Something worth checking out…
Matthias Shapiro posted on his blog the free chapter he wrote for the book Beautiful Visualization. In the chapter he discusses the importance of storytelling in information visualization, provides insights about the key steps he uses to create an effective infographic, and includes a quick tutorial of the most commonly used visual representations.
Below is an excerpt from the chapter.
“While many of the talents required for creating good information visualizations are widely recognized, there is one that is commonly overlooked in more formal settings—probably because nearly every visualization author engages in it subconsciously and because it is such a natural part of the process that is hardly seems worth mentioning.
This talent is the art of storytelling. Stories have a marvelous way of focusing our attention and helping us to discern why the data presented is important or relevant to some part of our lives. It is only inside of a context that data is meaningful, and using the data as part of a story is an excellent way of allowing the data to make a lasting impact. The most effective information visualizations will make themselves a pivotal point in a story or narrative within the viewers’ (or users’) minds.
Not every information visualization requires a story. Some are simply beautiful to look at and can exist merely as fine works of art. However, most visualizations have a goal or purpose and present their data in a meaningful way, in the context of some kind of story.
Question + Visual Data + Context = Story
Most visualization stories begin with some kind of question that orients the viewer to the topic and context within which the data is most meaningful. This can be done explicitly or implicitly, but the context must be clear. The question contains the premise and introduction to the story, and leads us up to the point at which the data can take over the storyline.
Many of the key parts of a story are related as part of the process of placing the visualization in a context. We frequently find the visualization context as part of an introductory text to an infographic or visualization. The context provides information that answers questions such as:
- What data are we looking at?
- In what time frame does this data exist?
- What notable events or variables influenced the data?”