#datavisualisation

Use and exploit your basic visual toolbox

Data visualization is all about converting data into meaningful and effective visual representations. In order to do so, you need to become familiar with your toolbox of visual assets like size, color, direction, etc. Don’t use all at once but choose and experiment to find the most effective for the task.

Part 7: We're in week 21 of the Hong Kong protests and more than half of all HKers now indicate having absolutely 0 trust in the police. My (not so) hot take for today: the real problem isn't actually the police.

Throughout my teenage and adult life I've always been fascinated by the mechanics of alienation. In fact, a large part of my undergraduate /and/ graduate thesis was about this. I can't imagine how alienated HKers must feel by now, considering literally every other person on the streets feels unrepresented by those charged with the task of protecting them, and wielding a monopoly on legal violence.

Les océans, décharges habitées

Datavisualisation autour des effets de la pollution plastique sur la faune marine

Collect, sort, analyze, visualize

These are the most important steps in data visualization (in most cases):

Collect the data. Which data is relevant?

Sort the data. How is the data connected?

Analyze the data. Are there any significant patterns? What is the story?

Visualize the data. How do we visualize the story most effectively?

Your infographic is too text-heavy

Nobody wants to read an infographic that is text-heavy. It kind of ruins the whole point of having an infographic in the first place.

Aim to use as little text as possible. In most cases, the less text you need to communicate your message the better. If you feel like you need a lot of text to get your message across, it may in fact point to a problem with your infographic.

Somethings are more important than others – Prioritize your content

The first thing to do with all your content is to get an overview. What is very important and what is less important? This basic prioritization is essential when scripting, sketching and designing. It sounds easy, but prioritizing is usually harder than it sounds. Making these choices requires a deep understanding of your content and the story you are trying to tell.