Andy Kirk's talk at the ACEhp 2015 Conference

COMMUNICATING THROUGH DATA:
VISUALISING YOUR STORY
Andy Kirk
@visualisingdata
www.visualisingdata.com

Data visualisation specialist: Blogger, trainer, lecturer,
researcher, author, design consultant, speaker, twitterer...

Superstar technicians
Everyday practitioners

WHAT IS IT AND
WHY IS IT RELEVANT?

The visual analysis of and communication of data
What is data visualisation?
For us
For others

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Human_Brain_sketch_with_eyes_and_cerebrellum.svg/1000px-Human_Brain_sketch_with_eyes_and_cerebrellum.svg.png
Visual Cortex
Seeing
Cerebral Cortex
Thinking

Images from http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/gestaltlaws.htm

The best visualisation makes understanding accessible
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/04/upshot/senate-maps.html?_r=0

http://porostocky.prosite.com/6517/114057/work/infographics
http://viz.wtf/post/107628689945/all-your-database-are-belong-to-us | http://viz.wtf/post/107440754050/how-payday-loans-add-up
The worst visualisation makes understanding inaccessible

The best visualisation adds value to the data
http://mbtaviz.github.io/

The worst visualisation adds no value to the data
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-19/wall-street-firms-endure-lost-decade-after-goldman-peak-in-2007.html?hootPostID=32a4ad8c4a1454db9676f05959b22c09

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0
Example of very good visualisation work

Packs a lot of data into a single display, yet not overwhelming

Provides opportunity to explore and find our own patterns
Current players
Career
trajectory
Injuries &
form

Only uses colours that it needs, not those that it can

Provides curated analysis of historical record holders

Provides additional angles of analysis to help form conclusion
Plotted by age

Visualisation literacy: 21st Century skillset
Subject neutral: Entirely portable craft
For all: Creator, consumer, commissioner
ROI not easy: Pursuit of ‘better’
Why relevant?

Data visualisation is a recipe of many ingredients

http://images.wikia.com/marvel_dc/images/9/93/Adventures_of_Superman_424.jpg | http://www.adobenido.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/wonder_woman.jpg

http://earth.nullschool.net/
Technical abilities

Technical abilities (~300 data and visualisation tools)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2012/nov/05/you-decide-the-presidential-election-interactive
Creative talent

http://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/1193675/remembering-kowloon-walled-city |
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/world/mount-moriah-the-most-contested-real-estate-on-earth/626/
Artistic flair

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/04/upshot/senate-maps.html?_r=0
Data handling capabilities

CONTEXTUAL
JOURNALISTIC
IMAGINATIVE
CRITICAL
ORGANISED
Embrace fresh thinking!

#1
CONTEXTUAL
Framing our thinking

YOU ARE KAYAKING ALONG THE
COAST OF GREENLAND AND YOU
NEED A ‘CHART’ TO NAVIGATE
The influence of context
(HT to Mark Daggett @heavysixer)

Three options: Which is best?
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

It needs to cope with being wet

It needs to float

It needs to work in the dark

Needs to work without cellular signal

It shouldn’t be cumbersome to use

We can’t rely on anything that needs power

It is too cold to work without gloves

Final score

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0123740371/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=visuadata-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0123740371

“...this example reinforces my thesis that in order to
design a tool, we must make our best efforts to
understand the larger social and physical context
within which it is intended to function.”
Bill Buxton, “Sketching User Experiences”
“...this example reinforces my thesis that in order to
design a tool, we must make our best efforts to
understand the larger social and physical context
within which it is intended to function.”
Bill Buxton, “Sketching User Experiences”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0123740371/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=visuadata-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0123740371

http://style.org/tapestry/
Who are the intended audiences?

http://youtu.be/hVimVzgtD6w?t=1m1s
Presented or distributed?

http://www.rvbookthai.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/6289048257_162d65958b_z.jpg |
http://www.thetrafalgar.com/uploads/2010/10/boardroom.jpg |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_cockpit
“Slow thinking”, “fast thinking” or combined?

Timescales?
http://comicsidontunderstand.com/wordpress/category/new-yorker/

Layout, colour, branding etc.?
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/11/award-winning-newspaper-designs/ | http://dmindless.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-make-presentation-that-rocks.html

What’s the best visualisation solution?
It always depends. Get your contextual
thinking established first.
Takeaway #1: Contextual thinking

#2
JOURNALISTIC
Harnessing curiosity

The journalist-analyst sensibility to find and show

http://cdn0.cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/20080314_sherlock_holmes.jpg |
http://www.idahogoldprospectors.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Gold-Panning.jpg
Pursuing a data-driven curiosity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Landmesser
Pattern matching, sense-making, sniffing out the story

Haiti
Afghanistan
S. Africa
Kuwait
Vietnam
Nauru
North
Korea
Tajikistan
Ethiopia

http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/latest

“A photo is never an objective reflection, but always an
interpretation of reality... I see data visualization as sort of
a new photojournalism – a highly editorial activity.”
Moritz Stefaner
“A photo is never an objective reflection, but always an
interpretation of reality... I see data visualization as sort of
a new photojournalism – a highly editorial activity.”
Moritz Stefaner
http://well-formed-data.net/archives/1027/worlds-not-stories

http://i.imgur.com/RmXbrDZ.jpg
Photo-journalistic: Filtering

https://twitter.com/toddlerlex/status/440393501810118656/photo/1
Photo-journalistic: Consider all angles

http://13pt.com/projects/nyt071211/
What is the duration of a single lunge
feed?
How deep do whale’s dive when
feeding?
What is a whale’s speed during lunge
feeding?
What are the mechanics of the lunge
feeding action?
How many tons of krill are consumed in
each feed?
How long can a whale maintain the
lunge cycle?
Photo-journalistic: Angles included

http://13pt.com/projects/nyt071211/
In which seas/oceans do fin whales
tend to exist?
What is the population of fin whales?
Is this feeding pattern leading to
reduction in krill?
Do all whales follow a similar feeding
action?
Does it differ between male/female,
young/old?
Have these actions changed over time?
Photo-journalistic: Angles excluded

Be motivated by curiosity and a
desire to effectively convey your
understanding to others.
Takeaway #2: Journalistic thinking

#3
IMAGINATIVE
Empathy & creativity

If I was them, what would I want to know?
How would I want to it be presented?
Audience empathy
http://zeldalily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/guess-who.jpg

http://moritz.stefaner.eu/projects/musli-ingredient-network/
“I chose the chord diagram over the possibly more revealing
matrix design because the matrix doesn't look ‘tasty’ and muesli
shouldn't look like ‘fungi’”
Subject empathy

http://graphics-info.blogspot.hk/2012/09/malofiej-20-look-at-our-participation.html
Subject empathy

http://melbourneurbanforestvisual.com.au/bigmap.html | https://twitter.com/NatGeopix/status/364914136594911233
Subject empathy

http://blogs.reuters.com/data-dive/2013/12/10/gms-new-ceo-is-another-small-crack-in-the-glass-ceiling/
http://www.chezvoila.com/blog/glass-ceiling
Subject empathy

Creativity: Our instincts offer a unique perspective

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Argyle+(pattern)&safe=off&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8_a7U_3LLYOV7AagwIHICA&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1946&bih=1234#imgdii=_
Creativity: Be inspired by the world around you

Creativity: Be inspired by the world around you

What mental visualisations – instinctive
keywords and imagery – form when you
think about a task: its intended recipients,
the subject matter and its data?
Takeaway #3: Imaginative thinking

#4
CRITICAL
Justified decision making

The taxonomy of chart types: CHRTS
C
TH
SR

Comparing
quantitative and
categorical values
Plotting trends
and changes over
time
Charting
hierarchical &
part-to-whole
relationships
Mapping spatial
data
Graphing
connections and
multivariate
relationships
The taxonomy of chart types: CHRTS

Comparing quantitative and categorical values

Charting hierarchical and part-to-whole relationships

Graphing connections and multivariate relationships

Plotting trends and changes over time

http://bryanchristieblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/my-visual-definition-of-information.html
http://www.w3schools.com/tags/ref_colorpicker.asp?colorhex=F0F8FF
COLOUR Theory

http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer
COLOUR: Categorical data = Show difference

COLOUR: Quantitative data = Show magnitude
http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/inland-sommerserie-schweizer-karten-interaktiv/vergleich-strom-versorger-1.18120907

INTERACTIVITY: Multiple points of entry
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/31/business/economy/case-shiller-index.html?smid=tw-share&_r=3&

http://hint.fm/wind/
INTERACTIVITY/ANIMATION: Explorable dynamic data

http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2011/07/new-visualisation-design-project-un-global-pulse-challenge/
ANNOTATION: Judging the right level of help

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/01/business/20090301_WageGap.html
ANNOTATION: User insights

https://www.flickr.com/photos/accurat/14577900823/in/set-72157632185046466?utm_content=buffer050e5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
ARRANGEMENT: Size, shape, position, order

“#8 Good design is thorough down to the last detail...
Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance.”
Dieter Rams’ ‘10 principles of good design’
“Good design is thorough down to the last detail...
Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance.”
Dieter Rams’ ‘10 principles of good design’
https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design

Be able to justify every design decision
http://www.oecd.org/dac/peerreviewsofdacmembers/PRFINLAND2012.pdf

Be able to justify every design decision

The real craft behind data visualisation
design is how we rationalise choices.
To make astute choices, you need to be
aware of all the options.
Takeaway #4: Critical thinking

#5
ORGANISED
Sequenced thinking

Visualisation is a process, not a procedure

“There's a strand of the data viz world that argues that
everything could be a bar chart. That's possibly true but
also possibly a world without joy”
Amanda Cox, New York Times
“There's a strand of the data viz world that argues that
everything could be a bar chart. That's possibly true but
also possibly a world without joy”
Amanda Cox, New York Times
http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbreditors/2013/03/power_of_visualizations_aha_moment.html

Framework for thinking rather than rules for obeying

Where to begin? What pathway to take?
http://www.mattneuman.com/maze.gif

1. Establish the visualisation’s purpose
2. Acquire, familiarise with and prepare
your data
3. Determine the editorial focus of your
subject matter
4. Conceive your design: data
representation and presentation
5. Construct and complete your design
solution
PRACTICAL
CREATIVE

Pursue an effective and efficient workflow
to sequence and optimise your thinking.
Takeaway #5: Organised thinking

Getting this little guy working will make a huge difference!

Andy Kirk's talk at the ACEhp 2015 Conference

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Andy Kirk's talk at the ACEhp 2015 Conference