COVIZ-19 (aka Storytelling with Data)
This is part of the Class of COVID-19 series. To read more, click here.
“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten”
Rudyard Kipling
I was raised on stories. As a small child with an overactive imagination, books were the gateway to a million other worlds. They were a constant that stayed with me as I grew up and life got more complicated — both an education and an escape. I collect library cards like they’re gold dust: at the age of 28 I’ve lived in three cities but amassed membership to 43 libraries.
As a data analyst, most people think all my time is spent dealing with numbers. A lot of it is. But the coding and the number crunching is the easy part: where it gets more complex is knowing how to draw out the most interesting and salient points; to bring people on board; and to make them care about what’s going on. At the end of the day it comes back to crafting the numbers into compelling narratives that will help people understand exactly what’s going on. Sometimes that’s via a deck, or a paper, but often the best way to help people see the whole picture is — quite literally — with pictures.
For a lot of people, data visualisation mostly means bad Excel graphs with dodgy colour schemes and too much 3D rendering. But it can be so much more than that, particularly in the digital age. At a time when we are bombarded by news stories and mental load is high, good data visualisation can cut through the noise. The current pandemic has led to a wealth of creative ways of breaking down and serving up information.
Below are some of the best.
The John Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard
The John Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard provides a huge amount of information in a fairly traditional manner, but it does so very well. The most relevant information is highlighted, it’s rich in data, and the excess information is kept to a minimum. The quality is such that it’s used as a source for a number of other organisations reporting on the pandemic, such as the Financial Times.
The use of the dark background is unusual, but it’s not just a style point. The improved contrast makes the site more readable for low-vision users, and in countries where electricity is scarce, dark mode websites conserve battery life. When we talk about making data more accessible, it’s not just a case of making sure charts are understandable: it is accounting for individual and societal impairments.
An interactive history
This linear interactive data visualisation from the New York Times shows, with a mixture of text and pared back graphics, how the virus spread from Wuhan to the rest of the world and turned into a pandemic. Readers are able to scroll through the web page and discover the story at their own pace.
This is not the only strong data visualisation that The New York Times has produced recently: on 27th March, their front page used their full layout with devastating effectiveness to show how unemployment claims had skyrocketed the previous week.
A Cartoonist’s Guide to Social Distancing
This gif by New Zealand-based online magazine The Spinoff doesn’t include numbers, a scale or any data labels. In keeping with the best in data viz, however, it uses simply imagery to convey a powerful message.
A history of pandemics
While I’m not a fan of bubble graphs and their many variations when accuracy is key (does the radius represent scale? Is it the area? Oh god, they’ve made the whole thing 3D), they can be a useful way to tell a story when you care more about the gist.
This ‘History of Pandemics’ graph is a useful reminder of humans’ resiliency, and that at least we’re not living in 1350.
Sidewalks and social distancing
This map of New York City, created by urban planner and architect Meli Harvey, uses aerial photos from the NYC Open Data website to calculate sidewalk widths across the city. Hovering over certain sections — graded from red to green to blue — indicates whether the sidewalks are likely to be suitable for social distancing.
This is doesn’t slot nicely into the usual bar chart/line graph/scatter plot of traditional data visualisations, but — like the very best in data viz — it is easy to understand and adds a ton of value to the user.
Finding the silver linings
This visualisation by The Guardian shows a rare upside to the pandemic: a huge reduction in pollution in countries around the world.
Again, there are no numbers and the legend is pared back. The message, however, is instantly clear.
This is part of the Class of COVID-19 series. To read more, click here.
For other data distractions and plenty more visualisations, visit @thecolourofdata.
