Telling Compelling Data Stories on Mobile
A new communication paradigm to better engage your audience on mobile devices
How can we encourage non-data-experts to take the right actions based on insights from data? The way to reach and inspire this audience, is to provide notable, memorable stories derived from data exploration.
To accomplish this, we at Pointcast.io have developed a new communication paradigm based on our profound experience with dashboards considering the needs of the information age.
“Stories that capture our attention cause us to emotionally connect with others and feel motivated to embark on a course of action.” —Nancy Duarte, author of DataStory
A long way from data to action
With the rise of the dashboard technologies over the last years, data owners are providing access to numerous interactive Business Intelligence (BI) tools to their audiences. These dashboards enable users to explore different aspects of the data. The BI tools provide many possibilities to navigate through all the dimensions. No doubt, these applications are indispensable for data analysts. Nevertheless, our experience has shown, that users who are not engaged with the data on a regular basis, like managers, have difficulties to gather insights within reasonable time.
Data exploration is not enough. It takes data explanation to drive actions.
Leaders need effective and efficient reports that tell them what they need to know to make the right decisions, to take specific actions. Practice shows, that the managers are not gaining enough insights from data, unless their business analysts are writing summaries with the key findings for them.
Today, in the process from data to action, the exploration part is well covered but when it comes to explaining the data, there is a void. The link from the analytical work to summarizing the insights in a concise, catching story, is usually missing.
The challenge
While data and its complexity are growing at a fast pace, the attention span of information consumers in the digital age is diminishing. This striking divergence requires an intelligent communication concept to deliver meaningful data stories.
How are data stories told? From many interviews with managers we have learned, that today, critical information is expected to be delivered to them, preferably pushed to their mobile devices. But how do we best present insights gained from complex data on small mobile screens?
The user interaction on desktop and on mobile devices are profoundly different. What works on a wide screen does not necessarily work on a mobile phone. On mobile devices, we expect the fastest possible information perception with as little cognitive load involved as possible. What makes our brains absorb information faster and makes it memorize better?
A good story flow sticks far better than single, non-related facts. That means, stories told with short, concise narrative elements tend to get attention. In addition, supporting visuals are sharpening the focus and help to understand faster and to remember things longer.
Data-driven storytelling as the combination of narratives and data visualization on mobile devices is quite challenging because of the limited display size. To address all requirements of cognitive information perception and mobile user experience, it takes a new, clear and consistent concept.
Mobile data storytelling
Captivating mobile data stories require a clear structure. Their central elements are concise narratives combined with comprehensive visualizations.
Structure
The structure should allow at the same time a continuous reading flow and quick browsing. To enable both user approaches, we structure the content in scenes which represent the main chapters. Each scene contains several frames with small information entities. To follow the entire data story, users go from one frame to the next.
Narratives
Data without context remains meaningless. The insights from the data are put in context and told in short, concise text sections. The narratives are the red thread through the data-story.
To ensure faster perception and better memory, each text section is directly linked to a supporting visual. The visual representation plays a crucial role in the story telling process. Each combination of text and visual forms a frame.
Data visualization
To support the narratives, data visualizations for mobiles must be designed thoroughly to fulfill their deeds. When it comes to visual support, especially on small screens, there is a very narrow dividing line between increasing information value and bringing confusion. To increase information value, the following aspects must be considered:
Chart selection
For visual storytelling, we need to choose graphics that are able to explain visually with a focus on the main topic. Charts and diagrams mustn’t be fancy; above all, they must deliver information at a glimpse. Classic charts like line charts are very easy to read and are therefore most often better than complex charts. So always strive for simplicity and clarity.
Choosing classic visualization does not imply, that they don’t have to be carefully crafted — especially in the context of mobile devices.
Reduction
There is always a very restricted space for visual elements. Therefore, space must be used very economically. Above all, this requires eliminating all unnecessary elements like borders, grids or axis lines.
“Clutter is your enemy. What matters most when it comes to our visual communication is the perceived cognitive load on the part of our audience.”
Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, Storytelling with data
The first move towards simplicity is to remove all data points which are not absolutely necessary to visualize a statement.
Annotations
Charts allow to compare different data dimensions at a glance. But estimating the value of a chart element takes more cognitive processing. For instance, if a user has to quantify the lengths of a bar in a chart with the help of a scale, this process is time consuming and the result is usually not very accurate. To make the life of the user easier, it is better to add annotations and indicate the exact figures. Annotations can not only be used for a single data point but also to highlight sections or to add complementary information such as subtotals, limits or additional explanation.
Amplification
In addition to annotations, the user’s attention can be drawn to specific aspects by using dedicated highlights. The easiest way to set amplifications is by outlining certain visual elements with a highlight color. A different approach is to apply geometric elements like a circle to set an accent.
Animation
The use of animations in data-stories has become a widely discussed topic. Using an animation to visualize changes over time has a wonderful effect but makes it hard for the user focus on the area of interest without guidance. Nevertheless, animations can be very effective when used for transitions between different datasets because it helps the user maintain context.
The missing link
Our experience has shown that not only for newspaper readers but also by studying articles on mobile devices, the reader is regularly facing the same problem: The connection from narratives to visuals is not easily made.
In newspapers, the eyes must continuously switch between text and graphics. By doing so, the users are often struggling to return to the right text passage. On mobile applications, text and visuals are usually strictly separated. Due to the limited space either the text or the graphics are shown, not both at the same time.
For efficient data story consumption on mobile devices, direct linking between text and visuals is mandatory. Our usability tests have shown, that a strict allocation of the screen space between text and visuals considerably improves information perception. Each text section is directly linked to a frame which contains the supporting visual. By selecting a new text section, the according visualization is always shown. The graphic can contain complementary information, or it can emphasize the text information by setting highlights.
User Interaction — ‘Scrollytelling’
Listening to the users always pays off. Therefore, we have developed and tested different ways of user interaction and asked users for feedback. The result was clear: the most valued user paradigm was the scrolling.
Therefore, our data stories are using ‘scrollytelling’. When scrolling the story text, the according frame with the supporting visual is automatically activated as soon as the text touches a specific region of the screen. This approach ensures a smooth change from one frame to the next. Based on this approach, the decision-makers can experience the visual data story by just scrolling.
If a user wants to skip frames, he or she can take shortcuts by swiping directly from one scene to the next.
Conclusion
We see a strong demand in mobile data stories within the companies.
Mobile data stories are a useful addition to dashboards. They make sure, that the investments made in the BI tools are finally bearing fruit by ultimately reaching the audience and engaging managers to make well-informed decisions.
The high density of information in mobile data stories is directly targeting the fact, that time is the most valuable asset that executives have.
At Pointcast.io, we’ve seen that mobile data stories not only help communicate with executives, but also with employees, partners and customers. Delivering successful data stories requires not only advanced technology, but also people who can tell compelling data stories. There is a great opportunity for data journalists to build effective data stories beyond dashboard land.
