3 tips for creating data visualization driven stories
TRANSCRIPT
3 TIPS FOR DATA VISUALIZATION DRIVEN STORIES
Professor Kristen Sosulski, Ed.DNew York University Stern School of Business@sosulski [email protected] kristensosulski.com
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Introduction• Sometimes imaging software by default enables us to create
beautiful visualizations. • However, designing visualizations that are readable and
provide key insights is much more difficult. • As visualization designers, we are “melding the skills of
computer science, statistics, artistic design, and storytelling” (Cukier, 2010, para 3). – See http://www.economist.com/node/15557455
Copyright 2016 Kristen Sosulski [email protected] @sosulski kristensosulski.com
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Here are 3 tips to create a story through your
visualizations.
Copyright 2016 Kristen Sosulski [email protected] @sosulski kristensosulski.com
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3 Tips
1. Provide clear takeaways
2. Present the key numbers
3. Put the findings in contextCopyright 2016 Kristen Sosulski [email protected] @sosulski kristensosulski.com
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Tip 1• Provide clear takeaways for each
visualization.• Write it in the notes or the title of the slide. • See an example on the next slide.
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Today, the largest shipping ports are in Asia, with three of five located in China.
Kristen Sosulski | Source: World Bank - Container Port Traffic (2014).Copyright 2016 Kristen Sosulski [email protected] @sosulski kristensosulski.com
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Tip 2• Provide a context for your findings.• Without context, data is meaningless. • In the example on the next slide, an insight
is communicated that puts the # position (Shanghai) in context and provides an explanation for the rise to the top.
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Since 2004 the capacity at the Port of Shanghai has grown from 14 million TEUs to more than 32 million in 2013, giving rise to its # 1 position in terms of TEU volume.
Kristen Sosulski | Source: World Bank - Container Port Traffic (2014).
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Tip 3• Present the key numbers.• It is important to summarize the key findings and present the
numbers in a meaningful context that is comprehensible to the audience.
• For example, it may be more helpful to show a percentage change from year to year when presenting an increase over time, rather than with absolute numbers.
• Specifically, if the core point is to compare the change from year to year, percentage change is an effective metric as illustrated in the next slide.
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2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
20,172.3
23,640.2 24,41625,816.8 26,433.5
China: Total import and export value from 2010 to 2014 (in billion Yuan)
There was a 31% increase from 2010 to 2014
Kristen Sosulski | Source: Statistica (2014).
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Summary: 3 Tips for creating data visualization driven stories.
1. Provide clear takeaways
2. Present the key numbers
3. Put the findings in contextCopyright 2016 Kristen Sosulski [email protected] @sosulski kristensosulski.com
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By incorporating these tips you can tell better stories with data and use your visualizations to reveal important insights about the data.
Copyright 2016 Kristen Sosulski [email protected] @sosulski kristensosulski.com
Are there any other errors that you’ve come across in your data visualization work? Do you have any questions? Contact me on twitter @sosulski.
You can learn more on my blog at http://kristensosulski.com
Questions? Comments?
Copyright 2016 Kristen Sosulski [email protected] @sosulski kristensosulski.com
Thank you!Professor Kristen Sosulski, Ed.DNew York University Stern School of Business@sosulski [email protected] kristensosulski.com