By David Wisniowski
Data visualization and storytelling have always been key pillars of the market research industry. As a student, many of my classes were focused on interpreting data into a story, and visualizing that story for prospective clients.
There are some great examples of data visualization out there, which do, in and of themselves tell a story. However, when done poorly, the pseudo-science/art of data visualization gets lost in translation. A perfect example of this can be seen in an excerpt from the 90s UK mockumentary series Brass Eye. Here, Chris Morris takes a comedic jab at the fancy graphics and visual aids that serve little purpose yet are found everywhere in journalism and documentaries.
While it’s clear that there are some glaring issues with the video above, I found some similarities between it, and when I personally began to visualize data. What I originally thought would have been a simple exercise, started to take on new depth and quality of meaning when combining telling a story with visualizing data for others. Below is my first attempt at visualizing data, which was also a small assignment for my advanced methods and special procedures class.
During the presentation, I tried to make sure everyone ‘got the joke’, but I do now see problems with this graph. It’s too dark. The font is wonky. The gradient serves its purpose but disappears too quickly. It was clear that I needed help in how I visualize my data, which is when I enrolled in an Intro to Adobe class at the Toronto Learning Annex.
Which brings me to the dreaded ‘infographic’. I can see why this medium has taken off in our industry. Usually an infographic can tell a linear story, while presenting data in clever and interesting ways. When I took the course, I didn’t know how big of a buzzword ‘infographic’ was in our industry, and how valuable the skill of designing one has become for a research analyst. I participated in the workshop with two of my classmates, and to this day, we still construct infographics for our internships.
Now, I don’t particularly enjoy creating infographics, in fact, I don’t really like doing it at all. I often get frustrated with the programs I use and how my ‘mind’s eye’ sees something completely different than what shows up on my computer screen. I tell myself ‘I’m not a graphic designer. Why am I doing this?’ But, thinking back on my experiences, I think maybe I am a graphic designer. Well, not a trained graphic designer, and not just myself either, but everyone in the market research industry.
What I love about this field is that it combines art and science to serve a functional purpose. And, really, an infographic does the same thing. Researchers visualize their data through word clouds, graphs, fragments of stories, and what an infographic does it puts all of those things together for us. Many have specific themes, and utilize design to display content.
I believe being taught the basics of data visualization has given me an advantage in the field. I’ve actually gotten a little addicted to it. My resumes are infographics, I make them work, I actually use them all the time. I think it’s something that every researcher should know how to do.
Infographics tell a story, yes, but they are not the only means of data visualization around today. This link will redirect you to a Buzzfeed article which uses data visualization to map out the year 2012 in the USA. While some of them are complex or even convoluted at times (I’m a big fan of the K.I.S.S. method), others are pure works of art. I wouldn’t mind framing a couple and keeping them on display in my (corner?) office of the future.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that data visualization, while ‘cool’ right now in all industries, really belongs to us as researchers. No one can interpret trends and statistical measures quite as well as we can. Authors tell stories. Artists paint pictures. Scientists chart data. But we do it all. The infographic is a great vessel for getting our story across, but we should also be on the lookout for even more immersive methods.