andy kirk's talk at the acehp 2015 conference

COMMUNICATING THROUGH DATA: VISUALISING YOUR STORY

Andy Kirk

@visualisingdata www.visualisingdata.com

Data visualisation specialist: Blogger, trainer, lecturer, researcher, author, design consultant, speaker, twitterer...

Superstar technicians

Everyday practitioners

WHAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT RELEVANT?

The visual analysis of and communication of data

What is data visualisation?

For us

For others

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


Images from http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/gestaltlaws.htm


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 best visualisation adds value to the data

http://mbtaviz.github.io/

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


Packs a lot of data into a single display, yet not overwhelming


Provides opportunity to explore and find our own patterns

Current players

Career trajectory

Injuries & form


Only uses colours that it needs, not those that it can


Provides curated analysis of historical record holders


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?

EMBRACING FRESH THINKING

Data visualisation is a recipe of many ingredients

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

TALENT

THINKING

http://earth.nullschool.net/

Technical abilities

Technical abilities (~300 data and visualisation tools)

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

TALENT

THINKING

CONTEXTUAL JOURNALISTIC IMAGINATIVE

CRITICAL ORGANISED

Embrace fresh thinking!

#1 CONTEXTUAL Framing our thinking

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


It needs to float


It needs to work in the dark


Needs to work without cellular signal


It shouldn’t be cumbersome to use


We can’t rely on anything that needs power


It is too cold to work without gloves


Final score


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://style.org/tapestry/

Who are the intended audiences?

http://youtu.be/hVimVzgtD6w?t=1m1s

Presented or distributed?

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?

Format requirements?

Timescales?

http://comicsidontunderstand.com/wordpress/category/new-yorker/

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

#2 JOURNALISTIC Harnessing curiosity

The journalist-analyst sensibility to find and show

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


Haiti

Afghanistan

S. Africa

Kuwait

Vietnam

Nauru

North Korea

Tajikistan

Ethiopia

http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/latest


“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

http://i.imgur.com/RmXbrDZ.jpg

Photo-journalistic: Filtering

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

#3 IMAGINATIVE Empathy & creativity

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://graphics-info.blogspot.hk/2012/09/malofiej-20-look-at-our-participation.html

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

Creativity: Our instincts offer a unique perspective

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

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

#4 CRITICAL

Justified decision making

The taxonomy of chart types: CHRTS

C T H

S R

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

Comparing quantitative and categorical values

Charting hierarchical and part-to-whole relationships

Graphing connections and multivariate relationships

Plotting trends and changes over time

Mapping spatial data

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

http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer

COLOUR: Categorical data = Show difference

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://hint.fm/wind/

INTERACTIVITY/ANIMATION: Explorable dynamic data

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

Be able to justify every design decision

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

#5 ORGANISED

Sequenced thinking

Visualisation is a process, not a procedure

“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

Framework for thinking rather than rules for obeying

Where to begin? What pathway to take?

http://www.mattneuman.com/maze.gif

Cohesion and flow of thinking

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

CONTEXTUAL JOURNALISTIC IMAGINATIVE

CRITICAL ORGANISED

Embrace fresh thinking!

Getting this little guy working will make a huge difference!

COMMUNICATING THROUGH DATA: VISUALISING YOUR STORY

Andy Kirk

@visualisingdata www.visualisingdata.com

andy kirk's talk at the acehp 2015 conference

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