<table>-first. 
Building responsive data visualization for the web 
Bill Hinderman | @billHinderman
Let’s talk 
about 
the 90’s.
Fig. N°1 
“Internet”
59M
Internet: an abridged history. 
0 
250 
500 
750 
1000 
1250 
1995 
1996 
1997 
1998 
1999 
2000 
2001 
2002 
2003 
2004 
2005 
2006 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
2012 
2013 
Yearly Unit Sales (MM)
Fig. N°2 
“The Mobile Web”
Where are 
we now? 
No mobile 
experience 
Link to app 
Separate sites for 
the following: 
Mobile/desktop 
Mobile/tablet/desktop
Separate 
mobile 
experiences. 
Recent effort 
Cutting-edge 
technology 
Content targeted 
to mobile 
No legacy 
overhead
Bang for 
your buck. 
Create separate: 
Domain 
Development 
Content 
Design 
Create no desktop 
improvement 
Lose conversion
Fig. N°3 
“Responsive Web Design”
What is 
RWD? 
Mobile-first thought 
Unobtrusive 
JavaScript 
Fluid grids 
Progressive 
enhancement with 
techniques like: 
CSS @media queries 
JS feature detection 
Lazy-loading images
Bang for 
your buck. 
Have one site 
Adapt to any device 
Create faster 
experiences 
Improve conversion
Excuses, 
excuses. 
Redesigns are 
expensive 
Yes, but… 
Long-term value 
Site is too complex 
BBC.com 
Time.com 
BarackObama.com 
Microsoft.com
US mobile 
holiday 
shopping. 
2011 : 14% 
2012 : 30% 
2013 : 50%
We’ve 
crossed 
the line. 
50.3%
Fig. N°4 
“Data”
Where are 
we now? 
No mobile 
experience 
Works in the app 
Visualization 
shows up: 
Huge 
Tiny
Fig. N°5 
“Responsive Data Visualization”
What is 
RDV? 
Content-first thought 
Unobtrusive 
visualization 
Fluid containers 
Progressive 
enhancement with 
techniques like: 
CSS @media queries 
JS feature detection 
Lazy-loading information
Bang for 
your buck. 
Your visualizations 
become: 
Device-targeted 
Dynamic 
Easier to update 
Way more lightweight 
Future-friendly 
You’re doing it 
anyway 
…Plus everything 
RWD gets you
Excuses, 
excuses. 
Technical problems 
Can’t support old browsers 
Solutions require JavaScript 
Political problems 
Too much work 
People won’t look at it 
Data is too complex
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it 
well enough.” 
Albert Einstein
Not a developer 
(Maybe Einstein again?) 
“I’m not a developer.”
Fig. N°6 
“Nuts & Bolts”
Think small. 
Build for mobile
Asset 
dependent. 
Grow up & out 
Present more 
robust content 
when you can 
Cater to: 
Screen size 
Device PPI 
Viewing distance
Asset dependent. 
.data-viz { 
"background-image: url(“./foo.png”); 
svg”); 
} 
" 
@media screen and (min-width: 34em) { 
".data-viz { 
" "background-image: url(“./bar.foo34.jpg”); 
svg”); 
"} 
}"
Drawing 
with data. 
Don’t hide your 
data 
Start with numbers 
Render information 
with code 
Adapt to the user’s 
device
Markup.
Let’s put it 
all together. 
Responsive 
website 
Mobile-first 
Adaptive assets 
D3-drawn chart 
Touch interaction 
Non-JS backup 
plan
www.thecocktailgui.de
www.thecocktailgui.de
www.thecocktailgui.de
www.thecocktailgui.de
Fig. N°7 
“Me, me, me”
You’re a 
special 
snowflake.
One more 
time, 
with feeling. 
PC 
350M sold in 2012 
1.6B in use 
Home & work 
Mobile 
1.7B sold in 2012 
3.2B in use 
Taken everywhere
“It's one thing to write code. It's another to humanize 
technology so it serves a purpose in people's lives.” 
Luke Wroblewski
The gist. 
Information is 
beautiful 
Treat data as: 
Static 
Content 
Treat design as: 
Adaptive 
Enhancement
What now? 
Be a creator 
Be a conduit 
Be an advocate 
Be future-friendly 
Embrace unpredictability 
Help others do the same
Fig. N°8 
“Future”
What’s next?
Thank you. 
Sent from my iPhone 
Bill Hinderman | @billHinderman
The 
tools. 
http://d3js.org/ 
http:// 
gionkunz.github.io/ 
chartist-js/ 
http:// 
raphaeljs.com/
Credit 
where 
it’s due. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_shoes 
http://qz.com/145704/slides-mobile-is-eating-the-world/ 
http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/02/half-of-adult-cell-phone- 
owners-have-apps-on-their-phones/ 
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ 
glimpse-marketers-social-media-strategies-159962 
http://www.shopify.com/blog/15206517-mobile-now-accounts- 
for-50-3-of-all-ecommerce-traffic 
https://digitalhumanities.stanford.edu/responsive-data-visualization- 
0 
http://blog.visual.ly/responsive-information-design/ 
http://bl.ocks.org/llimllib/841dd138e429bb0545df 
http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/the-ux-of-data.html 
http://futurefriendlyweb.com/ 
http://www.thecocktailgui.de/
Table-First : Building Responsive Data Visualization for the Web

Table-First : Building Responsive Data Visualization for the Web

  • 1.
    <table>-first. Building responsivedata visualization for the web Bill Hinderman | @billHinderman
  • 2.
    Let’s talk about the 90’s.
  • 3.
  • 4.
  • 6.
    Internet: an abridgedhistory. 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Yearly Unit Sales (MM)
  • 10.
    Fig. N°2 “TheMobile Web”
  • 11.
    Where are wenow? No mobile experience Link to app Separate sites for the following: Mobile/desktop Mobile/tablet/desktop
  • 13.
    Separate mobile experiences. Recent effort Cutting-edge technology Content targeted to mobile No legacy overhead
  • 14.
    Bang for yourbuck. Create separate: Domain Development Content Design Create no desktop improvement Lose conversion
  • 17.
  • 18.
    What is RWD? Mobile-first thought Unobtrusive JavaScript Fluid grids Progressive enhancement with techniques like: CSS @media queries JS feature detection Lazy-loading images
  • 19.
    Bang for yourbuck. Have one site Adapt to any device Create faster experiences Improve conversion
  • 20.
    Excuses, excuses. Redesignsare expensive Yes, but… Long-term value Site is too complex BBC.com Time.com BarackObama.com Microsoft.com
  • 21.
    US mobile holiday shopping. 2011 : 14% 2012 : 30% 2013 : 50%
  • 22.
  • 23.
  • 24.
    Where are wenow? No mobile experience Works in the app Visualization shows up: Huge Tiny
  • 28.
    Fig. N°5 “ResponsiveData Visualization”
  • 29.
    What is RDV? Content-first thought Unobtrusive visualization Fluid containers Progressive enhancement with techniques like: CSS @media queries JS feature detection Lazy-loading information
  • 30.
    Bang for yourbuck. Your visualizations become: Device-targeted Dynamic Easier to update Way more lightweight Future-friendly You’re doing it anyway …Plus everything RWD gets you
  • 31.
    Excuses, excuses. Technicalproblems Can’t support old browsers Solutions require JavaScript Political problems Too much work People won’t look at it Data is too complex
  • 32.
    “If you can’texplain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Albert Einstein
  • 33.
    Not a developer (Maybe Einstein again?) “I’m not a developer.”
  • 34.
  • 35.
  • 37.
    Asset dependent. Growup & out Present more robust content when you can Cater to: Screen size Device PPI Viewing distance
  • 38.
    Asset dependent. .data-viz{ "background-image: url(“./foo.png”); svg”); } " @media screen and (min-width: 34em) { ".data-viz { " "background-image: url(“./bar.foo34.jpg”); svg”); "} }"
  • 39.
    Drawing with data. Don’t hide your data Start with numbers Render information with code Adapt to the user’s device
  • 40.
  • 41.
    Let’s put it all together. Responsive website Mobile-first Adaptive assets D3-drawn chart Touch interaction Non-JS backup plan
  • 42.
  • 43.
  • 44.
  • 45.
  • 46.
  • 47.
    You’re a special snowflake.
  • 48.
    One more time, with feeling. PC 350M sold in 2012 1.6B in use Home & work Mobile 1.7B sold in 2012 3.2B in use Taken everywhere
  • 49.
    “It's one thingto write code. It's another to humanize technology so it serves a purpose in people's lives.” Luke Wroblewski
  • 50.
    The gist. Informationis beautiful Treat data as: Static Content Treat design as: Adaptive Enhancement
  • 51.
    What now? Bea creator Be a conduit Be an advocate Be future-friendly Embrace unpredictability Help others do the same
  • 55.
  • 56.
  • 57.
    Thank you. Sentfrom my iPhone Bill Hinderman | @billHinderman
  • 58.
    The tools. http://d3js.org/ http:// gionkunz.github.io/ chartist-js/ http:// raphaeljs.com/
  • 59.
    Credit where it’sdue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_shoes http://qz.com/145704/slides-mobile-is-eating-the-world/ http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/02/half-of-adult-cell-phone- owners-have-apps-on-their-phones/ http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ glimpse-marketers-social-media-strategies-159962 http://www.shopify.com/blog/15206517-mobile-now-accounts- for-50-3-of-all-ecommerce-traffic https://digitalhumanities.stanford.edu/responsive-data-visualization- 0 http://blog.visual.ly/responsive-information-design/ http://bl.ocks.org/llimllib/841dd138e429bb0545df http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/the-ux-of-data.html http://futurefriendlyweb.com/ http://www.thecocktailgui.de/

Editor's Notes

  • #3 Golden age of sitcoms Segway prototype Moon shoes – 1970s – popular in 90s (Nickelodeon – Pinwheel in 1977) National center for supercomputing applications - Mosaic DON’T MOVE
  • #4 Mosaic – Netscape 1994 DON’T MOVE
  • #5 Mosaic – Netscape 1994 DON’T MOVE
  • #6 1996 - ~70M DON’T MOVE
  • #7 2000 - .com burst 2007 – “mobile” 2011 – flip point DON’T MOVE
  • #8 More than 45% of US adults own smartphones Over 70% of 18-29 year olds own smartphones
  • #9 More than 30% of US adults own a tablet ~30M adults use mobile as PRIMARY internet 2015: Mobile web usage will overtake desktop usage
  • #10 ~30M adults use mobile as PRIMARY internet 2015: Mobile web usage will overtake desktop usage
  • #11  DON’T MOVE
  • #12  DON’T MOVE
  • #13  DON’T MOVE
  • #14  DON’T MOVE
  • #15 Domain Development Content Design
  • #16 More than 30% of US adults own a tablet 2015: Mobile web usage will overtake desktop usage
  • #17 Billion Android sizes Three *new* sizes of iPhone Tablets Computers
  • #18 Ethan Marcotte - AListApart
  • #19 Adapt, respond, and overcome
  • #20 Domain Development Content Design
  • #22 US shopping trends “Bought using a mobile device”
  • #23 Shopify blog end of August 2014, more than 100,000 eCommerce websites – mobile shopping surpassed desktop
  • #24 We have a lot of data, and we want to show it off.
  • #25 Google analytics app – nice, but misses the underlying problem. DON’T MOVE
  • #26 Big visualizations stretched / tiny on mobile screens. (Is this better than the full site crap?)
  • #27 Is it better than this? DON’T MOVE
  • #28 Or this? (Is this better than the full site crap?)
  • #29 Not doing anything revolutionary here. Taking principles we’ve already established for web design, and applying them to our visualization design.
  • #32 D3 supported in everything modern, and back to IE8. (Can provide fallback). Yes, can provide fallback. Data is too complex – Einstein quote next
  • #34 That’s fine. You’re here because you have a stake in this. Want company to succeed. Plus, it’s not /that/ hard.
  • #35 Three different classes of ways to do this. Think small Switching assets Drawing with your actual data
  • #37 Your canvas has shrunk (but that’s a good thing)
  • #39 Only code you’ll see. I SWEAR.
  • #40 D3 allows you to bind arbitrary data to a Document Object Model (DOM), and then apply data-driven transformations to the document. For example, you can use D3 to generate an -- HTML table from an array of numbers. -- Or, use the same data to create an interactive SVG line chart with smooth transitions and interaction.
  • #41 It’s all markup, and can be styled / interacted with just like the rest of the web. Not locked in some asset / applet / Flash container
  • #42 theCocktailGui.de Built as a pet project (riff from Medium entry).
  • #43 Mobile
  • #44 Tablet / bigger mobile
  • #45 Horizontal tablet?
  • #46 My laptop
  • #48 I don’t have the right answer for you alone Device independence - State as data - Sharing with people - Sharing with computers - Devices as data generators
  • #49 Web design: 29 years of PC design to unlearn 6, 7 years of mobile to learn Data design: Only added interaction Now need to think about varying screens, allow people to consume data
  • #51 Either people want this information, or we want them to want it.
  • #52 Take a deep breath, you’re in the home stretch, kid. Make this happen Share this information Help people in your organization – shock them with numbers (we’re data people)
  • #53 This isn’t our whole universe
  • #54 Devices that seem kind of dumb.
  • #55 Devices whose potential we’ve only started to grasp
  • #57 Things will continue to shift. Nickelodoen isn’t called Nickelodeon anymore. (Nick) Build with the adaptability to say we don’t know, we can solve these problems without a radical change.
  • #59 D3 allows you to bind arbitrary data to a Document Object Model (DOM), and then apply data-driven transformations to the document. For example, you can use D3 to generate an HTML table from an array of numbers. Or, use the same data to create an interactive SVG bar chart with smooth transitions and interaction.