Data as a Story?

Telling a story should be the goal with data. A story makes data interesting! But as with any creation, principles are needed to tell stories well consistently.

For the most part, data stories need to use the same principles any writer uses. I treat my visualizations the same way I treat my writing. In a story, I present information so that I or other people can get more knowledge than the mere arrangement of words on a page can provide. A data story should also allow for more knowledge than the mere arrangement of pixels of a graphic can provide.

• Storytelling Make sure to have a story you want to convey. Stringing together a series of visualizations does not itself tell a story without a beginning, middle, and end. A logical progression is necessary along with a specific message to develop the logical progression from.

• Target Audience Know who you’re developing a data story for. Is it for other professionals in your field? Is it for a general audience for adults? Visualizations are more difficult to interpret if the viewers aren’t used to the method of visualization.

• Directness Data stories have to do with effective visualizations, so they should not attempt to portray information that is superfluous. Focus on the message, and keep out anything which does not directly benefit that message.

• Grammar Arrange specific elements to be unambiguous for the context. Proper use of lines, shapes, or colors all will affect the clarity of a story. A good visual grammar will keep the message clear.

• Editing Only edit after the first draft is complete. Making slight modifications leads to losing sight of the big picture. Immediate edits that strike are appropriate to act on, but most other edits will be more effective when the whole draft is complete.