using icons (instant infographics) – data visualisation’s...
TRANSCRIPT
AlexanderSkorka-February2016
UsingIcons(InstantInfographics)–DataVisualisation’snextleapinevolution!Aesthetics,clarityandexpressivenessarethecornerstonesofsuccessfulvisualisation.Sincetheirinventionin1786byScotsmanWilliamPlayfair,barcharts,piecharts,andlinegraphshavebecomethestandardindatavisualisation.Ifusedproperly,theyofferclaritybut,alltoooften,thisisattheexpenseofaestheticsandexpressiveness.Alongsidetheresultsoftheactualdataanalysis,attractivevisualisationscanhelpyoutomakemoreinformeddecisions.Communicatingcriticalinformationtotheintendedtargetgroupisessential.Dataanalysisisnolongerreservedsolelyforbusinessanalystsasagrowingnumberofstakeholdersisdemandingactionableinformation.Analyticalandmarketingknowledge,whichisoftenonlyavailableinlimitedcircumstances,requirestheclearandsimplevisualpresentationofcomplexissues.Atthesametime,modernmediaaresettingnewstandardsininfotainment,againstwhichmoderndashboardsmustbemeasured.It'snotsurprisingthatanincreasingnumberofcompaniesareplacingmoreandmorevalueonprofessionalinformationdesigns.TheresultsofacurrentstudybytheBARCconsultationandmarketresearchinstituteshowthatmorethanthree-quartersofthecompaniesinterviewed(78percent)rateinformationdesignas'important'or'veryimportant'.Takingthesefactsintoconsiderationitiscrucialtocometogripswiththedifferentoptionsofdatavisualisation.ClassicformsofdatavisualisationCharts,apresentationformwhichissupportedbyalmostalldashboardapplications,arestillthemostwidelyusedformofdatavisualisation.Theyofferonedecisiveadvantage:theyhelpyouvisualiseproportions.Noticeableanomaliesareeasilyrecognised.Theimportanceofindividualpartialaspectsisclearlyvisibleandtrendscanbeidentifiedimmediately.However,theanswerstoquestionssuchas"Whatinformationisbeingpresentedhere?Whatexactlyisbeingcompared,whatpartialaspectsareshown?"onlyspringtotheobserver'smindafterintensivescrutiny.Inthecaseofcomplexpresentationswithalotofdatapoints,attentionissplitastheeyemustdartbetweenthechartitself,thelabelsonthe
axesandthelegend.Theresult?Manyusersfocusonindividualanomaliesonlyandfindithardtoseethebigpicture.Inaddition,amisuseofcolourcanconfusetheusersanddistractthemfromrevealingrelevantinsights.
Figure1:Chartsvisualiseproportionsbutitisdifficulttoseewhatthechartisallaboutataglance.Infographicshavebeenpartofthevisualisationmethodforsometimenow.Theirstrengthliesshowingtheoverallcontextinagraphicallyappealingandclearmanner.Infographicsillustrateconceptsandcoherenciesbyusingdifferenttechniques.Theviewerisabletounderstandataglancewhatthevisualisallaboutandhowindividualpartialaspectsarerelated.Thevisualisationoftheassociateddatatakesabackseatandfiguresarebroadlyshownastext.
Figure2:Infographicshelptheviewerstoorientatethemselvesquickly.Unfortunately,theactualvisualisationofthedataand,withit,thevisualisationofproportions,isoftenlost.Thischangedpriorityiscausedbyanever-increasinggroupofstakeholderswhopossesslittletonoknowledgeofthesubjectoranalysismethods,butwhomusthowevermakedecisionsbasedonfacts.
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77% 76%64%
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Notebooks Entertainment Life Style Proucts
Statisfaction with produt range by target group
82% 76% 63%
55% 64% 88%
77% 73% 54%
Singles Couples Families
Notebooks
Entertainment
Life Style products
Statisfaction with produt range by target group
Thistargetgrouprequiresanappealingandeasytounderstandinformationdesign.Theywanttounderstandwhat'sgoingonquickly.Insteadoftraditionalcharts,attractiveandinformalgraphicsarerequired.Manystakeholderssufferfrominformationoverload,meaningtheinformationmustbepresentedinacompellingway.Themorevisuallyappealinginformationispresented,themoreapersonislikelytoengagewithit.Diagramsandinfographicsaremergingtogethertobecomeanewtypeofvisualisation:"InstantInfographics".Mergingthebestofbothvisualisationtechniquesintoone,new,moderninformationdesignisalogicalstepforward.Ifyoucombinebothmannersofthinking,yougetinstantInfographics.Iconsallowbothconceptsandproportionstobevisualisedattractivelyandinaneasytounderstandway.Inaddition,memoryretentionisincreased.Evenifpeoplerarelycomeintocontactwiththisinformation,theywillrememberwhatthey'veseenforlonger.
Figure3:Ontheonehand,thesymbolsizeillustratestheproportionsandaffordstheviewerwithaquickrésuméofstrengthsandweaknesses.Ontheotherhand,thesymbolsonthecolumnlabelssupportthereadersbyallowingthemtoquicklyunderstandwhat'sallabout.Goodinformationdesignshouldnotonlysafeguardusersfromcontent-relatedmistakes,itshouldalsomaketheirworkeasier.Manydashboardstendtopacktoomuchinformationinajumbleofchartsandtexts,whichhasanegativeeffectonintelligibilityandeaseofinterpretation.Thesearetwoaspectswhichareessentialforextrapolatingeffectivemeasures.Thesheeramountofinformationmakesitdifficultforviewerstounderstandandtodecidewhenandwheretheyshouldact.Goodinformationdesign,therefore,guidestheuserthroughtheinformation.Onewayisthecorrectuseofcolour,e.g.:atraffic-lightsystemishelpfulwhenclassifyingthings.Theviewernolongerhastoconsiderwhetheravalueobtainedisturningoutwellorbadlyandwhetheritisnecessarytoact.
82% 76% 63%
55% 64% 88%
77% 73% 54%
Singles Couples Families
Notebooks
Entertainment
Life Style products
Statisfaction with produt range by target group
Pleasebeawareofanoftenunderestimatedproblem.Fivepercentofthepopulationfindsithardtotellthedifferencebetweenredandgreenandhave,therefore,aconditioncommonlyknownasred-greencolourblindness.Alongsidethis,thereareapproximatelytwentyothervariantsofcolourblindness,whichcanmakeitdifficultfortheaffectedusertointerpretachart.Thenewgenerationofinfographicscanhelpthesepeople.Comparethefollowingpresentationvariants.Thesameinformationwillbepresentedeachtime,yettheinformationdesignusedwillbedifferent.Thescoperangesfromtheclassiccharttothemoderninstantinfographic.1.Iconsizevariesdependingonthevalue(figureontheright)
2.Iconsizeandcolourconformtotherelevantvalue(figureontheright)
82% 76% 63%
55% 64% 88%
77% 73% 54%
Singles Couples Families
Notebooks
Entertainment
Life Style products
Statisfaction with produt range by target group
Singles Couples Families
82%
55%
77% 76%64%
73%63%
88%
54%
Notebooks Entertainment Life Style Proucts
Statisfaction with product range by target group
82% 76% 63%
55% 64% 88%
77% 73% 54%
Singles Couples Families
Notebooks
Entertainment
Life Style products
Statisfaction with product range by target group
82% 76% 63%
55% 64% 88%
77% 73% 54%
Singles Couples Families
Notebooks
Entertainment
Life Style products
Statisfaction with product range by target group
82% 76% 63%
55% 64% 88%
77% 73% 54%
Singles Couples Families
Notebooks
Entertainment
Life Style products
Statisfaction with product range by target group
82% 76% 63%
55% 64% 88%
77% 73% 54%
Singles Couples Families
Notebooks
Entertainment
Life Style products
Statisfaction with product range by target group
Singles Couples Families
82%
55%
77% 76%64%
73%63%
88%
54%
Notebooks Entertainment Life Style Proucts
Statisfaction with product range by target group
3.Iconispartiallyfilledcorrespondingtoeachvalue(figureontheright)
4.Iconshapeandcolourchangesdependingoneachvalue(figureontheright)
Asalways,thecorrectmixmakesthedifference.Goodinformationdesignmakesuseoftheentirerangeofpossibilities.Whereasinfographicspresentcentralkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)inaneye-catchingandeasytounderstandmanner,chartsaremoresuitableforvisualisinglargeamountsofdata.Abouttheauthor
AlexanderspentmorethanthreeyearsworkingasheadoftechnicaloperationsatTNSGermanymanagingtheentireproductionchainfromdatacollectingtoinformationdelivery.Priortothat,heservedasamemberofthemanagementboardatKantarHealthheadingtheoperationalunitsaswellasmarketresearchteams.Hestartedhisprofessionallifeasamanagingdirectorofaserviceandtrainingproviderforvisualcommunication,datavisualization,andpresentationdesign.Assuch,heishighlyexperiencedinthemarketresearchindustryandanexpertininformationvisualizationanddelivery.InhisroleasChiefEvangelistofDapresyGrouphehelpscustomerstomakethemostoutofDapresy’sproductsbybothcreatingsolutionsbasedontheDapresyproductportfolioandconsultingcustomersonhowtotransformdataintoimpactandmaximizeoutcomes.
28% 19% 53%Detractors Passives Promoters
Net Promotor Scoreby category
28%19%
53%
Detractors Passives Promoters
Net Promotor Scoreby category
Detractors Passives Promoters
28% 19% 53%
Net Promotor Scoreby category
79%
FeltWelcome
Customer Satisfaction
65%
ReasonableWaitingTime
53%
Knowledge-able Staff
88%
Product Range
66%
Value for Money 79%
FeltWelcome
Customer Satisfaction
65%
ReasonableWaitingTime
53%
Knowledge-able Staff
88%
Product Range
66%
Value for Money
79%
FeltWelcome
Customer Satisfaction
65%
ReasonableWaitingTime
53%
Knowledge-able Staff
88%
Product Range
66%
Value for Money