Presented by Andrea Lau and Jack Zhao at the Hacks/Hackers Sydney event 30th October 2012.

1. THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED
SO FAR AND WHAT WE’D
LIKE TO DO IN THE FUTURE
AS DATA VISUALISATION
DESIGNERS & DEVELOPERS.
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

2. THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED
SO FAR AND WHAT WE’D
LIKE TO DO IN THE FUTURE
AS DATA VISUALISATION
DESIGNERS & DEVELOPERS.
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

3. BRIEF
“
•
•
Data journalism is a rapidly emerging field
The opportunity exists for the ABC to be a front
runner in Australian data journalism
• Primary goal would be to help audience uncover
aspects of a story that were most interesting and
”
relevant
The ABC News Data Desk Proposal, Fergus Pitt
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

4. APPROACH
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

5. RESEARCH
Precedent Studies
• Data-driven
precedents: how
do we present
the data?
• Topic-driven
precedents: how
do we tell a
story with
data?
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

6. RESEARCH
Fast prototyping: look for stories in data
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

7. BRAINSTORM
Data visualisation concepts
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

8. DESIGN
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

9. DEVELOPMENT
Process Technology
• Source control: Github • HTML/JS/CSS
• Sandbox: Barebone • Django/Python (as CMS)
Django site • Google FusionTables API
• Issue tracking: • Tilemill
Lighthouse • Google Maps API
• Spreadsheet/Illustrator
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

10. DEVELOPMENT
Parallel + in situ
Sandbox site
• Visualisation
modules and copy
are placed in
context
• Development and
writing happening
in parallel
• Requires no
training or prior
knowledge
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

11. DEVELOPMENT
Google FusionTable
Sandbox site
• Handles large
datasets
• Access Control
• Query API
• Pre-renders data
points on map
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

12. DEVELOPMENT
Custom Maps
Tilemill
• Import variety of
GIS formats
• CSS-like syntax
• Create beautiful
custom map tiles
UI
• Zoomable Map Plugin
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

13. DID WE ACHIEVE WHAT
WAS SET OUT TO?
• High-impact visualisations, combined with
smaller, accurate and easy to understand
supporting infographics.
• Multidisciplinary team across ABC
collaborating to pull everything together.
• Small-ish team, short time frame, huge
site, even bigger reaction!
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

14. SBS CENSUS EXPLORER
579 LANGUAGES
9,138 LOCATIONS
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

15. TAKE IT AND USE IT!
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

16. THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED
SO FAR AND WHAT WE’D
LIKE TO DO IN THE FUTURE
AS DATA VISUALISATION
DESIGNERS & DEVELOPERS.
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

17. CROWDSOURCING DATA
FUKUSHIMA
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

18. CHEAP SENSORS ARE CHEAP
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19. HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

20. 2:12pm Oct 29th, 2012
Hydrocarbon vapor
HIGH
Ground moisture
HIGH
...
2:12pm Oct 29th, 2012
Hydrocarbon vapor
LOW
Ground moisture
MEDIUM
...
MOCK-UP ONLY // NOT REAL DATA
MOCK-UP ONLY // NOT REAL DATA
PHOTO CREDIT
http://www.flickr.com/photos/treslola/6869739576/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62459458@N08/5678224434/
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

21. HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES MOCK-UP ONLY // NOT REAL DATA

22. DATA VISUALISATION IS NO
LONGER JUST AN ENDPOINT
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

23. DATA VISUALISATION
BECOMES A PLATFORM
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES

24. Data Visualisation
+ Interaction Design
info@small.mu
409/55 Holt St, Surry Hills NSW
HACKS/HACKERS, 30TH OCT 2012, SMALL MULTIPLES