Information Analysis and Visualisation
Lecture 10:
Visual Storytelling with Data
University of Greenwich
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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In this lecture:
• Overview • Interactivity
• Key Factors • Visual Elements
• Audience Awareness • Chart Types
• Context • Case Studies
• Purpose • Conclusions
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Overview
• In most cases, Data Visualisation is not an independent process
• It can be considered part of the broader process of Data (Information) Analysis
Defining the Collecting the Pre- Exploratory Explanatory Data
question data processing Analysis Analysis Visualisation Conclusions
the data
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Overview
• The main purpose of the Data Visualisation is to summarise and communicate
the data to an audience
• The success of such communication depends on a number of factors
• Some of these factors are technical and usually involve programming tools,
which process the data and generate the charts
• Other factors are less technical, for example human perception, visual design,
graphic design and others Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Overview
• The whole process is based on data (numbers) and calculations (Mathematics)
• As a result, one of the main challenges in Data Visualisation is to present the
information in an interesting and captivating form
• If this problem is approached as a visual storytelling, this would improve the
usefulness and the impact of the data visualisation
• Telling a story by visualising data would bring the attention of the audience
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Key Factors
• The following are some of the key factors, which can support a
successful visual storytelling
N Factors
1 Audience Awareness
2 Context
3 Purpose
4 Interactivity
5 Visual Elements1
1This factor has the highest impact Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Audience Awareness
• The following points can have significant impact on the effectiveness of
the visualisation
• Consider the technical background of the audience
• Take into account the objectives of the audience
• Avoid re-using content designed for a different audience
• Emphasise data and concepts, which are relevant or familiar to the
audience
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
Develop
Audience Awareness
• While considering the audience when designing Data Visualisation tools is
strongly recommended, an extreme approach in such direction might result
into the following unwanted outcomes:
• Everything seems way too familiar
• Not much new information, concepts or ideas are conveyed
• Too much efforts on making the visualisation cater to a specific audience
might question the authenticity of the data and the purpose of the
visualisation
• Balance is key
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
Develop
Context
• Considering the context of the visualisation further improves its
impact and usefulness
• Some of the most popular contexts include: While the context of the
• News media (printed and digital) visualisation can help choose
• Education optimal visual representation, it
can also provide a clue about
• Professional setting (office, conference) the audience
• Science and research
• Entertainment
• And others ... Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Purpose
• Successful data visualisation tools are developed while taking into account
their specific purpose. Those might include:
• To promote and advertise
• To educate
• To advice and recommend
• It is recommended to acknowledge the purpose of the visualisation tool at
the early stages of its development
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
Develop
Interactivity
• Although not very common, Data Visualisation can be interactive
• Depending on the circumstances, this can significantly improve the Data
Visualisation, or reduce its quality
• Some key points to consider include:
• Would the audience expect to interact with the visualisation product
• Are most platforms able to support the interactive component
• Will using the interactive component affect the data presentation
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
Develop
Visual Elements
• Visual elements provide graphical representation of numerical data, they
connect data with graphics
• In addition to just visualising a graphical equivalent of numerical values,
visual elements are expected to:
• Be effective
• Highlight what is important
• Show trends and patterns in data
• Help the audience make conclusions and decisions
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Visual Elements
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
Develop
Chart Types
• A number of different chart types are provided by most visualisation tools
and libraries
• Those chart types have different features and limitations and cannot be
used universally for every dataset
• Selecting the correct one is crucial for accurate and informative
visualisation
Konstantin Kapinchev
Chart Types
How would the following
charts rank in terms of
usefulness?
What are the limitations
of these types of
charts?
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Case Studies
• Let's consider the following example:
• Two surveys about the quality of a software product were conducted
before and after a presentation in front of the customers
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Case Studies
• The same data presented with two-series bar chart:
• Easy to compare values from
two series
• A trend can be identified
based on the chart
• Labels next to the graphical
elements (bars)
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Case Studies
• The following chart represent the rating of a TV show per episode
• Are there any issues with
this chart?
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Case Studies
• The following chart represent the rating of a TV show per episode
• Are all issues fixed?
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Case Studies
• The same issue can be illustrated with bar charts
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
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Conclusions
• Visualising data is not supposed to focus only on datasets and data points
• In most cases, there are meanings, trends and patterns, which underpin
the data we use
• A successful data visualisation will not only reveal these meanings, trends
and patterns, but also help the audience understand the data and make
informative decisions
Konstantin Kapinchev
Information Analysis and Visualisation Code
Lecture 10: Visual Storytelling with Data Design
Develop
Conclusions
• Further reading:
• Cole Knaflic, "Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for
Business Professionals", Wiley, 2015
• Andy Kirk, "Data Visualisation", SAGE, 2019
Konstantin Kapinchev
