Charts and graphs are the most common way to visualise data. Tools like Excel and Google Sheets may well be able to handle everything you need, and you may be familiar with them already. 

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GOOD FOR:

• Summarising information in an easy-to-understand format

• Making comparisons

• Highlighting key values 

• Displaying relative proportions or numbers of different categories

EXAMPLES:

• Datawrapper charts are embeddable or downloadable, meaning that the data can be downloaded and that the charts are interactive. You can see some in their regular blog series, including this one, on the hottest 24 February in Germany since records began.

  • Just another hottest day ever in February - Datawrapper Blog

• Watch this animated chart from the Centre for Biological Diversity’s Save the Monarch’s campaign.

  • Help Save Western Monarchs From Extinction

• Check out this catalogue of data visualizations that also lets you know what each type of chart is best for different types of functions i.e. showing progress over time, comparisons etc.

  • https://datavizcatalogue.com/

Infographics are ways to present data in a simple way, focusing on the numbers. Narrative infographics are when you share the numbers alongside the story. 

The example we have to the right is a mix of both. It could be simplified to be just a number-focused infographic, but there was some richness in the qualitative data that the creator wanted to keep. 

A good infographic should be simple to understand; it should tell your story; and it should look good. There are lots of templates and design tools to help anyone, even the least digitally literate person, get creative online. 

GOOD FOR

• Making a lengthy text easy to read

• Sharing important information in a visual and easier to digest way

• Highlighting interesting or surprising findings

• Delivering your key message

EXAMPLES

• See this very early example of infographics by W. E. B. Du Bois (1900) on the Public Domain Review. 

  • W. E. B. Du Bois’ Hand-Drawn Infographics of African-American Life (1900)    

• Shelter, a UK homelessness and housing charity, created this GIF to inform its audience in Twitter of the decrease of new homes being built and to encourage its audience to sign a petition.

  • Shelter on Twitter / X

• Published in National Geographic, the award-winning infographic Cosmic Journeys mapped 50 years of space exploration.

  • http://www.5wgraphics.com/img/newsletter/50-years-of-exploration.jpg

A timeline represents a series of data or events in chronological order. It can set out changes over time or map out a series of events in the order in which they happened. The scale might be constant or it might change (e.g. be condensed in certain places to show a longer passage of time).

GOOD FOR

• Showing the order of events (sequence)

• Demonstrating changes or trends over time

EXAMPLES

• A timeline of Apple products and their improved energy usage over time (Image from Apple.com/environment, apparently derived from an original Apple image Environment )

• A timeline of the Museum of the World created by the British Museum

A map is a visual representation of information that’s based on locations. Map infographics are commonly used to transform geographical data into location-based stories that people can easily read, understand and engage with.

GOOD FOR

• Displaying spatial distribution

• Showing geographical trends 

• Demonstrating impact across regions

• Telling a story that involves multiple locations or a journey 

EXAMPLES

• The interactive map below from Refugee Republic provides a visual and audio tour through everyday life in Domiz Camp, a Syrian refugee camp in northern Iraq. The narrative is aided by first-hand accounts and stories from refugees 

• The interactive map created by Dr Natalia Grincheva - ‘Museum Soft Power Map’ - visualises one institution’s soft power, based on a number of ratings and criteria and its connections across the globe. Use the resource here http://victoriasoftware.com/demo/ and read more about it:Deep Mapping: Creating a Dynamic Web Application Museum

Graphic illustration is an increasingly common way to illustrate what can be complex stories in simple ways. We asked graphic illustrator Magda Rysuje to capture what we discussed about Phase three in one of our Impact Community webinars. You can watch the timelapse of the drawing on Europeana’s Youtube Playlist. 

Be creative! You might want to draw your own perspectives or summary of your key findings or narrative, like Lisa Charlotte Ross has done on Datawrapper’s blog.

In our Impact Community webinar dedicated to Phase three, Magda led us through a simple drawing exercise to highlight our own creative possibilities. Influencers on Instagram are also telling short, impactful stories through simple illustration: check out Mari Andrews on Instagram for her simple but effective illustrations.

Development organisations like the World Food Programme are exploring how they can use imagery and the visualisation of data so that it is seen and used to the greatest degree possible. You can watch this video on Youtube developed to explore EvaluVision, the methodology the World Food Programme has developed. You can also see more in their publication from April 2021: ‘EvaluVision How visual thinking improves evaluation use and influence’.