Storytelling with Data. Knaflic Cole Nussbaumer

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СКАЧАТЬ any example that doesn’t initially seem relevant to you, I encourage you to pause and think about what data visualization or communication challenges you encounter where a similar approach could be effective. There is something to be learned from every example, even if the example itself isn’t obviously related to the world in which you work.

      Lessons are not tool specific

      The lessons we will cover in this book focus on best practices that can be applied in any graphing application or presentation software. There are a vast number of tools that can be leveraged to tell effective stories with data. No matter how great the tool, however, it will never know your data and your story like you do. Take the time to learn your tool well so that it does not become a limiting factor when it comes to applying the lessons we’ll cover throughout this book.

How do you do that in Excel?

      While I will not focus the discussion on specific tools, the examples in this book were created using Microsoft Excel. For those interested in a closer look at how similar visuals can be built in Excel, please visit my blog at storytellingwithdata.com, where you can download the Excel files that accompany my posts.

      How this book is organized

      This book is organized into a series of big-picture lessons, with each chapter focusing on a single core lesson and related concepts. We will discuss a bit of theory when it will aid in understanding, but I will emphasize the practical application of the theory, often through specific, real-world examples. You will leave each chapter ready to apply the given lesson.

      The lessons in the book are organized chronologically in the same way that I think about the storytelling with data process. Because of this and because later chapters do build on and in some cases refer back to earlier content, I recommend reading from beginning to end. After you’ve done this, you’ll likely find yourself referring back to specific points of interest or examples that are relevant to the current data visualization challenges you face.

      To give you a more specific idea of the path we’ll take, chapter summaries can be found below.

      Chapter 1: the importance of context

      Before you start down the path of data visualization, there are a couple of questions that you should be able to concisely answer: Who is your audience? What do you need them to know or do? This chapter describes the importance of understanding the situational context, including the audience, communication mechanism, and desired tone. A number of concepts are introduced and illustrated via example to help ensure that context is fully understood. Creating a robust understanding of the situational context reduces iterations down the road and sets you on the path to success when it comes to creating visual content.

      Chapter 2: choosing an effective visual

      What is the best way to show the data you want to communicate? I’ve analyzed the visual displays I use most in my work. In this chapter, I introduce the most common types of visuals used to communicate data in a business setting, discuss appropriate use cases for each, and illustrate each through real-world examples. Specific types of visuals covered include simple text, table, heatmap, line graph, slopegraph, vertical bar chart, vertical stacked bar chart, waterfall chart, horizontal bar chart, horizontal stacked bar chart, and square area graph. We also cover visuals to be avoided, including pie and donut charts, and discuss reasons for avoiding 3D.

      Chapter 3: clutter is your enemy!

      Picture a blank page or a blank screen: every single element you add to that page or screen takes up cognitive load on the part of your audience. That means we should take a discerning eye to the elements we allow on our page or screen and work to identify those things that are taking up brain power unnecessarily and remove them. Identifying and eliminating clutter is the focus of this chapter. As part of this conversation, I introduce and discuss the Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception and how we can apply them to visual displays of information such as tables and graphs. We also discuss alignment, strategic use of white space, and contrast as important components of thoughtful design. Several examples are used to illustrate the lessons.

      Chapter 4: focus your audience’s attention

      In this chapter, we continue to examine how people see and how you can use that to your advantage when crafting visuals. This includes a brief discussion on sight and memory that will act to frame up the importance of preattentive attributes like size, color, and position on page. We explore how preattentive attributes can be used strategically to help direct your audience’s attention to where you want them to focus and to create a visual hierarchy of components to help direct your audience through the information you want to communicate in the way you want them to process it. Color as a strategic tool is covered in depth. Concepts are illustrated through a number of examples.

      Chapter 5: think like a designer

      Form follows function. This adage of product design has clear application to communicating with data. When it comes to the form and function of our data visualizations, we first want to think about what it is we want our audience to be able to do with the data (function) and create a visualization (form) that will allow for this with ease. In this chapter, we discuss how traditional design concepts can be applied to communicating with data. We explore affordances, accessibility, and aesthetics, drawing upon a number of concepts introduced previously, but looking at them through a slightly different lens. We also discuss strategies for gaining audience acceptance of your visual designs.

      Chapter 6: dissecting model visuals

      Much can be learned from a thorough examination of effective visual displays. In this chapter, we look at five exemplary visuals and discuss the specific thought process and design choices that led to their creation, utilizing the lessons covered up to this point. We explore decisions regarding the type of graph and ordering of data within the visual. We consider choices around what and how to emphasize and de-emphasize through use of color, thickness of lines, and relative size. We discuss alignment and positioning of components within the visuals and also the effective use of words to title, label, and annotate.

      Chapter 7: lessons in storytelling

      Stories resonate and stick with us in ways that data alone cannot. In this chapter, I introduce concepts of storytelling that can be leveraged for communicating with data. We consider what can be learned from master storytellers. A story has a clear beginning, middle, and end; we discuss how this framework applies to and can be used when constructing business presentations. We cover strategies for effective storytelling, including the power of repetition, narrative flow, considerations with spoken and written narratives, and various tactics to ensure that our story comes across clearly in our communications.

      Chapter 8: pulling it all together

      Previous chapters included piecemeal applications to demonstrate individual lessons covered. In this comprehensive chapter, we follow the storytelling with data process from start to finish using a single real-world example. We understand the context, choose an appropriate visual display, identify and eliminate clutter, draw attention to where we want our audience to focus, think like a designer, and tell a story. Together, these lessons and resulting visuals and narrative illustrate how we can move from simply showing data to telling a story with data.

      Chapter 9: case studies

      The penultimate chapter explores specific strategies for tackling common challenges faced in communicating with data through a number of case studies. Topics covered include color considerations with a dark background, leveraging animation in the visuals you present versus СКАЧАТЬ