Data StorytellingBrussels, June 24, 2015

Have a look at the speech by infogr.am co-founder Uldis Leiterts

DataStories beat

The New York City metropolitan area is home to the largest Jewish community outside Israel. It is also home to nearly a quarter of the nation's Indian Americans and 15% of all Korean Americans and the largest Asian Indian population in the Western Hemisphere; the largest African American community of any city in the country; and including 6 Chinatowns in the city proper, comprised as of 2008 a population of 659,596 overseas Chinese, the largest outside of Asia. New York City alone, according to the 2010 Census, has now become home to more than one million Asian Americans, greater than the combined totals of San Francisco and Los Angeles. New York contains the highest total Asian population of any U.S. city proper. 6.0% of New York City is of Chinese ethnicity, with about forty percent of them living in the borough of Queens alone. Koreans make up 1.2% of the city's population, and Japanese at 0.3%. Filipinos are the largest southeast Asian ethnic group at 0.8%, followed by Vietnamese who make up only 0.2% of New York City's population. Indians are the largest South Asian group, comprising 2.4% of the city's population, and Bangladeshis and Pakistanis at 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. / Demographics of New York, Wikipedia

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DataStories = Visualized

data

Online Data Visualisation Landscape

Manual AutomatedSemi-automated

HTML CSS

Javascript

#InfogramStory

How to make

data go viral?

Data

What can you use?

Audience

How can you surprise them?

Message Simplicity

StorySimple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional

What to look for in data?

Trends Contrast Outliers

#InfogramStory

Start asking questions. Data will tell you the answers.

Data

What can you use?

Audience

How can you surprise them?

Message Simplicity

StorySimple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional

#InfogramStory

Relevance

If a story is not about the hearer, he will not listen.

John Steinbeck, East of Eden

Say what?Know your Message

Who cares?Know your Audience

You need to have both answers before switching on the tool.

Relevance is threefold

The stickiest stories convince rationally, touch emotionally and generate conversations.

Rational Relevance

Emotional Relevance

Social Relevance

Data

What can you use?

Audience

How can you surprise them?

Message Simplicity

StorySimple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional

All you may

need is a

Simple

Unexpected

Concrete

Credentialed Emotional

Shareable

Story.

Getting your idea across in one sentence. Then using as little data as possible to prove that.

Simple?

https://infogr.am/got-water-3757588?src=web

Simple?

Less is always more.Do:

Simple?

Don't:Less is always more.

https://infogr.am/scottish-social-media-charts?src=web

Unexpected?

Violate people’s expectations.

Be counterintuitive. Use surprise, an emotion whose function is to increase alertness and cause focus. You must systematically keep opening gaps in viewer’s knowledge and then fill those gaps.

Unexpected?

Do:

https://infogr.am/lmyl-economic-impact?src=web

Unexpected?

Don't:

http://infogr.am/Facebook-dominates-social-sharing?src=web

Concrete

Speaking concretely is the only way to ensure our idea means the same thing to everyone.Naturally sticky ideas are full of concrete images because our brains are wired to remember concrete data.

Concrete

Use clear (visual) metaphors

Do:

https://infogr.am/are-you-1-in-200?src=web

Concrete

Don't:…confuse the reader

https://infogr.am/survey-results-70?src=web

Sticky ideas have to carry their own credentials. “Before you vote, ask yourself if you are better off today than you were four years age”.

Always use citations, references, quotes and don’t be afraid of name-dropping.

Credible?

Credible?

Quote. Refer. Repeat.Do:

http://infogr.am/Gas-Safety-Week-1?src=web

Credible?

http://infogr.am/goodbye-yellow-brick-road?src=web

Don't:…forget to source the data

Emotional?There are somewhat five main types of emotion.

Sadness Anger Surprise Fear Joy

*/Steven Handel/

Emotional?

http://infogr.am/Ana-Just-Wants-To-Be-Safe?src=web

Pick from five types of emotions

Do:

Emotional?

Don't:…just report

Sharable?How to share an infogram?

Finish DescribeShare/publish/

embed

#InfogramStory

Now you are almost ready

BarComparing things

like income?

LineGet some lengthy

data like oil prices?

AreaWant to show contents

of e.g. exports?

MapNeed to show a

country comparison?

MoreChoose yours!

Which chart type to pick?

Most often the best choice. Good to show differences in values that don’t add up to 100%.

Poor choice for showing time- series data, as the line charts have a smoother representation.

BarComparing things

like income?

Line

Get some lengthy data like oil prices?

Best choice for time-series data and highlighting trends, with not more than three sets per chart.

May be visually misleading when attempting to show data that is not based on time-series.

LineGet some lengthy

data like oil prices?

Good to show how a certain variable grows/drops relative to others over a period of time.

Careful when choosing between basic and stacked layouts, as they give different impressions.

AreaWant to show contents

of e.g. exports?

A great choice to show regional differences in certain variables, when there is a clear correlation.

Not optimal when the differences are small in size or when time- series data has to be displayed.

MapNeed to show a

country comparison?

Good for showing contrast when two or three components of something differ greatly in size.

Bad choice if you have more than three variables or if their values are similar in size.

PieNeed to show a

country comparison?

Works well with 2-3 groups of people compared and when differences are significant.

A line chart is a better option with more than three groups and when differences are small.

PictoNeed to show a

country comparison?

Now it’s your time!

@infogram

#InfogramStory

Thank you!