andy kirk's talk at the acehp 2015 conference
TRANSCRIPT
COMMUNICATING THROUGH DATA: VISUALISING YOUR STORY
Andy Kirk
@visualisingdata www.visualisingdata.com
Data visualisation specialist: Blogger, trainer, lecturer, researcher, author, design consultant, speaker, twitterer...
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
What is data visualisation?
Images from http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/gestaltlaws.htm
What is data visualisation?
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 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
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0
Packs a lot of data into a single display, yet not overwhelming
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0
Provides opportunity to explore and find our own patterns
Current players
Career trajectory
Injuries & form
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0
Only uses colours that it needs, not those that it can
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0
Provides curated analysis of historical record holders
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0
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?
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://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
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
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
It needs to float
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
It needs to work in the dark
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
Needs to work without cellular signal
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
It shouldn’t be cumbersome to use
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
We can’t rely on anything that needs power
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
It is too cold to work without gloves
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
Final score
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
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://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?
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
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
Pattern matching, sense-making, sniffing out the story
Haiti
Afghanistan
S. Africa
Kuwait
Vietnam
Nauru
North Korea
Tajikistan
Ethiopia
“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
https://twitter.com/toddlerlex/status/440393501810118656/photo/1
Photo-journalistic: Consider all angles
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
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://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
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
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
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
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
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://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
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
“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
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 PR
ACTIC
AL
CREA
TIVE
Pursue an effective and efficient workflow to sequence and optimise your thinking.
Takeaway #5: Organised thinking