Fresh Thinking on Communicating with Data
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This document summarizes a webinar presentation by Andy Kirk on fresh thinking for communicating with data visualization. The webinar covered six types of thinking that can help data visualizers approach their work in a fresh way: contextual thinking, imaginative thinking, journalistic thinking, critical thinking, organized thinking, and thinking based on personal convictions. Kirk provided examples to illustrate each type of thinking and emphasized embracing fresh perspectives to create effective visualizations.
Fresh Thinking on Communicating with Data
- 1. Fresh Thinking on Communicating with Data Andy Kirk Data Visualisation Specialist & Founder of visualisingdata.com
- 2. 2 quick housekeeping notes: • This webinar will be recorded and available on-demand to view later or share with colleagues. You’ll receive an email later this week with details. • Please type your questions into the chat box and we’ll get to them during Q&A portion at end of presentation. Thank you for joining today’s webinar
- 3. Today’s presenters Andy Kirk Data Visualisation Specialist and Founder, visualisingdata.com Andy Cotgreave Technical Evangelist, Tableau Software
- 5. The Tableau Revolution Fast and easy analytics for everyone
- 6. FRESH THINKING ON COMMUNICATING WITH DATA Andy Kirk www.visualisingdata.com @visualisingdata
- 7. Data visualisation specialist: Blogger, trainer, lecturer, researcher, author, design consultant, speaker...
- 8. Data visualisation specialist: Blogger, trainer, lecturer, researcher, author, design consultant, speaker...
- 11. Initiator Journalist Communicator Project Manager Designer Cognitive Scientist Computer Scientist Data Scientist http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2012/06/article-the-8-hats-of-data-visualisation-design/ The 8 hats of visualisation design
- 12. TALENT THINKING
- 16. YOU ARE KAYAKING ALONG THE COAST OF GREENLAND AND YOU NEED A ‘CHART’ TO NAVIGATE... The influence of context (HT to Mark Daggett @heavysixer)
- 17. Cope with wet? Can’t need power? Work in dark? Can float? http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/
- 18. “… 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
- 19. Stakeholders, influencers and interferers
- 21. Design rules: Layout, colour, typography, branding, language? http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/02/11/award-winning-newspaper-designs/ | http://dmindless.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-make-presentation-that-rocks.html
- 22. Designing for an audience: Consumer setting?
- 26. What’s the best visualisation solution? It always depends. Get your contextual thinking established first. Takeaway #1: Contextual thinking
- 30. Subject empathy: Challenging conventions
- 32. https://www.facebook.com/RenzoPicassoArchive Creativity: Be inspired by the world around you
- 33. http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2012/05/the-fine-line-between-plagiarism-and-inspiration/ Creativity: Be inspired by the world around you (with attribution)
- 34. Creativity: Capture instinctive ideas and imagery
- 35. What creative ideas – instinctive keywords and imagery – form when you think about a task: its intended recipients, the subject matter and its data? Takeaway #2: Imaginative thinking
- 37. The journalist-analyst sensibility to pursue a curiosity
- 38. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Landmesser Pattern matching, sense-making, sniffing out the story
- 39. http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/latest Pattern matching, sense-making, sniffing out the story
- 40. Visualisation often serves up the questions not the answers Haiti Afghanistan S. Africa Kuwait Vietnam Nauru North Korea Tajikistan Ethiopia
- 41. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/01/business/20090301_WageGap.html Passing on your understanding to your audience
- 42. “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
- 44. Be motivated by curiosity and a desire to effectively convey the most relevant understanding to others. Takeaway #3: Journalistic thinking
- 46. Visualisation is a game of decisions
- 47. 5 Layers: Data representation & presentation Annotation Interactivity Composition Colour http://hint.fm/wind/ Data Representation
- 48. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0 DATA REPRESENTATION: A visual answer to a data question How have NFL cumulative touchdown passes grown since 1930 for quarterbacks with over 30 TD passes?
- 49. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0 DATA REPRESENTATION: A visual answer to a data question How have NFL cumulative touchdown passes grown since 1930 for quarterbacks with over 30 TD passes? Angle: Change of quantitative value (touchdowns) over time for multiple categories (quarterbacks) Filter: Parameters for time period (1930 to 19th October 2014) and minimum qualifying quantitative threshold (30 TD passes)
- 51. INTERACTIVITY: Manipulate, interrogate, participate http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html?_r=0
- 52. http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2011/07/new-visualisation-design-project-un-global-pulse-challenge/ ANNOTATION: Judging the right level of help
- 54. “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
- 55. Be able to justify every design decision http://www.oecd.org/dac/peerreviewsofdacmembers/PRFINLAND2012.pdf
- 56. 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
- 58. Visualisation is a process, not a procedure
- 59. 1. Establish the visualisation’s context and ideas 2. Acquire, familiarise with and prepare your data 3. Determine the editorial focus of your subject matter 5. Construct and evaluate your design solution 4. Conceive your design: data representation and presentation
- 60. Where to begin? What pathway to take? http://www.mattneuman.com/maze.gif
- 61. Cohesion and flow of thinking
- 63. Many different proposed methodologies https://speakerdeck.com/alignedleft/open-source-your-data-design-process
- 64. Don’t force it! Find what works for you
- 65. Pursue an effective and efficient workflow to sequence and optimise your thinking. Takeaway #5: Organised thinking
- 67. Framework for thinking rather than rules for obeying
- 68. “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
- 69. Framework for thinking rather than rules for obeying
- 70. The representation and presentation of data to make understanding accessible My definition...
- 71. http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/06/appreciating-the-critical-role-of-subject-matter/ Good visualisation makes understanding accessible
- 72. https://twitter.com/MaxCRoser/status/580666217142329344 Bad visualisation makes understanding inaccessible
- 73. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-19/wall-street-firms-endure-lost-decade-after-goldman-peak-in-2007.html?hootPostID=32a4ad8c4a1454db9676f05959b22c09 Bad visualisation adds no value to the data
- 74. http://porostocky.prosite.com/6517/114057/work/infographics | http://hmi.ucsd.edu/howmuchinfo.php http://viz.wtf/post/107628689945/all-your-database-are-belong-to-us | http://viz.wtf/post/107440754050/how-payday-loans-add-up Bad visualisation tries to decorate data
- 75. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/19/upshot/3d-yield-curve-economic-growth.html?smid=pl-share&_r=1&abt=0002&abg=0 There are few (if any) ‘always’ and ‘nevers’ I thought all 3D was bad, why is this 3D visualisation OK?
- 76. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/03/19/upshot/3d-yield-curve-economic-growth.html?smid=pl-share&_r=1&abt=0002&abg=0 There are few (if any) ‘always’ and ‘nevers’ I thought all 3D was bad, why is this 3D visualisation OK?
- 77. http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2015/02/visualisation-data-like/ Do we REALLY like it?
- 78. http://style.org/deleted/ Constructive critique heightens your convictions
- 79. “Chefs are able to more clearly discern what they taste because through constant exposure they have developed improved senses as well as vocabulary to express and discuss their impressions.” Oliver Reichenstein, “Learning to see” Paraphrased from: http://ia.net/blog/learning-to-see/
- 80. The importance of establishing your own beliefs and convictions about what is good/ bad, effective/ineffective visualisation Takeaway #6: Thinking for yourself...
- 82. Getting this little guy working will make a huge difference!
- 83. FRESH THINKING ON COMMUNICATING WITH DATA Andy Kirk www.visualisingdata.com @visualisingdata
- 84. Thanks for joining today. If you’d like to try Tableau for yourself you can access your free trial at: http://www.tableausoftware.com/trial