How do you tell a compelling story with your data visualization?

1 Know your audience

Before you start designing your data visualization, you need to understand who your audience is, what they care about, and what they need to know. This will help you tailor your message, tone, and style to suit their preferences and expectations. For example, if you are presenting to a technical audience, you might use more detailed and sophisticated charts and terminology, while if you are presenting to a general audience, you might use simpler and more accessible visuals and language.

2 Choose the right format

The format of your data visualization should match the purpose and context of your story. Depending on what you want to show and how you want to show it, you might use different types of charts, such as bar charts, line charts, pie charts, maps, or scatter plots. You might also use interactive or static elements, depending on how much control and exploration you want to give to your audience. For example, if you want to show a trend over time, you might use a line chart, while if you want to show a comparison of proportions, you might use a pie chart.

3 Use design principles

Designing data visualizations should follow some basic principles to ensure clarity, consistency, and aesthetics. Colors, shapes, and sizes should be used to highlight and contrast important information, but without being too many or flashy to distract or confuse your audience. Labels, titles, legends, and annotations should be used to provide context and explanation, but without cluttering or overlapping with the data. Scales, axes, and grids should be used to show the range and distribution of the data, but without misleading or inconsistent elements that might distort or misrepresent the data. White space, alignment, and balance should be used to create a visual hierarchy and harmony, but without too much or too little that might create gaps or crowding.

4 Tell a story

Data visualizations should not only present the data, but also tell a story that resonates with the audience’s interests, emotions, and actions. To do this, you should have a clear and concise main message that summarizes the main takeaway of your data visualization. Additionally, your data visualization should have a logical and coherent structure that guides the audience through it. Moreover, it should have a narrative and engaging tone that captures the audience's attention and curiosity. Lastly, you should strive for a relevant and impactful outcome that shows the implications or consequences of the data visualization for the audience or the world.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?