The feeling you get from finally coming up with a workable idea is one of lightness and relief. That is, until you realise that’s just half the battle; the arduous journey of deciding on an execution still lies ahead. This is as much about what story you want to tell, as it is about visual design. This presentation delves behind the scenes of actual case studies and projects with a particular focus on answering the why, what, and how of data visualisation.

1. / @VickeKaravanVicke Cheung
How Visualising Data Helps Us See
Designing
Creative Content

2. We create pieces of
content to earn attention
for our clients

3. Getting coverage requires either:
1. breaking news
2. new insight

4. We tend to focus on:
1. breaking news
2. new insight

5. New insight means
allowing people to see
something in a new way

6. This is where
visualising data comes in

7. Simplifying the complex
Visualising data provides insight by

8. concerthotels.com/100-years-of-rock

9. wikipedia.org

10. wikipedia.org

12. We took a complex dataset

13. …and simplified it

14. concerthotels.com/100-years-of-rock
shortlisted for_______________________________________
featured in ___________________________________________
 122,708  8,366  558

15. Simplifying things makes it easier
to consume and draw insight

16. Putting things into context
Visualising data provides insight by

17. We aren’t good at wrapping our
heads around big numbers
:(

18. On average, there are
60 million photos uploaded
to Instagram each day

19. Impressive stat,
but pretty meaningless by itself

20. Let’s make it concrete!

21. photoworld.com/photos-on-the-web

22. Physical frames of reference
allow us to “see” the size of
Instagram in a new way

23. hereistoday.com
Monday 19, October

24. Give insight by putting
things into context

25. Fear not:
Putting things into context isn’t
about fancy animations

26. Simple static images can
do the job just as well
[more on this later…]

27. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14975549

28. howithappened.com

29. howithappened.com

30. Revealing patterns
Visualising data provides insight by

31. Can money buy happiness?

32. Data taken from Cabinet Office Wellbeing & Policy Report 2014

33. bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26671221
The BBC wrote an article about this

34. This was their insight
bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26671221

35. It’s hard to draw
insight from this

36. We wanted to do
more with it

37. michaelpage.co.uk/minisite/salary-vs-happiness

38. Curve of best fit

39. Plotting the data and the curve
allowed us to identify outliers

40. Outlying occupations

41. Outlying sectors

42. The interest is in the outliers,
which were only identifiable
through visualisation

43. Another great example of
revealing patterns and clusters…

44. nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/03/us/20110503-osama-response.html

47. Visualising the data
brought the hidden patterns
and relationships to light

48. One big caveat

49. Any data can be
visualised

50. But not all data
should be!

51. You need to know where
you’re adding value

52. Wow vs. Aha

53. You just listened to Wikipedia!

54. Listen to Wikipedia
listen.hatnote.com

55. The value is not to
learn about Wikipedia

56. The value lies in the novelty of
the execution and experience

57. This is “Wow”
listen.hatnote.com

58. “Isn’t this just lovely?”

59. “Well, this is mesmerising”

60. shows you something you’ve
literally never seen before
Wow

61. Moving on to
“Aha”

62. Data is easy to come by,
but insight is not

63. priceonomics.com/the-hipster-music-index

64. It shares insight by
applying a new meaning
to the two sets of data

65. huffingtonpost.com/benjamin-moore/overrated-underrated-movies_b_5319488.html

66. huffingtonpost.com/benjamin-moore/overrated-underrated-movies_b_5319488.html
overrated

67. huffingtonpost.com/benjamin-moore/overrated-underrated-movies_b_5319488.html
underrated

68. It’s about what they mean,
not how they look

69. This is “Aha”

70. shows you something
in a new light
Aha

71. “Wow” and “Aha” are
not often as clear-cut

72. The Wow & Aha Spectrum
Wow Aha

73. Listen to Wikipedia
The Wow & Aha Spectrum
Wow Aha

74. Hipster Music IndexListen to Wikipedia
The Wow & Aha Spectrum
Wow Aha

75. 100 Years of Rock
Listen to Wikipedia Hipster Music Index
The Wow & Aha Spectrum
Wow Aha

76. If you printed all the
Instagram photos…
Listen to Wikipedia Hipster Music Index
100 Years of Rock
The Wow & Aha Spectrum
Wow Aha

77. Listen to Wikipedia Hipster Music Index
100 Years of Rock
If you printed all the
Instagram photos…
Happiness vs.
Salary
The Wow & Aha Spectrum
Wow Aha

78. Listen to Wikipedia Hipster Music Index
100 Years of Rock
If you printed all the
Instagram photos…
Happiness vs.
Salary
The Wow & Aha Spectrum
Wow Aha

79. Regardless of what value
you choose to offer

80. Don’t make your audience
work for it

81. findproperly.co.uk/tube-map.php

82. Where’s the data?

83. Oh, didn’t even see that…

84. Still no actual prices!

85. …until you hover again

86. Don’t make your
audience work!

87. thrillist.com/lifestyle/london/london-underground-rent-map
Thrillist made their own version

88. It’s a big hit

89. It succeeded where
the other failed

90. Unnecessary
friction

91. Reward
doesn’t match
the effort
required

92. Tried to do
too much:
option-
overload

93. Overcooked
execution

94. Allows for quick
scanning and
locating
data points
of interest

95. No learning
curve

96. Reward
surpasses
effort required

97. Simple and
intuitive

98. It can be tempting to try to
do too much at once

99. What’s the one thing
you want to show?

100. Gender pay gap

101. V1.

102. V1.
Not showing the
one thing we want it to

103. V2.

105. Better, but
could still be improved

107. Pay gap made more obvious

108. Introduced visual metaphor

110. Ask yourself:
What’s the one thing I
want to show?

111. And follow up with:
Am I really showing this?

112. Sometimes you need to
show people how to see it

113. “The annotation layer is the
most important thing we do…
otherwise it’s a case of here
it is, you go figure it out”
Amanda Cox, NYT Graphics Editor

114. Annotation layer
=
labels, introductions,
explanatory text, captions

115. Surely the visualisation
itself is more important
than the annotations
anonymous sceptic

117. Indecipherable without annotations

118. nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/05/upshot/how-the-recession-reshaped-the-economy-in-255-charts.html?_r=0

119. Annotations can help you
deliver insight without making
your audience work for it

120. Recap

121. The value in visual content is in
helping people see things they
couldn’t previously see by…

122. Simplifying the complex

123. Putting things in context

124. Revealing patterns

125. Know where you’re adding value
Listen to Wikipedia Hipster Music Index
100 Years of Rock
If you printed all the
Instagram photos…
Happiness vs.
Salary
Wow Aha

126. Don’t make your
audience do the work
That’s your job!
But above all else…

127. Vicke Cheung, Distilled
Thank you!
vicke.cheung@distilled.net / @VickeKaravan