Data visualisation and Storytelling

Or, why information is beautiful

Principles and practice

Harkanwal Singh / @kamal_hothi

Origins of data

Data - 'something given'

Representation of information

Data graphics visually display measured quantities by means of the combined use of points, lines, a coordinate system, numbers, symbols, words, shading, and color.
~ Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantiative Information

What we do, what inspires us and how it was originally done

Using data as source to tell stories through data visualisation

We do maps, visualisations and data investigations

@nzherald

Show the data - Inspirations

The history

Process, how you do it (@caleb_tutty)

Source data

Explore it

Visualise it

What makes a good visualisation (according to Tufte)

  • show the data
  • include the viewer to think about the substance rather than methodology, graphic design, etc
  • avoid distorting what the data has to say
  • encourage the eye to compare difference pieces of data
  • reveal the data at several levels of detail, from a broad overview to the fine structure
  • serve a reasonably clear purpose: description, exploration, tabulation, or decoration
  • be closely integrated with statistical and verbal descriptions

Addendum - Tufte is not a god

It's good practice but don't treat it as gospel

Hans Rosling - the man who made stats sing

One of my heroes

It's about finding a compelling story and then communicating it

You write code, you draw, you iterate and you get people to engage

A data story needs an audience

Essentially -

Visualization leverages the human visual system to augment human intellect: we can use it to better understand these important abstract processes, and perhaps other things, too.
~ Mike Bostock, Visualising Algorithms

An interactive world

Bret Victor

Mike Bostock

Practicing interactive data visualisation

Create Explorable Explanations

  • Practice until your eyes can see it
  • "My work is more translation than design"
  • Try bad ideas deliberately
  • Shut up and look
  • You are too close to critique your own work well

Sources - one and two

Lastly,

Enjoy yourself, data visualisation is a creative and technical endeavour

You're creating representation of the real world and helping others understand it better