Co-presentation from Helen Baxter, Mohawk Media and Colin Jackson, Knoware.

I'm Helen Baxter from Mohawk Media and we produce infographics, animation and data driven storytelling.
 
I'm Colin Jackson from Knoware - we are a specialist SAS consultancy, and we also do analytics and data management.
 
HB: Some of you may have heard us on Radio New Zealand, sharing technology and science stories, and trying to predict the future based on the data of today. We're going to tell you a story about storytelling.

CJ: Let's take a moment to consider the word statistics
 
It comes from the word “state”. Originally it meant the collection of demographic and economic data by states. Of course, it now means extracting meaning from data generally, but governments are still very big players in the collection and use of statistics.
 
We all know data is not knowledge. So how do you get from one to the other, that's where storytelling comes in. This is how humans take in information from their environment and take action. Getting change as a result - how do you do this?
 
HB: This quote from the Minister of Statistics New Zealand Craig Foss, is about the Wellington 150 years infographic that we produced at Mohawk Media.
 
What I found of most interest in this project is that the second most commonly spoken language in Wellington after English, is French. Showing how cosmopolitan we are in the Kiwi capital.

HB: So, what are infographics?
 
Infographics are graphical presentations of data that clearly tell a story, highlight key information and enable you AND your audience to make the right decisions, at the right time.
 
Infographics are a powerful communications tool to show context and perspective. They are shareable, and embeddable into different types of digital content.
 
Infographics can provide a visual executive summary of surveys and reports, allowing you to graphically highlight the most important points.
 
They can contain elements or slices of data than can be remixed and re-purposed into multiple formats, allowing for cross-channel publishing or free-range storytelling as I like to call it.
 
Infographics help increase attention and retention of information, and online content with graphics attracts more views than text alone.

They help you see the big picture and drill down into the details, and are becoming an expected part of a modern communications toolkit.

CJ: It's not just enough to put data in a chart or graph, though. Edward Tufte - Google him if you're not aware of him - is a world-famous expert in information design.
 
He has some very cutting things to say about many data presentations we see every day - for instance, he coined the terms chart-junk, data-to-ink ratio and, perhaps best of all, the lie factor.
 
He has some particularly acerbic comments about Powerpoint.

CJ: Tufte's cites this early example of an infographic which was created by French civil engineer Charles Minard in 1869.
 
It shows the Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, which of course didn't end very well. As we all know, the Russians adopted their tactic of withdrawing into the interior and waiting for winter, and Napoleon's army was eventually forced to retreat.
 
This presentation shows the path taken by his army. It shows that infographics are not a new thing.
 
You could show this as a data set - but you wouldn't see the shape of the the data.

What does this mean for presenting data for decision-making? We need to make data engaging by adding colour, shape, context & meaning.
 
Above all we need to remember that this is about people. [Handover]

HB: Storytelling is what makes us human, and helps us make sense of the world.
 
It's how we engage with each other, share our information collectively and binds us together through culture.

As Steve Denning says, “Why storytelling? “Simple: nothing else works.”
 
Every story has a DNA, the underlying structure that turns data into meaningful, actionable intelligence. Stories are the medium through which ideas to spread, and every story is made of up of Data, Narrative and Audience.

http://lifehacker.com/5965703/the-science-of-storytelling-why-telling-a-sto...

HB: It's all starts with data, collections of statistics, analytics, models and scenarios.
 
It's a scientific process that I’m sure you are all familiar with. It's about choosing the right tools to provide you with the right insights for your audience.
 
But having the data is not enough, which is where the art of storytelling comes in.
 
As as creative agency you might think that start with doodles, but that fun part comes later, after we have an established a clear narrative drawn from the data.

HB: Narrative is the way our brains make sense of the world and how it works: a story being a set of links between facts, which make things easier to remember.
 
Narrative gives context, perspective and helps form long-term memories. History is simply a collection of narratives that have been recorded and shared for posterity.
 
Good infographics have a clear narrative pathway, and provide a guided tour of the information you are presenting in an engaging, human context.
 
When constructing a narrative consider what most people think when you presenting them with new information.‘So what? What's the point? and the big one, Why should I care?’

Before you can construct a compelling narrative that has meaning, you need to consider your audience.
 
Focus on an an audience of one. Who would be most interested in this story, and how can you tell it to them in the most engaging way? What do you want them to do as a result?
 
Focus on the outcomes, the behaviours, and changes you want. Ask yourself, What is the purpose? How can I add value?

How can this be applied... in the real world?

[handover]

CJ: So I have my audience of one. So what?
 
I need to extract the data and present the story in a way that it can continue to be told.
 
And that brings us to Visual Analytics and its cousin Visual Statistics.
 
These are excellent tools for digging into data and presenting results in interesting and insightful ways.
 
I'm going to show you a quick trip into exploring a dataset.

CJ: This example is doing some analysis on international visitors, with the objective to identify business opportunities for investment in tourism.
 
This is the result of our Data Scientist using VA to uncover useful information. As you’ve probably seen with VA you can get results very quickly, and this work was done in half a day.
 
Lets look a bit closer at some of the journey. International tourists visiting NZ. Topical, and everyone can easily relate to it.
 
The story could be that we’re looking to invest in tourism, and want to define our target market.

This dataset covers the number of visitors and expenditure.

First we looked at the number of visitors over the last year, broken down by where they came from.
 
We’ve heard China is a big market for New Zealand, and can see that is second to Australia.
 
We’ve also heard a lot about German tourists, but they’re only 8th on the list.

Then lets look at the total spend by each origin, and that shows Then lets look at the total spend by each origin, and that shows quite a different pattern.
 
Tourists from China are almost spending as much as Australia, with about a quarter of the visitors.
 
And now Germany becomes more interesting, as spending is quite high even with a lower number of visitors.

Let's take that further and calculate the spend per person.
 
Obviously it is more beneficial to deal with less people spending more money.
 
VA can do that calculation very quickly. And now we can show the spend per person by origin.
 
China is quite high by visitor, but Germany gets far more interesting here, now becoming the top spender by visitor.

Then we use a heat map to see if there are any trends by age, and two jump out quite clearly – the dark blue.
 
This shows 40-45 year old Chinese visitors spend a great deal in total, as do 30-34 year old Australians.
 
Why? We can't tell from the data but this highlight further research that may be required.

CJ: Anyone recognise the quote? The Princess Bride.
 
How can you sell a compelling story? Is selling such a bad thing?
 
It's about outcomes, it's not about forcing your product, it's about meeting a need.
 
Help them see things and get outcomes that work for both parties.
 
When you are presenting data, you are doing so for a reason. You may not see it as selling but that's often what you are doing with it.
 
You want someone to change their behaviour, or maybe make an investment, based on that presentation.

CJ: What is the difference between telling and selling?
 
That's the difference between a pure presentation of data and an infographic. It's the difference between providing facts and telling a story with meaning and relevance.
 
It's taking someone on a journey with you, helping them understand what you see clearly, and letting them make the right decision based on the facts.
 
That's why you need Visual Analytics, and its why you need to think about the design, the purpose, and often the use of infographics to help your audience understand....

[handover]

HB: If you want to explore the power of visual analytics, storytelling and infographics then email us.

colin.jackson@knoware.co.nz
helen@mohawkmedia.co.nz

http://www.knoware.co.nz

http://mohawkmedia.co.nz