20  Presenting Visualizations

TODAY’S GOALS

  • Review principles for creating visuals for effective communication
  • Understand the expectations for orally presenting visualizations





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WHERE ARE WE?!? Data Storytelling





20.1 Warm-up

Effective communication = effective visuals + clear narrative

20.1.1 Effective visuals

Let’s review from the beginning of semester.

  • Professionalism
    • meaningful axis labels
    • figure caption
  • Accessibility
    • alternative text
    • color blind friendly colors
  • Design details
    • consider glyph choice
    • consider color choices
    • facilitate comparison
    • use contrasts to draw attention
  • Ethics
  • Don’t mislead
  • Consider visibility, privacy, power, emotion & embodiment, pluralism, context

Let’s consider a few other visuals. What is effective? What could be improved?

20.1.2 Clear narrative

When preparing to present a visualization, consider the following:

  • Motivation & Context
    • What is the question you are answering, and why is it important?
    • What data context does the audience need to understand the visual? (W’s?)
  • Orientation
    • What aspects of the visual should you explain to provide necessary orientation?
    • Walk through guides (axes, color legend, etc.)
  • Highlights
    • Hone in on one or two interesting data points and tell the story behind them.
    • Explain how the visual aspects of the viz reflect that story (this reinforces how they should interpret the viz).
  • Big Picture
    • What are the overall trends or takeaways?
    • What are the implications for them? Why does it matter?
    • What comparison are you wanting to highlight?

20.1.3 Presenting Visualizations

  • Speak slowly
    • It takes people some time to wrap their heads around a new viz.
  • Practice ahead of time with a friend. Practice by yourself. Refine the viz if necessary!

20.2 Exercises

At this point, your group should have data and a broad research question for your project.

  • Each individual in the group has or will calculate a numerical summary to write a draft One Number Story (draft due in class on Thursday 11/21)
  • Today, you’ll brainstorm ideas of creating a visual to tell a story with your data.

20.2.1 Exercise 1 - Confer with Group (~ 10 minutes)

Each person in a project group will make their own unique visualization. Talk with your group about your ideas for a visual.

20.2.2 Exercise 2 - Create a Visualization

Create 1 effective visualization from your project data that tells a story.

20.2.3 Exercise 3 - Group Feedback

Once you make a draft visual, share it with your group. Discuss ways to improve the visualization to make it more effective.

20.2.4 Exercise 4 - Prepare a Presentation

Prepare a 2 minute oral presentation (motivation, orientation, highlights, big picture) of your visualization.

Next week, in small groups of 4 people outside your project group,

  • you’ll present your visualization (2 minutes)
  • discuss as a group ways of improving the visualization to make it more effective (8 minutes)

Each of the 4 individuals will take a turn to present.

20.3 Wrap-up

  • Upcoming due dates
    • Thursday in class: Draft of One Number Story (we’ll do peer review in class)
      • If you are not in class, you must get feedback from a classmate and submit a reflection on the feedback to me via email.
    • Tuesday 11/26 in class: Present visual (submit to Moodle) and get peer feedback in class
      • If you are not in class, you must get feedback from a classmate and submit a reflection on the feedback to me via email.
    • Tuesday 11/26 end of day: Final One Number Story due (share with Brianna, submit link to Google Doc in Moodle)
      • Google Doc must be the same document as your draft; I will check version history to see changes based on peer feedback.