A cluster of JSI communications and evaluation staff gathered to walk through the questions we ask as we're embarking on a data viz project. While the goal was to divine a decision tree on how to select a tool for a data viz design activity (which is included here), the deck emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions from the start about goal, audience, and access. Note that the content shared here represents individual views and not a JSI corporate approach to data viz.

1. Design-storm | January
Picking the Right Tool for the Job
Amanda Makulec
John Snow Inc.
With thanks to Sarah Melendez, Alexis Strader, Kirstin Krudwig, and Jay Heavner
for their contributions and thinking around these ideas.

2. There’s no shortage of data visualization tools out there.
We wrote a summary deck on some of our favorite
resources, but new ones pop up every week and every new
email blast seems to champion a new choice.
In an effort to think through how and why a few of our JSI thought leaders
on design and visualization choose one tool over another, we sat down and
discussed the design process, hitting the myriad of different kinds of
visualizations you may want to create.
The result is a collection of questions to ask as you’re embarking on a new
effort to visualize information more effectively and suggestions on which of
our favorite tools may be more or less suited to a particular design
challenge. By no means is this an exhaustive resource, but hopefully it will
give you a great place to start from.
So many tools.
So little time.

3. If you give
a nerd a
number…
Watch the video here (start at 16:33 for the feature):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHKwY103Tbg
Even focusing on chart types alone, there’s a huge
continuum of options for what you can design and
sometimes it’s hard to know the right fit.

4. Picking your
product type

5. Static
Interactive
Video You might not know which of these you’re
aiming for. The questions on the next slide can
help guide you through that thinking –
remember, it’s all about who you aim to share
your data story with and identifying the best
way for you to share your message.
Three kinds of information products

6. Questions to start with:
• What’s the goal of the product (e.g.
learning, advocacy, sparking action)
• Who is the client / audience?
• How much time do they have to read /
explore the product you’re giving them?
• How do they want to receive the
information?
• Internet connectivity?
• What is the dissemination plan?
• How do you want to share (e.g. print,
embedded on a website, social media)?
• What languages does this need to be in?
• Is there an approval process you need to
be mindful of?

7. Question Food for thought
What’s the goal of the
product?
Whether it’s to spark action, promote learning, or advertise some great piece of work we’ve done to build
our JSI brand, consider this question first. It should guide you to whether you need short sound bites and
stats or more detailed technical document.
Who is the client /
audience?
How much time do they
have to read / explore the
product you’re giving
them?
How do they want to
receive information?
Your audience is the biggest driver for your product choice.
A wide “global health community” audience means you can’t presuppose they have technical knowledge of
the subject matter, but a more tailored technical audience may better know the context of the work you’re
doing.
Plus, remember that some very busy folks might not have time for more than a quick glance at an
infographic, while others want to explore data through products like interactive visualizations. The more you
understand what your audience/client wants, the better you can tailor your product choice to their needs.
Internet connectivity?
Slow or no internet? A video might be frustrating to play on a low bandwidth connection, and interactive
visuals won’t filter terribly quickly. Consider something you can view on the web and doesn’t require a
download of a hefty file.
What is the dissemination
plan?
How do you want to share
the final product?
Do you need to be able to print this and have it look stunning? You need a product that’s high resolution, so
some of the free web-based tools won’t really give you what you need. Looking to post on the web?
Consider the size: smaller images (mini infographics, for example) lend themselves better to posting and
sharing. Do you have the backend ability to embed something on a website? That opens the doors to
interactivity.
What languages does this
need to be in?
Budget time and money for translation if you’ll need the final product in multiple languages, and consider
finalizing the content in all necessary languages in a storyboard or word document before moving to a
design – word and text length matter a lot as you’re laying out an infographic or other visual product.
Is there an approval process
you need to be mindful of?
Many reviewers can mean a lengthy approval process with many small changes. Some programs are better
for making those small incremental changes than others, particularly web-based video development
programs. Consider the time it takes to input revisions and if you want multiple people to be able to access
the product to revise, instead of having it linked to one person.
Is the data proprietary or
from a public source?
Many openly available visualization and design programs have text in their user agreement that by putting
data into their program, it will be come publicly available in their library. Read the data sharing agreement.

8. Picking a platform

9. What kind of product are
you trying to create?
Static Interactive Video

10. Web Print Both print & web
Where will it be
published?
Static

11. Is a graphic
designer
available?
Yes
No
Work with a graphic
designer. A web-based
tool is great for mocking
up an example of what
you want, but most
won’t give you the high
resolution you need.
Are the visuals
pretty simple?
No Yes
See what you can do in
Excel or Powerpoint. There
are great visual features in
both programs & lots of
flexibility. (Also, try to find
$$ for a designer.)
Am I more interested
in flexibility or
templates?
Templates
rock.
I want to
create it!
Also consider what
visual elements you
want to add: graphs,
text, externally hosted
images to inform your
platform choice.
Piktochart Infogr.am
Ease.lyInkscape
Some programs make it
easy to download your
image, while others
make it trickier.
Consider what format
you need.

12. Prescriptive:
Tell an interactive,
moving story that the
user clicks through
Data exploration:
using a number of filter
features and clickable
options for the user to
customize their experience
Is your goal to be
prescriptive or promote
data exploration?
Interactive

13. Prescriptive Data exploration
Is the interactive feature
you want to make a map?
This is important,
because it can drive
what you can do without
hiring an external firm
(which can always be
considered).
Not much.
Tableau
Public
How much coding
expertise do you have?Yes!
Work with that
person to map out
your options.
Drupal, HighCharts,
and other code-
driven platforms
are really powerful.
Do you have a GIS team who
should be working on this?
Mapbox
Google
Maps
Talk to them first – they
have great tools like
ArcGIS and technical
expertise in this space.
Sure do!
Nope.
Lots!
No
Prezi

14. Short message
“Happy holidays from JSI!”
Story about major
achievement(s)
End of project video
Moving Powerpoint
/ Simple Animation
e.g. DELIVER end of year
What kind of story is this
video trying to share?
Video
Videos are great, but are
usually the most costly
of the three options.
Will making a video help
meet your needs in
unique ways?
PowToon
GoAnimate
PreziUse a designer.
This sounds important.
Vine

15. Which gives us…

16. A few friendly reminders
when working with our
awesome graphic
designers…
Copy edit your content
before sending it to a
designer. They’ll usually
use your text as-is.
Designers have different
skill sets: find one who’s
great at creating your
product type.

17. Thank you!
Datavizhub.co dataviz@jsi.com
To join JSI’s internal interest group on data visualization,
email HelpDesk and ask to be added to dataviz.