This document provides guidance on creating effective data visualizations and infographics. It discusses different tools that can be used for data exploration, visualization construction, and mapping. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the audience and goals of a graphic before creation. Tips are provided on telling stories with data through simple, unexpected, credible narratives. Examples of best practices from other designers are shared. The document encourages participants to apply the lessons by creating a graphic from an existing document and submitting it for feedback.

1. Eye catching
science
Finding the visual story in your data
Part 1: the tools
FUTURE EARTH
POP-UP
WEBINAR
SERIES

2. Infographic
Data
Visualisation
http://www.jackhagley.com/What-s-the-difference-between-an-Infographic-and-a-Data-Visualisation

3. Visualisation
Information
Graphic
Data=
=
editorialisation+ -
complexity- +
generative ✓✕

4. The award for most important
design tool goes to:

5. Before we do
any pixel pushing…
• Where does this graphic fit into your organisation’s
communications & social media strategy?
• Who is your intended audience & how does that change
what we’re going to show them?
• How does our chosen delivery medium change
what we’re going to create?
• What is the story we’re going to tell our audience?

6. Tiered information strategy
http://www.slideshare.net/Future-Earth/how-to-tweet-about-
science-and-sustainability
yoursite.com
‘Teaser’ content
‘Storefront’ content
‘Key’ content

7. yoursite.com
‘Teaser’ content
‘Storefront’ content
‘Key’ content
Scientific
papers?

8. Who is your intended audience
for this graphic?
3,140 ± 110 x 106 Mg C
3,140,000,000 Mg C
(margin of error: 3.5%)
3.140 billion
tonnes of Carbon
20 years worth of
Carbon emissions
at 2011 levels

9. Who is your intended audience
for this graphic?
3,140 ± 110 x 106 Mg C
3,140,000,000 Mg C
(margin of error: 3.5%)
3.140 billion
tonnes of Carbon
20 years worth of
Carbon emissions
at 2011 levels
Novice*
Expert
Spock

10. How does the medium
change the message?
Graphic will be viewed on variety of
mobile devices = can’t cram too much in
Doesn’t play nice with Instagram
= no previews in timeline
Doesn’t play nice with lots of text
= no boosting your posts
◦◦◦
Each medium has limitations, including your
own web site. Research them before beginning

11. What is the story you
want to tell your audience?
http://www.ttdatavis.onthinktanks.org/how-tos/how-to-tell-stories-with-data > http://heathbrothers.com/books/made-to-stick/
Simple
Unexpected
Credible
Emotional
Concrete
Stories

12. What is the story you
want to tell your audience?
http://www.ttdatavis.onthinktanks.org/how-tos/how-to-tell-stories-with-data > http://heathbrothers.com/books/made-to-stick/
Simple
Unexpected
Credible
Emotional
Concrete
Stories
Structured

13. What is the story you
want to tell your audience?
http://www.ttdatavis.onthinktanks.org/how-tos/how-to-tell-stories-with-data > http://heathbrothers.com/books/made-to-stick/
Simple
Unexpected
Credible
Emotional
Concrete
Stories
Structured
But don’t oversimplify. Make sure you are true to the data
What happens next will make you click here
A source is just as important for your visual as for your blog
“As much as…” “Up to…” “Significant?”
The care factor. Remember who your audience is
Even complicated visualisations need to be logical and legible
A single factoid is still representative of something bigger

14. The principle of
equivalency
https://mahifx.com/john-paulson/

15. Best Practice:
Some examples

16. Charles Minard’s map:
The most famous infographic

17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Minard_map_of_napoleon.png Image: Iñigo Lopez
Charles Minard’s map:
The most famous infographic

18. Duncan Clark & Kiln:
Which companies cause…
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/interactive/2013/nov/20/which-fossil-fuel-
companies-responsible-climate-change-interactive

19. Nicholas Felton
http://feltron.com/

20. Kurzgesagt:
The human immune system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQGOcOUBi6s

21. Exploration tools

22. Exploration tools
IBM Watson Analytics
www.ibm.com/analytics/watson-analytics/
• Free to try, with
limitations on your data
• ‘Interrogate’ your data
with natural language
questions
• Easy for data rookies
to discover trends and
relationships
• Like all data exploration
tools, you will need
clean, organised data
• Does have an
‘infographic’ creation
function, but it is clunky

23. Exploring your data:
Tableau Public
public.tableau.com
• Tableau Public is the
free version of analytics
software Tableau
• Runs off a desktop app
• Very powerful data
analysis and exploration
features.
• Some learning curve but
intuitive drag & drop
interface is extremely
useable
• Able to share dense,
interactive data
visualisations via
the web

24. Construction tools

25. Timeline JS
timeline.knightlab.com/

26. Infogr.am
Infogram

27. venngage.com
Venngage

28. piktochart.com
Piktochart

29. Visme
visme.co

30. Canva
canva.com

31. Icons in this presentation were obtained free from iconfinder.com
Credits to: Vlad Marin & Pixan
Need some extra icons?

32. Just want to make a chart?

33. plot.ly
plot.ly

34. Chartblocks
chartblocks.com

35. Google sheets
Publish directly from Google Sheets

36. Raw
app.raw.densitydesign.org

37. Just want to make a map?
But with a lot of data?
cartodb.com

38. Don’t forget:
you can mix ’n’ match the tools

39. Let’s talk responsive

40. Next steps
Take a blog post/paper and turn it into
a snappy infographic or visualisation
Alternatively, you could try adding some maps,
infographics & charts to an existing blog
post to bring it to life.
Submissions to: futureearth2025@gmail.com
We’ll give personal feedback on the first 15 received.
Chance to be featured on futureearth.org

41. Follow-up webinar
Review & critique some of your infographics
Practical design tips & tricks, including some tips
for which chart to use for what data
Sign-up: goo.gl/M5NYo5
Process case study
OCTOBER 28, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM CET

42. Did you miss the previous
Future Earth pop webinars?
futureearth.org/blog/pop-webinars