Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Storytelling
Handbook
Table of Contents
Introduction page 3
Introduction
Page 2
1 2 3 4 5
The Art of Data Storytelling Know Your Purpose Craft Your Message Storytelling Assets Protips
Page 4 and Data Page 14 Page 18 Page 46
Page 9
Outro page 48
Welcome to your story.
Every story is unique. Its an opportunity to inspire, advise or enlighten. We want you to
discover the story hidden within your data, so you can become the author that ignites
imaginations and turns information into knowledge.
You will be taken beyond your spreadsheets and presentations, and taught how
to create compelling data visualizations. In this document you will discover how to
approach your data, how to make the most of elements within data storytelling, and
decide which visualizations tell your audience the best story.
1 97.2
The Art of
Data Storytelling
182.1
In 2015s IBM Smarter Planet Report it says that, 90% of the data in the world today has been
created in the last two years alone. The majority of that data is visual and most people dont
know how to present it. The opportunity lies in becoming better visual storytellers and utilizing the
data to illuminate the message.
Visual
distinguish a point from others? Do changes
Grouping in the cue allow you to group data points?
Perception
Measurement
Can you make a numeric observation from
a change?
Perception 2D position,
example: scatter plot
2D position,
example: line chart
Bars/Columns Boxes
2D position + length, 2D position + length (unlike bars, show
example: bar chart distribution of an entire set of values)
example: bar chart
2.1
3.7
2 Know Your
Purpose and Data
Dimensions
(Categorical)
Categorical
PRODUCT TYPE
The dimension Product
Type may include the
(Also called nominal) values Mens Clothing
for discrete values. and Womens Clothing.
VALUE VALUE
Dimensions
A dimension reflecting
Ordinal the outcome of a survey
Dimensions constitute categorical data result may include the
The dimension
such as year, product, country and members have a set
values Agree, Neutral,
Disagree that have an
salary range. default order. implicit order.
AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE
18%
3 Craft Your
21 %
7%
Message
10%
10%
22%
28%
20%
story to tell your audience. It What is your overall 2. What kind of relationships exist
is time to craft that message goal of your data in your data? What are the best
and discover which viz best analysis? techniques for displaying these?
Do you need a chart (overview), a
articulates your information.
table (details), or maybe both, to
convey your message?
2. 3. Can you highlight specific data
Who is this message points to better get your message
across?
intended for? What
do you know about 4. How can you incorporate a
your audience? summary of your message in your
chart titles to emphasize on your
overall message?
Audience
Communicating in this way means there is no need for explanation on top
of the visualizations. It is also important to note that just because you have
good visualizations that doesnt necessarily mean you have a good visual
story. Reward your audience with the experience and knowledge that led
them to your story in the first place.
5.3
4
4.1
24.9
Storytelling
Assets
18.1
8.4
Dont forget no one
else sees the world the
way you do, so no one
else can tell the stories
that you have to tell.
Because every story is unique what you use to tell it should be
unique and specific to your story. Choose your tools carefully they
will be the plate your knowledge is served on. Heres how to select
the right chart type based on the goal of your message.
Selecting the Right Visualizations
Correlation Geographical
Distribution Overview
Shows, whether there is a
Information and Maps
Shows how a measure is Shows the exact values in
potential correlation between Shows the geographical
spread across its domain table format
two measures distribution of measure values
Focus Areas
Line and Area Chart Bar Chart
Sales revenue in 2012 - 2014
Line and
Area Chart
Suggestions
The Line Chart displays measures over a time period.
Line Charts are used frequently to show trends and 1.
relationships between them. The Y-Axis always shows Create a time hierarchy to
a measure value, and the X-Axis denotes a time allow drilling up or down to
dimension such as Month, Quarter, or Year. Days, Months, and Years
2.
Used for The impact of different product lines by sales
Add a moving average line to
revenue in 2012 - 2014
smooth the trend over time
Trends
Data over time
3.
Temporal patterns and correlation
Add a forecast or linear
Period-over-period
regression to emphasize
current or future trends
4.
Consider an Area Chart for
showing cumulative totals
Used for 2.
Other options for showing
Trends
change over time include Bar
Data over time
Charts or Tables.
Temporal patterns and correlation
Focus Areas
Bar Chart Trellis
Number of ships the company possesses based on
entities they transport
1.50M
$1,086,655.70
The Trellis Layout, also known as Small Multiples, 1.00M
Focus Area
Bar Chart
Ranking
Number of participants from top 10 countries in a design contest
The Ranking feature in SAP Lumira allows the user
to sort and filter data based on their importance. For
example, we may want to sort Countries based on
their Number of Participants. The Group by Selection
functionality in the Prepare Room can be used in order
to group values in SAP Lumira.
Focus Areas
Bar Chart Stacked Bar Chart Pie Chart
Part-to-Whole
Percentage of items sold for each product line in 2012 - 2014
Suggestions
Used for
A Part-to-Whole relationship shows how measure values that
1.
You can use stacked or side-
make up the whole of something (for example, Number of
by-side bars to compare
containers sold) compare to one another and how they each
different hierarchy levels
compare to the whole.
(Country Region) or
classifications (Mens Clothing,
Womens Clothing).
2.
You can use a 100% Stacked
Bar Chart (or Marimekko
Chart) to show the portion that
each segment makes up in a
category.
3.
In addition to Stacked Bar
Charts and Marimekko Charts,
other charts (such as pie, ring,
and funnel charts) can be
used to show Part-to-Whole
relationships.
4.
Compare with using a bar
chart or ring (donut) chart
the viewer is more likely to
perceive the length of a bar
over the size of angular slices
Focus Areas
Histogram Box Plot Heat and Tree Map
Histogram
and Binning
Number of prescription drugs sold in a pharmacy
across different age groups
2.
Show distribution of medians
in data
3.
Include a reference line for the
overall median in your data
650
1.
Month
Used for No value
Only use this if the resulting
Showing the distribution of measure values
Heat Map shows visibly
different color intensities (it will
confuse the viewer if the heat
map segments are of similar
color intensities).
Focus Areas
Scatter Plot Trellis
Scatter Plot
Countries with higher household income have higher
population growth
Focus Area
Table
Table
You can find the Table as one of the visualization types
in the Visualize Room.
Suggestions
Drug and alcohol usage had a significant impact on fatal injuries in the
United States in 2011 1.
Used for Drug and alcohol usage had a significant impact on fatal injuries in the United States in 2011 Best for showing exact values
Show multiple measures in one or two categories
2.
Measures
or hierarchies
Accidents Accidents Involving Drugs Average Blood Alcohol Content
Injury Severity Gender Often charts and Tables are
Fatal Injury Female 716 39 0.05 shown on the same page,
Male 1,603 108 0.08 as they emphasize different
Incapacitating Injury Female 227 8 0.02 aspects
Male 356 10 0.05
4.
Setting the correct precision
(number formatting) for
measures included in a Table
is paramount in order to not
overload the user
Focus Areas
Choropleth Chart Geo Bubble Chart
Choropleth
Map Unemployment percentage across different states in the Suggestions
United States in 2014
1.
Unemployment
Use the Choropleth Map for
A Choropleth Map uses differences in shading, 0.13
locations of similar size, as the
coloring, or the placing of symbols within predefined
0.11 size of the area coloured may
regions to indicate measure values in those areas.
0.09 overemphasize larger areas
(for example, Canada covers a
Used for 0.07
much larger area than Japan
0.05
despite being much smaller in
Supports location-based comparisons of standardized data
0.03 terms of population)
such as Rates, Densities, or Percentages
2.
Make sure your measure
values are normalized by the
geographic properties, for
example, by the population of
a geographic area
3.
Remember that the granularity
of your regions (counties, for
example) will impact the signal
(aggregated measure values)
from your data.
Used for 1.
Use to show values on a map
Viewing a measure by Country, Region, or City; comparing and to create an animation
measures across different geographic areas over time
2.
Use Geo Bubble or Pie Charts
on maps to show measure
values if the relative size of the
underlying regions cannot be
compared
57%
42%
38%
19%
7. 8. 9.
Use sparklines to show trends Show time going from left to Use color only to highlight
on the X-axis. right on the X-axis. or accentuate meaning.
44 Chapter 5: Protips
Tell the world
your data story.
Your visual mind is a powerful asset and unshakable ally for the
discovery, exploration, and presentation of ideas. With simple pictures,
a little practice, and solid tools, you can turn data into information,
information into insight, and insight into action. If you want to look like
a data visualization genius, simply leverage the genius of the visual
mind and create stories driven by truth, inspired by curiosity.
44 Chapter 5: Protips
Tell better
data stories.
Download your free 30 day trial today at:
www.saplumira.com/30daytrial
44 Chapter 5: Protips