storytelling with data in 140 characters or less

A few weeks ago, I ran a storytelling with data workshop for the IMPACT Planning Council in Milwaukee. It was a fun session (hosted by the School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin, which is housed by a beautifully renovated former Pabst brewery building) with a super engaged group (plus my mother-in-law in attendance!). Last week, IMPACT shared with me a reconstruction of the workshop using the tweets published live during the event.

I found this pretty cool, so thought I'd share the bite sized morsels from my session here.

• Cole Nussbaumer, kenote speaker at data viz wrkshp takes podium
• Nussbaumer blogs about data viz at Storytelling w Data
• Cole says understanding the situational context of the data is key
• Who do you want to communicate to? What do you want to communicate? How can you communicate?
• Keep in mind what background info is relevant? What sound bite could you use to clearly articulate ur message? No more than 3 minutes
• Ur big idea must be a complete sentence that tells the audience abt the context of ur data
• V imp to choose the right way to display ur data. Sometimes plain text is best option
• Table or graph? Tables interact w our verbal system. Graphs interact w our visual system
• Line graphs are for continuous data, usually across time. Bar graphs are for noncontinuous data
• Bar charts shld always start from zero
• Exploding 3D pie charts misrepresent the relationships btwn the sections. Don't use them. Our eyes have difficulty judging size of areas
• There are many diff types of graphs. Always use the type that makes the most sense for your data and audience.
• @laurynbb: And kill the 3D bar chart - data viz wkshp “@planningcouncil: Give your graph to a friend to see if they understand it”
• You know you've achieved perfection in design when you have nothing more to take away
• Gestalt principles of visual perception: proximity, similarity, enclosure, closure, continuity, connection
• Eliminate clutter from your graphs.
• Get rid of anything that makes the audience work . Make it easy for audience to understand the point you're trying to make with the data
• @HelenBaderFound:  RT @planningcouncil: Eliminate clutter from your graphs. #zentweets
• To focus attention where you want it, understand how ppl perceive info
• @HelenBaderFound:  Follow @planningcouncil for tips on presenting your nonprofit's data, beautifully and effectively.
• Nussbaumer recommends Stephen Few's book as a good resource on data viz
• Ppl can keep abt 4 pieces of data in their memory at one time so design your graphs accordingly
• @HelenBaderFound Thx for following our live tweets of Cole Nussbaumer & Thx for your support of this wrkshp!
• @laurynbb:  VizComm tenets “@planningcouncil: You have 8 secs to get audience's attention”
• The most effective data viz will still fall flat if you don't have a story to go with it.
• Stories stick in our minds in a different way than facts do.
• Use text to highlight key points in your graph
• Plot, twists and ending are components of your data story. If there's no twist - if it's not interesting, don't share the data
• Tactics for making story clear: horizontal & vertical logic, repetition, reverse storyboarding, fresh perspective
• Your graph is the evidence that backs up your story
• Cole says Excel can be used to make good graphs. It's not the default charts but a good user can make excel work
• Light backgrounds on graphs are easier on the eyes (and ink) than dark backgrounds
• Any time you cut out info be sure to think abt what context you might be losing
• Everything in a data viz (text & visuals) needs to reinforce the same message
• Rather than hope the data will tell you what it's about, be clear what your question is & then organize the data to answer the question
• Cole asks what distinction do you make btwn data viz and infographics?
• Infographics came out of journalism but have changed over time so now they are more glitz than data
• Just putting in a graph or infographic in to fill white space is not a good reason
• Donut graphs are even more difficult to read than pie charts; don't use them

One of the makeovers we discussed in the workshop.

• @MilwaukeeStat:  @planningcouncil and @storywithdata – thanks for putting on the best data viz gathering Milwaukee has ever seen. Well done!
• @storywithdata Thanks, Cole, for inspiring 50 Milwaukee data geeks today with your advice on good data visualization!
• @storywithdata:  @planningcouncil Thank you for the invitation to speak to your group - an engaged and lively bunch - I had a fantastic time with you all!

Another visual makeover from the workshop.

The full PDF (that puts my session back into the context of the rest of the afternoon, including a brief segment by Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett) can be found here. Big thanks to the IMPACT Planning Council for hosting the event and allowing me to post their recap here!