What makes a data-story work?
Stories have been recognized for their power of communication & persuasion for centuries and we need to operate at that intersection of data, visual and stories to fully harness the power of data. Online journalism has already started to show the path but we need to develop the science of data-story to get them widely adopted in business. We used a case study based approach to map the four different layers in a data-story: See - Show - Tell - Engage. We developed a framework of key dimensions within each of these layers and then rigorously analyzed 25 carefully selected case-studies to see which elements were being employed in the data-story. We focused not only on the dimensions of data abstraction and visual representation, framing and transition but also on the dimensions of story structure, point-of-view, relatability and engagement through emotions, takeaways and interaction. Our framework indicates generic strategies that can be used for effective data-stories using exploratory and explanatory visualization in personal and presentation context.
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What makes a data-story work?
- 1. What makes a data-story work? Amit Kapoor Kavitha Ranganathan
- 2. Emotion & Empathy I am blind
- 3. Emotion & Empathy It is spring & I am blind
- 4. Persuasion Logos + Ethos + Pathos
- 6. Synthesis -Visualise-Story analysis | SYNTHESIS numbers | VISUALISE argument | STORY
- 7. Narrative is Powerful Source: Pitch Interactive
- 9. 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.
- 11. Visualization ˌvɪʒʊəlaɪˈzeɪʃən (noun) Derived from the Latin verb videre, "to look, to see" The act or instance to The act or instance to form a mental image or make visible or visual picture (without an (with an object) object)
- 14. Data-Story Framework See the Data Show the Visual Tell the Story Engage the Audience
- 16. Show the Visual Framing Medium & Visual Representation Transition
- 17. Tell the Story Ordering & Structure TRF JQL ZEF LXR Messaging (Verbal & Text) RGT DEF VWX DFR Point of View & Relatability
- 18. Engage the Audience Takeaway ZEF LXR TRF JQL Emotion RGT DEF VWX DFR Interactivity
- 19. Single Frame Dominates Source: Walmart & Target Store Expansion
- 20. Establish & Focus Source: OECD Better Life
- 21. Stories through Annotation Source: Napolean’s Campaign
- 22. Power of Verbal Messaging Source: Hans Rosling | Joy of Stats
- 24. Build your own story Source: Working Capital Profiler
- 25. Emotions are key Source: Wealth Inequality
- 26. Think Stories “I 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
- 27. Amit Kapoor Partner, narrativeVIZ Consulting amit@narrativeviz.com @amitkaps Kavitha Ranganathan Asst. Professor, IIM Ahmedabad kavitha@iimahd.ernet.in