visualizing data effectively

Visualizing DataFor Kingdom Impact

Lessons from www.Missiographics.com

Our Mission

Our Mission: GMI leverages research and technology to create, cultivate, and communicate mission information leading to insight that inspires Kingdom service.

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InformationProvision

DecisionSupport

Kingdom-CenteredOutcomes-based

Evaluation

The Knowledge Stewardship Cycle

The Challenge of Too Much Information

• Data is everywhere

• Data doesn’t always agree neatly

• Data can be used manipulatively

• Data can be too specific

Are People Reading?

Living in a Post-Literate World

• A failure to screen content: We let it all in!

• Skimming not reading: Read a book in 10 minutes

• Consuming without applying: NEXT

• Sharing without thinking: “Joe or Jane will love this!”

Little Progress Past Comprehension

Key Skills in a Post-Literate World

• Curating content

• Using Visual Cues

• Following Influencers

• Reading Intentionally

• Knowing Where to Find Everything Else

Making Effective Infographics

Popularizing Complex Concepts

• Things naturally get complex

• Modernity taught us push for knowledge

• Simplicity takes radical discipline

• Simplicity is at the heart of popularization

To popularize is to…

• Make data

• understandable

• accessible

• actionable

Design to Be Understood

• Don’t be too creative

• Think in “idea chunks”

• Think where your infographic might end up

• Balance of content to design

Key Points• Show don’t tell – fewer words! (Hard for

researchers.)

• Do you have the right data?

• Is there a reason to share it – next step.

• Does your text, data and visual work together or are you fighting yourself?

• Are you adding confusion/changing meaning?

How to Move Data To Narrative

1. What about this data will make a difference in your context?

2. How could you package that in a compelling way?

3. What is the hook? 4. What are the key pieces of the story?5. What is the visual theme holding it together?6. Is it easy to navigate and follow?7. Is it easy to share and curate? – size matters!

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What We Have Learned So Far

1. Find the gems – data that really says something2. Create and defend your basic idea3. Write a script – just like you would for a radio

show4. Validate the script with those who understand the data

5. Hire designers who get data (there is a growing group of them)

6. Validate the design to make sure that the visualization has stayed true to the

data

The Great Responsibility

• So much data with so little analysis leads to assumptions

• How can we represent data accurately while still making it compelling?

• What is our responsibility when we know our reader may not go beyond the graphic?

The Role of Maps

• A context for understanding the world

• Layering multiple sets of data for analysis

• A way to make global decisions

Examples of Infographics

Join us in Visualizing the Kingdom

www.missiographics.com Jon.hirst@gmi.org / @JonHirstGMI

www.gmi.org/