Crafting Visual Stories with Data
How many 5’s can you find?
142536789251364789245369178419356728495126783149356728245369178145672893145672938495126783149356728423698517359164782145672938451672938465132978423698517459163782145762938451672938359164782431567298459163782431567298
Proximity
142 5 367892 5 136478924 5 3691784193 5 672849 5 1267831493 5 672824 5 36917814 5 67289314 5 67293849 5 1267831493 5 6728423698 5 173 5 916478214 5 6729384 5 167293846 5 132978423698 5 174 5 916378214 5 7629384 5 16729383 5 9164782431 5 672984 5 9163782431 5 67298
Alignment
555 142367892136478924369178555 419367284912678314936728555 243691781467289314672938555 491267831493672842369817555 391647821467293841672938555 461329784236981749163782555 147629384167293839164782555 431672984916378243167298
Repetition
123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789123456789 123456789 123456789
Contrast
142536789251364789245369178419356728495126783149356728245369178145672893145672938495126783149356728423698517359164782145672938451672938465132978423698517459163782145762938451672938359164782431567298459163782431567298
Subtraction
142536789251364789245369178419356728495126783149356728245369178145672893145672938495126783149356728423698517359164782145672938451672938465132978423698517459163782145762938451672938359164782431567298459163782431567298
One Frame Counts
Source: The Cutting Edge
War Stories & Killer Charts
QuoteI think people have begun to forget
how powerful human stories are, exchanging their sense of empathy for
a fetishistic fascination with data, networks, patterns, and total
information... Really, the data is just part of the story. The human stuff is the main stuff, and the data should
enrich it.
- Jonathan Harris
Content
Why Stories?
Emotion & Empathy
I am blind
Emotion & Empathy
It is spring &I am blind
Speakers’ Corner
Rhetoric
Joshua Bell
Source: Aristotle and Joshua Bell on Persuasion
Persuasion
logos reason
ethos
pathos
credible
emotional
|
|
|
Persuasion
Data-Story-Visual
Data Story
Visual
Graph Art
Tale
*
analysis SYNTHESIS
numbers
argument
VISUALISE
STORY
|
|
|
Synthesis -Visualise-Story
logic | EMPATHY
Data & Stories
The focus of stories is on individual people rather than averages,
on motives rather than movements, on point of view rather than the view
from nowhere, context rather than raw data.
Moreover, stories are open-ended and metaphorical rather than determinate
and literal.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
BMI = mass (kg)
[ height (m) ]2h
m
Living on the edge
5’ 1
6’ 5
5’ 7
5’ 5
5’ 3
6’ 3
6’ 1
5’ 11
5’ 9
6’ 7
ObeseOver
NormalUnder
18 25 30
mass (in kg)
height(in ft)
The Story Mindset
In listening to stories we tend to suspend disbelief in order to be
entertained, whereas in evaluating statistics we generally have an
opposite inclination to suspend belief in order not to be beguiled.
- John Allen Paulos
Stories are emotional
Stories are
Stories are
memorable
impactful
|
|
|
Why Stories?
Content
How do stories work?
People tell stories
Words
Pictures
tell stories
tell stories
|
|
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Synthesis -Visualise-Story
Comics tell stories|
Movies tell stories|
Dual Coding
Aural Visual
ˌvɪʒʊəlaɪˈzeɪʃən (noun)
Derived from the Latin verb videre, "to look, to see"
The act or instance to
form a mental image or
picture (without an
object)
Visualization
The act or instance to
make visible or visual
(with an object)
Two Little Fishes
Transfer of Imagery
Teller
Story
Listener
Storytelling Triangle
Transfer of Imagery
Source: The Visitor - Learning the Djembe
Visual Aural
Kinesthetic Conceptual
Cognitive Flow
Start
Frame it as a Journey
Finish
/ˈnærətiv / (noun)
A narrative (or story) is any account of
connected events, presented to a reader or
listener in a sequence of written or spoken
words, or in a sequence of (moving) pictures.
Derived from the Latin verb narrare, "to tell"
Narrative
A man walks into a store...
Narrative Structure
Journalistic - Kabob
Anecdote
Anecdote
Meat
Meat
Meat
Nut graf
Outline the Story
1
23
4
5
Making Comics
“I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space
whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of
theatre to be engaged. “
- Peter Brook, The Empty Space
Simplicity
Content
How to craft Data-Stories?
Data Art for visual expression, delight (and impact) e.g. Infographics
Exhibition | Expression
Source: Aaron Koblin
Exhibition
Data Tool for engagement, exploration and discovery
Exploration | Interactive
Data Stories for telling a specific and (linear) visual narrative
Explanatory | Narrative
Source: Hans Rosling | Joy of Stats
Explanatory
Word Writer
Note
Frame
Musician
Film Maker
|
|
|
Basic Element
Data Artist|Datum
???
???
???
???
Datum
Data-Stories
1
6
11
16
21
2
7
12
17
22
3
8
13
18
23
4
9
14
19
24
5
10
15
20
25
4
16
1
13
6
11
21
2
7
12
17
22
3
8
18
23
9
14
19
24
5
10
15
20
25
See the Data
Show the Visual
Tell the Story
Engage the Audience
Datum
Data-Stories
See the DataPattern
Deviation Outlier
Trend
Data Abstraction
Anscombe’s Quartetx1 y1 x2 y2 x3 y3 x4 y4
10.0 8.04 10.0 9.14 10.0 7.46 8.0 6.58
8.0 6.95 8.0 8.14 8.0 6.77 8.0 5.76
13.0 7.58 13.0 8.74 13.0 12.74 8.0 7.71
9.0 8.81 9.0 8.77 9.0 7.11 8.0 8.84
11.0 8.33 11.0 9.26 11.0 7.81 8.0 8.47
14.0 9.96 14.0 8.10 14.0 8.84 8.0 7.04
6.0 7.24 6.0 6.13 6.0 6.08 8.0 5.25
4.0 4.26 4.0 3.10 4.0 5.39 19.0 12.50
12.0 10.84 12.0 9.13 12.0 8.15 8.0 5.56
7.0 4.82 7.0 7.26 7.0 6.42 8.0 7.91
5.0 5.68 5.0 4.74 5.0 5.73 8.0 6.89
Anscombe’s Quartet
x(mean) = 9
y(mean) = 7.5
x(var) = 11
y(var) = 4.12
y = 3.00 + 0.500 x
Anscombe’s Quartet
Building Ability to See
Hypothesis-driven Approach
a.k.a
Educated guesses based on experience, knowledge & intuition
See the DataPattern
Deviation Outlier
Trend
Data Abstraction
Show the VisualFraming
Transition
Visual Representation
Visual Perception
Visual Perception
Iconic
Pre-attentive<1s Fast
TemporaryUnconscious
In-device
Working
Attentive<1-3s Medium
TemporaryConscious
RAM
Long-term
AttentiveLong
PermanentDeliberate
SSD
Length
Size
Orientation
Hue
Width
EnclosureShape
PositionIntensity
How big is the 2nd circle?
Representation MattersSource: South China Post
Single Frame Dominates
Source: Walmart & Target Store Expansion
Establish & Focus
Source: OECD Better Life
Consistent Visual
Framework
See the DataPattern
Deviation Outlier
Trend
Data Abstraction
Show the VisualFraming
Transition
Visual Representation
Tell the StoryOrdering & Structure
Messaging(Verbal & Text)
Point of ViewRelatability
TRF JQL
VWX DFR
RGT DEF
ZEF LXR
Integrate Text & Graphics
Stories through Annotation
Source: Napolean’s Campaign
Source: Hans Rosling | Joy of Stats
Power of Verbal Messaging
Idea-driven Mileu-driven
Character-driven Event-driven
See the DataPattern
Deviation Outlier
Trend
Data Abstraction
Show the VisualFraming
Transition
Visual Representation
Tell the StoryOrdering & Structure
Messaging(Verbal & Text)
Point of ViewRelatability
TRF JQL
VWX DFR
RGT DEF
ZEF LXR
Engage the Audience
TRF JQL
VWX DFR
RGT DEF
ZEF LXR
Emotion
Takeaway
Interactivity
Source: Wealth Inequality
Emotions are key
Source: Libor Scandal
Emotions
“I think the trick with knowledge is to “acquire it, and forget all except the perfume” — because it is noisy and sometimes drowns out one’s own “brain voices”. The perfume part is
important because it will help find the knowledge again to help get to the destinations the inner urges pick. ”
— Alan Kay’s advice to Bret Victor
Create your own Path
Amit Kapoor@amitkapsPartner, narrativeVIZ [email protected]