- [Narrator] Some people love books, others love movies,
and still others are drawn to songs or pieces of art.
The common thread
in experiencing all of these works is storytelling.
Each makes you feel something,
and often they can teach you something too,
and just like one person's story can be the inspiration
for a book and a musical,
there are many ways to tell a statistical story,
charts, tables, distributions, graphs, and infographics.
These graphic representations of data are used
to try and motivate people to do all sorts of things.
Donate money, use less energy, and eat healthier foods.
Sometimes these data illustrations are convincing,
but others don't make much of an impact.
So let's consider the elements used
to create statistical stories that make an impact.
Color.
Used correctly,
color can be used to help the audience compare differences
in outcomes or differences between groups being compared.
Then again, used incorrectly,
color can be confusing or dull.
Circles and rectangles can be used in pie charts,
bar graphs,
and they're also useful in demonstrating magnitude.
Simple shapes help you communicate with a wide audience.
Perhaps try and incorporate the data theme into your visual.
If you're studying disease,
perhaps consider using the human body
or a map to help illustrate the data.
Often, we're comparing data collected over periods of time.
Try to find interesting ways to show the passage of time.
In other cases, we try and use data to predict the future.
Consider how you can illustrate a wide range of outcomes.
For example, use colorful shading.
Perhaps use multiple lines for each outcome,
and don't forget, distribution charts are great
for showing a range of possibilities.
It often takes a lot of effort
to create an interactive infographic,
but allowing the user
to enter their specific input can help illustrate a story
that is meaningful to that specific user.
When done well,
people will enjoy trying different scenarios,
and people will also likely share this type
of interactive infographic
with their friends and colleagues.
We encounter illustrations of data
in our lives multiple times each day.
Many of them, we gloss over and barely consider.
As you look to make an impact with data and statistics,
be sure to consider the many artistic tools
and elements at your disposal.