Designing Data Visualizations
to Successfully Tell a Story

Think Like a Designer

Cédric Scherer // posit::conf // September 2023

Gestalt Principles

A (varying) set of principles that describe how humans perceive and make sense
of visual information and stimuli.

Principle of Figure and Ground


Principle of Proximity


Principle of Similarity


Principle of Common Region


Principles of Continuity and Closure


Principle of Figure and Ground

Principle of Figure and Ground

Principle of Closure

Principle of Closure

Principle of Closure

Principle of Similarity

Principle of Similarity

Principle of Proximity

Principle of Proximity

Principle of Connectivity

Principle of Connectivity

Eliminating Distractions 

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!

Declutter!


Exercise

Exercise 1

Eliminate the clutter from the line chart on the next slide.

Afterwards, answer the following:

  • What is the main message?
  • Is all the data relevant?
  • What would you change?
  • How can you emphasize the main message?

Emphasizing Insights 

Source: “Where’s Waldo?” by Martin Handford © Kilburn & Strode LLP

Source: “Where’s Waldo?” by Martin Handford © Kilburn & Strode LLP

Preattentive Attributes

Visual properties that the human brain can instantly and subconsciously perceive.



Adapted from Stephen Few and others



Creating Compositions 

Main Principles of Graphic Design


    → Unity
    → Variety
    → Hierarchy


The balance between unity and variety can lead to hierarchy.

Created by Lindsay Betzendahl

Created by Lindsay Betzendahl


Source: Ernest & Young


Reworked version of the charts by Ernest & Young


Reworked version of the charts by Ernest & Young


Source: Credit Suisse


Reworked version of the table by Credit Suisse


Reworked version of the table by Credit Suisse

Alignment & Layout

Alignment in Charts

Alignment in Charts

Alignment in Charts

Alignment in Charts

Alignment in Charts

Alignment in Charts

Alignment in Charts

Alignment in Charts

Alignment in Charts

Modular Design


Source: londonphotography.org.uk


Modified example from Fabio Crameri


“Turbo, An Improved Rainbow Colormap for Visualization” by Anton Mikhailov (Google Research)

Be Consistent



Source: Lisa Charlotte Muth, DataWrapper Blog

Use Intuitive Colors (?)



Source: Lisa Charlotte Muth, DataWrapper Blog

Use Intuitive Colors (?)



Source: Lisa Charlotte Muth, DataWrapper Blog

Source: Vivid Maps

Source: Vivid Maps

Design with the Colorblind in Mind

Source: “Fundamentals of Data Visualization” by Claus O. Wilke

Design with the Colorblind in Mind

Source: “Fundamentals of Data Visualization” by Claus O. Wilke

Contribution to the SWDchallenge by Alex Varlamoff — tested with a color-blindness simulator

Contribution to the SWDchallenge by Alex Varlamoff — tested with a color-blindness simulator

The VizPalette tool tests color palettes for legibility for different chart types, line weights, backgrounds, and font colors.

The VizPalette tool tests color palettes for legibility for different chart types, line weights, backgrounds, and font colors.

The VizPalette tool tests color palettes for legibility for different chart types, line weights, backgrounds, and font colors.

The VizPalette tool tests color palettes for legibility for different chart types, line weights, backgrounds, and font colors.

The Myndex APCA Contrast Calculator displays modern contrast ratios for various combinations of text size and font weight

Source: Lisa Charlotte Muth, DataWrapper Blog

The Myndex APCA Contrast Calculator displays modern contrast ratios for various combinations of text size and font weight

The Myndex APCA Contrast Calculator displays modern contrast ratios for various combinations of text size and font weight

Source: Lisa Charlotte Muth, DataWrapper Blog

Source: Lisa Charlotte Muth, DataWrapper Blog

The Myndex APCA Contrast Calculator displays modern contrast ratios for various combinations of text size and font weight

The Myndex APCA Contrast Calculator displays modern contrast ratios for various combinations of text size and font weight

Viridis colors, tested with VizPalette

Source: “Fundamentals of Data Visualization” by Claus O. Wilke





Source: Lisa Charlotte Muth, DataWrapper Blog



Source: Lisa Charlotte Muth, DataWrapper Blog

The 1Il Test


The 1Il Test


Exercise

Exercise 2

Revisit the line chart from exercise 1 of the first session.

  • What are preattentive attributes used in this graphic?
  • How do you like the layout and alignment of the graphic? Is there anything you would change?


Revisit the pie chart from exercise 1 of the first session.

  • Which design decisions are potentially problematic?
  • How could you use preattentive attributes to tell a story using the same data?

Source: “Yearly Fluctuations in Area of Arctic Covered by Ice” by Derek Watkins (New York Times)

Source: Dr. Robert Rohde (Tweet)

Cédric Scherer // posit::conf(2023)