying
to convey? How is it possible to achieve wider organizational objectives?
Who are our audiences and their level of competence in our field? What are
their data literacy and visual literacy levels?
When you have answers to these high-level strategic questions, you can
expand your work to find answers to data-specific questions: Is our data now
easily understood in a way? Which are the highest rates to remove and rise?
What kind of visualizations would we use to express our ideas? Why are the
data organized, and how flexible can we use them? The purpose of this
research is to dig in — understand our organizational priorities, and our
audience consumes all that is possible and then seeks approaches that match
the needs of the Company and the public.
Design strategy
We are now able to concentrate on creating a design plan that supports our
work. Firstly: Defining the objective of the work based on our research, and
what factors would contribute to the design and execution of a meaningful
experience? Where is our target going to be? Do they have time to dive
deeply into our data, or is it a high-level dive? Create a content strategy: how
can our knowledge be structured or edited to make it more available to our
audience? Could we simplify concepts and ideas without jeopardizing data
integrity? Finally, build a production strategy: can we use techniques to
construct a more appealing presentation? How does the nature of our
company impact the product? And how do we want the viewers to
communicate with data when it is an immersive visualization? And don't
ignore the application strategy: what technologies are used for data
generation or storage? What are the best digital resources for delivering
them? The goal is to focus holistically on multiple strategies that influence
how our data are viewed and what it means for the consumer as well as our
company, taking them into account and finding the right combination to
balance them effectively.
Design exploration
So we have a clear idea of what the issues and solutions are, why they are
relevant, and how they can be used. We know what concept methods are
most likely to succeed. Finally, it's time to begin to iterate concepts that make
our ideas concrete! Positive, we prefer rapid prototyping to get as many ideas
out quickly because the costs of going the wrong way can be huge,
particularly if you design and create data. For us, this means beginning with
pencil sketches to get our ideas out quickly so that they can be addressed. In
projects with more complex data visualizations or data resources, we
typically create a more comprehensive and interactive architecture and
wireframes. When our structure, hierarchy, and functionality is in place, we
are ready to look and feel and add visual style by selecting the correct color,
fonts, iconography, and so on. The aim is to work from the outside in; start
with a simple, higher-level concept, work together to create the structural
elements.
Design execution
As they suggest, even the best plan is worthless without proper
implementation. Therefore, it is crucial that you have the right team in place
to manage the project— particularly for interactive visualization that needs
collaboration with external data systems and complex creation. Data design is
carried out according to the same methodology as other design works: design,
refinement, and development. In the design of data visualizations, it is
extremely important to emphasize content accuracy and reading accuracy,
mainly because data design can involve the communication of complex data
in tight spaces or with several competing elements. Flexibility can also be
planned to expand our work to other areas of our communication and brand
so that we look forward and understand how visualizations can be exported
or modified to be used in other media. So be sure that you're checking your
job! If we work in print, replicate it as close as possible to the final format.
And if it's interactive, make sure you invest extra time in the QA process if
the data is interactive.
Show them some conflict, address their issue and your job is half done!
Without resolving those concerns of the audience, a writer can't succeed in
his or her storytelling goals. The methods of visual storytelling only work if
the viewer can connect to the concept depicted. Every design must have a
solution that makes it appealing for the consumer and then reacts to the call
to action of the design.
Teach, preach and tell your audience what they don’t know
Does the company you or your customer deal with something new for
ordinary people? Then it's a high profit you should take. Build your product
with the best elements to express the brand's past correctly. Weave the story
with your viewers ' challenges and then introduce your product. To conclude,
offer a realistic conclusion to your tale by telling them how your product will
benefit them and how to take action.
Narrate With Words Tell With Visuals. This slide shows the success of
various geo-targets in a paid searching account. It is visually impressive, and
it shows progress in users with flags representing each nation and medals. In
addition to being esthetically pleasing, it helps the rankings with different
sales and ROAS estimates. In general, this diaphragm tells a tale in a way
you can't use a bulleted list.
Provide context. We have enjoyed this example of a data story, because it
includes a variety of commands, especially "provide context." Paid search
metrics differ widely between accounts based on various factors like geo-
targeting, site quality, and more.
This infographic offers a great overview by displaying the Two Octobers
agency-wide indicators relative to search industry averages over the past two
years. By providing a benchmark for each metric, you can better measure the
performance of automotive customers from Two Octobers.
Basic Requirements For All Data Storytelling Projects
The following basic requirements are important to offer storytelling
capabilities to any BI Storytelling project. Let's discuss what they are and
how Microsoft Power BI stands for this form of project: fluid transition: The
analytical tools used for data exploration and visualization generation are
different from storytelling tools. It takes time and energy to transfer
visualizations from one source to another to create a BI story, and it also
restricts the possibility of adding metadata or annotations created during the
study. To ensure that creators can export it, the research and metadata
relevant to the environment of storytelling must be fluidly and incorporated.
Microsoft Power BI gives us a special environment that simplifies flow and
reduces time and effort.
Integration: To tell stories, BI designers need resources that incorporate all
modern materials for their history: BI papers, interactive images, how the
narrative structure is illustrated, how the features are outlined, how the
narrative is portrayed in sequence, as well as textual or audio descriptions.
For example, the Microsoft Power BI is incorporated into PowerPoint, so that
audio or video can be inserted into the web or mobile application.
The story people want to tell with brand ads that pay for it in advertisement
advertisers disturb. In social media marketers, however, the content they want
to see must be produced. Brands will attract the consumer by telling a good
brand story. But what's a good story about?
To examine the impact of the narrative, people once chose to watch
advertisements for the ads themselves. We wanted to know which
advertisements were most successful, which drew attention to buzz and votes
and ended at the top of the polls. We have coded the ads on Freytag's
Pyramid, a theory that divides the story into five parts: introduction
(exposure), increased action, climax, downward action, and resolution
(outcome). This formula was used by Shakespeare to attract a mass audience
to his five acts.
What we found was the most common ads say the whole story (all five acts)
and less than one story (less than five acts) were the ads at the bottom of the
consumer rating polls. With all five parts, a dramatic arc or story is formed–
the formula is fascinating. This is the same story style that can be used in
social media.
The development of regular, timely, quality content depends on social media.
Brand executives with a series of annual advertising campaigns of 3 to 6 ads
sometimes wonder what to share on their social networks daily or weekly.
Setting up a larger brand history can provide you with the content you need.
Then every social post or response can be a mini-chapter, explaining and
advancing the entire story.
Agreement. Here all the events lead to a drama or plot ending sequence.
Conflicts on characters that cause stress and anxiety are resolved. Content in
social media will reflect the winning company or consumer. Take a look at
the overall goal of the brand and its customers.
Power Of Narratives
The influence of narratives is neurologically dependent. Researchers from
Spain found that a lot of different brain centers are illuminated when people
are confronted with vibrant and captivating tales. For example, if a battle
scene is graphically depicted in a book, the brain activity, and vision centers
are lit up (even if you can't fight). If an aroma is represented in evocative
detail, the smell center illuminates. In other words, when viewed as a pure
fact, you have a more intense and immersive experience compared to a small
blip of the brain.
Socially speaking, stories have the power to set and reinforce behavioral
standards that are in line with what you want. When a narrative character in a
story follows a balanced diet or frequently exercises, it gives the impression
that this is what people do and should be embraced by the listener or
audience. This works because you endorse not only a commodity but also a
better quality of life, a quality that resonates with the consumer.
For example, the lives, struggles, and joys of young children are carefully
chronicled. It caught the imagination of the public so much that thousands of
children from all over the country wrote to the NGO behind the show, the
Soul City Institute, asking to take part. Very quickly, the Ngo was able to
develop more than 8,500 Buddyz clubs for the physical and mental well-
being of children, with nearly 1,5 lakh students. The ability of story-based
ads and the media to create a major shift in societal norms, attitudes, and
principles is much more powerful than conventional advertisement and
marketing. There is a vast amount of evidence. Digital technologies and
social media have allowed brands to optimize their influence at negligible
costs.
While content marketing strategies are just part of your overall business
strategy, they are often ignored as essential business functions. It is extremely
important to consider how particular marketing activities are incorporated,
but 70% of the marketers lack an incorporated marketing plan as part of their
digital marketing efforts.
Content marketing strategies continue with a clear view of the target
audience. Making sure all corporate communications share current and future
content that evokes an emotional bond through an exciting story is important
to create a consistent consumer experience through brand-based storytelling.
In tandem with an integrated marketing plan, these messages are compatible,
as well as potential buyers within the target demographic of the company
connect organically through best interactive marketing practices like search
engines and landings.
Elements Of Storytelling
Corporate storytelling is nothing but personal story sharing. Our society has
used stories to convey facts and teach valuable lessons. Stories draw and
catch the listener's interest. The strength of business storytelling narratives
generates advancement in all aspects of the organization. The stories are the
best of all conversations. A survey by Forrester Research found that 88
percent of managers and decision-makers do not force sales presentations
long in conversation.
The elements of a successful organizational narration approach include:
✓ The protagonist
✓ The challenge
✓ The solution
✓ The outcome
The actor is better represented as the potential customers or target market of
the product—your future customer positions the most powerful storytelling as
the hero of the compelling past of your company. Storytelling success stories
provide a convenient place to begin your marketing campaign for content.
Content ideas can also be created through visual marketing storytelling such
as testimonial videos, podcast interviews, or infographics.
A long story then explains the difficulty faced by your potential customers as
part of your content creation process. As it relates to the journey the customer
makes, this is the suffering the target market wants to solve during the phases
of exploration and research. If your piece is branded content, the blog post or
any visual storytelling will provide your content marketing strategy with a
solution. You may want to make use of a sales tool at the end of the buyer's
path, which places your direct offer as a solution. When branded content is
seen as a part of a larger digital marketing strategy, the solution is not a sales
tool on a landing page but instead leads to the easier middle-of - the-tunnel
bid, such as a branded ebook or a long-form content offer. The product
reflects the success of the performer, the future client, overcomes, and
succeeds. This can be presented to your target audience as a testimonial using
visual storytelling tools or a compelling story that helps to connect the story
to your potential customers. Not every component of this content
development process will cover all of your content marketing efforts. Long
storytelling focuses on the whole arc of tales, but the long-term content plan
will concentrate pieces on each stage of the journey of the protagonists.
Emotion
In reality, when we hear a story, the personal connection we feel is not just
theoretical; it has fascinating neuroscience. Just look at what happens if your
brain hears facts versus a story. If I have sensible information (like the
characteristics and advantages of something I'm trying to sell you, for
example), two areas of the brain are activated: one that takes the information,
and one that processes it.
And that's it. And that's it. The subconscious works like an employer on a
mental register, acknowledge the evidence and cleanses them. But if I were to
tell you a story rather than just presenting data, many more sections of your
brain become involved. Interestingly, these are the same sections of the brain
that become active as we live our daily lives. So if I say something like "her
voice was like slim" or "he had leathery hands," when I tell you a story, your
brain areas will shine when you touch slats or leather.
Yeah, you read correctly: your brain can't tell the difference between hearing
and witnessing a story. We are deeply emotionally attached because of that
personal connection.
Action
And this feeling does more than just pull our heart–it can have a huge effect
on human actions. neuroeconomist Paul Zak revealed this in several
experiments that associated storytelling with generosity.
In the experiment, Zak asked two groups to give stranger money. Until
speaking, however, he showed a brief video for one party about a terminally
ill boy named Ben. He found that the group exposed to the video story had
more oxytocin levels in their brains–a neurochemical that made them more
likely to donate money (no matter how unrelated the donation and video
were).
Yes, Zak was able to predict who would do the most (thereby contributing
money) to people with a present emotional charge–and those who heard the
story were 80 percent more generous than those who didn't.
Value
Alright, maybe stories that evoke an emotional reaction or inspire action are
not entirely shocking. After all, we are sentimental people, as evidenced by
the fact that we are always teary at the puppy love advertisement in
Budweiser.
But what if I told you that, apart from emotion and action, stories can change
our perceived value?
This is the conclusion of the Significant Objects Project–an experiment in
literature and anthropology this addresses the question: Can a big story
impact the subjective meaning of an object? The team purchased meaningless
drinks from thrift shops and challenged some imaginative authors to concoct
their stories. We then posted on eBay the objects (including their stories) to
see if the fabricated tale changed the value of each object. The trinkets
initially bought for $128.74, were sold for a massive amount of $3,612.51–a
mark-up of 2.700 percent.
In other words, we are not only more likely to buy a Budweiser after looking
at the puppy ad, but we're also expected to pay more for it.
Memory
Pop Quiz: What's the Teddy Bear History? Owing to an influence you recall
(or at least, I hope you do)–who is best known for his research on human
memory. He read a collection of random words to patients in a single
experiment and asked them to recite them. None will do that. However, when
he allowed patients to look at the words of a novel-say, thinking that they
were walking down one street and passing by-their retention rates greatly
improved. This became known as the story memorization technique–used in
everything from Alzheimer's to university students preparing for exams.
CREATE ENGAGING DATA-DRIVEN STORIES
The interest in data-driven stories is that. A new generation of journalists
discovers and tell data-driven stories that make access to large databases and
data analysis tools simple to use. SEO and content marketers are often
attracted to data-driven stories by proof that analysis and data-based posts
create more connections.
In this chapter, we explore the five main stories for storytelling with data, i.e.:
Trends. For example, how the ownership of smartphones increases or
decreases.
Tables of rank or league. Politicians, for example, get the most attention from
social media or which places have the highest crime rates.
Comparisons. How one organization performs in contrast to another, for
example.
Surprising or counterintuitive material. Data that contradicts or confirms
something that people think is true or just shocking.
Relationships. Correlations, for example, theoretically to cause and forecast.
Journalism drived the data "in order to examine and process large data sets to
construct a news tale," which is one of uncovering knowledge from the study
of large data sets to expose stories that can be buried in data. This allows
journalism-driven data to uncover hidden stories or bring new insights into
stories.
Data-driven journalism typically follows a method to collect data, interpret
data, analyze and view, and eventually say the story. Diagram visualizations
and images are also a central part of the storytelling. For example, The
Financial Times runs a column called "Chart telling a story," with the
assumption that you can find a single chart telling a story.
Narratives focused on core evidence,
Trends
Developments, as they rise or fall, form the central story of other
developments guided by data stories. The Financial Times is a prime example
of a platform that uses trend data to tell stories. Below are two recent
developments to tell stories about low global levels of interest and the
pressure of an aging population.
At interest rates, long-term bond yield patterns do not inspire those who want
higher rates. The chart explains a 30-year long-term change and how the
prices continue to drop as central banks try to increase the economy. What
happens when interest rates exceed zero is a fascinating problem. We now
have negative interest rates in Germany, Japan, and Switzerland. Possibly
everybody knows that the population is rising old. The accompanying FT
chart gives a summary of the possible economic effects of these reforms by
illustrating the number of people over 65 years as a proportion of the
workforce. Trend reports usually concentrate on how something rises or falls
over time. Yet even a flattening pattern can be a huge story. One story was
how Twitter does not increase its active users. The map and headline below
tell this story very clearly.
If you see a pattern, the next obvious question is, why does it rise or fall or
flatten on Twitter? The phenomenon is, therefore, not the entire story; it
contributes to more research areas.
Comparisons
Comparisons are a common data-driven narrative. For example, in
contrasting its success with Facebook, we may take a different approach to
Twitter's failure to increase its active users. This was a report taken from a
variety of publications.
Relationships
Data relationships are a complicated environment, particularly if you want to
see if a factor has a particular effect on other factors or can predict another
factor. However, with the advancement in machine learning, it's an
environment where we can see many more stories powered by data. The
association between two data sets is a straightforward approach to
investigating relationships. It is important to note that association is not the
same as the cause, but areas for further study should be emphasized.
For example, we did a research piece with Moz in which we explored the
relationship between social shares and links. We used the Pearson correlation
coefficient and a calculation of the linear association between two variables
in a data set of 1 m posts. The results vary from 1 (total positivity) to 0
(where no association exists) to −1 (total negative). For our study, the overall
correlations were also zero; for example, the correlation between overall
behavior and the related domain links was just 0.021.
Our work suggests that for different reasons, people share and connect to
content. The results also indicate that analysis and results posts reach fairly
high connection rates, which is a major reason to write stories powered by
data.
The film Moneyball was one of the most famous examples of exploring data
relationships. In analyzing baseball data, it was found that certain surprising
variables are closely linked to the winning percentage of a team. One was
OPS (on-base plus slowdown). It sums up the percentage of the team on the
basis, the amount of time that a player gets on the base, and the total number
of bases when they come to the plate. The data showed an incredibly strong
association between the OPS and the win percentage. The OPS are the most
strongly correlated factor with winning rather than home running and beating
averages. Teams, therefore, started to search for players with the highest OPS
ratings.
You can further explore relationships by building predictive linear regression
models. I like the wine quality model, which uses variables like average
summer temperatures and precipitation rates.
There is a wider variety of methods to apply advanced techniques such as
machine learning. Machine learning uses machine learning algorithms and
predictions. Essentially, you create a model of data input example that
enables the algorithms to predict data. This is a growing area in which we see
far more development. Machine learning is something we research and want
to implement at BuzzSumo.
If you can discover unexpected relationships, you can begin to predict based
on the results. This can create a whole other interesting collection of content.
Nate Silver's research in predicting sports and election outcomes at
fivethirtyeight.com makes reading convincing. It is the product of his in-
depth study of a wide variety of available election results data.
Make it human
It is helpful if you can get the data down to the human level, and people can
respond to it in a way. Maybe it's a story that applies to you, a client, or a
colleague. Boring issues, which are not of concern for most people, are useful
for modeling human actions based on data sets. Their innovation was
focusing on issues of concern to men.
Make it insightful and helpful
In terms of your case, if you had your facts, would anyone have taken a
different decision? What else can they do that will boost their efficiency
based on your analysis? When you can, you have a powerful story, and your
observations will help people to decide better. You foresee their future–no
one can resist reading it.
What has this to do with the design of information? It is helpful to learn that
our eyes do not concentrate on random scenes or pictures, but instead
prioritize. Firstly, they detect basic functions and concentrate on items like
moving objects, shiny patches, and odd shapes.
Preattentive Attributes
Such essential characteristics are also called precautionary features: before
we even learn them, our brain already recognizes such characteristics.
For starters, the first thing our brains sense when our eyes look at a scene
such as that above is the difference between background and foreground. You
can detect where the passage starts and finishes, where the trees start and
finish, etc. The higher the contrast between the items, the better the brain can
tell the difference.
Since our brains are built in this way, the first two images below but not the
last one show the bear quickly: Because the brain can distinguish color and
shape variations better than shape, the best data visualizations use hue
variations intentionally to draw attention to those important pieces of details.
To order to save time, the brain has learned to group related objects together
and recognize different objects quickly.
You can see that your brain has already recognized a trend in each of them
and found the contrasting dimension without thinking about it.
This ability to identify functions precautionarily is without question one of
the most critical resources that information designers may use to build
efficient and convincing data visualizations.
Now that we have looked into some science under human interpretation, let's
immerse ourselves in the actual process of telling stories with data:
Step 3: Define The Focus of The Graphic and The Story You Want To
Tell
If it's by writing, information visualization, or graphic design, the secret to
successful communication is to insert the message.
Cole NussbaumerKnaflic addresses in Storytelling With Data the need to
restart the message in a "so what" comment. That's easier than it sounds so
that you can articulate your story in three minutes or less to a friend or
colleague who isn't familiar with the details. So take this a step further and
condense it into a single word.
Step 4: Use Physical Markers, Pencils and Paper to Storyboard Your
Idea
Grab a few colored markers and paper and start drawing up your ideas before
you feel compelled to open PowerPoint or another desktop program.
For example, if you have expressed the need for "compare" or "contrast"
details, a comparison diagram is probably appropriate. And if you have to
show' part of a whole,' you would need a diagram.
One good strategy to ensure that you have the best visual medium is to seek
two different approaches to figuring out which communicates the one main
concept more effectively.
Every sketch will create more ideas so you can start prototyping until you
develop yourself with the same concept, so think about colors and actual
figures.