"Let's do some thinking about data visualisation thinking" talk given by Andy Kirk at the 'Data Visualization Group in the Bay Area' Meetup at the University of San Francisco, on Thursday 23rd October 2014 (http://www.meetup.com/visualizemydata/events/212438912/)

1. LET’S HAVE A THINK ABOUT
DATA VISUALISATION THINKING
Andy Kirk
@visualisingdata

3. Data visualisation specialist: Trainer, lecturer, researcher,
author, design consultant, speaker, twitterer...

4. Theories and techniques
Real-world practice

5. TALENT
THINKING

6. 5 ATTRIBUTES OF
GOOD VISUALISATION
THINKING

7. #1
ORGANISED
Sequenced thinking

8. 1. Establish the visualisation’s purpose
PRACTICAL
CREATIVE
2. Acquire, familiarise with and prepare
your data
3. Determine the editorial focus of your
subject matter
4. Conceive your design: data
representation and presentation
5. Construct and complete your design
solution

9. Recommended talk/project...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMB_6OeCEP8

10. Process but not procedure

11. “There's a strand of the data viz world that argues that
everything could be a bar chart. That's possibly true but
also possibly a world without joy”
Amanda Cox, New York Times
http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbreditors/2013/03/power_of_visualizations_aha_moment.html

12. Framework for thinking rather than rules for learning

13. Framework for thinking rather than rules for learning

14. Where to begin? What pathway to take?
http://www.mattneuman.com/maze.gif

15. Cohesion and flow of thinking

16. Organised thinking for visualisation
The most effective and efficient way to
sequence your thinking.

17. #2
Boring!
CONTEXTUAL
Framing our thinking

19. The influence of context
YOU ARE KAYAKING ALONG THE
COAST OF GREENLAND AND YOU
NEED A ‘CHART’ TO NAVIGATE
(HT to Mark Daggett @heavysixer)

20. Three options: Which is best?
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

21. It needs to cope with being wet
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

22. It needs to float
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

23. It needs to work in the dark
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

24. Needs to work without cellular signal
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

25. It shouldn’t be cumbersome to use
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

26. We can’t rely on anything that needs power
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

27. It is too cold to work without gloves
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

28. Final score
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/03/tactile-visualisations-inuit-wood-maps/

29. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0123740371/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=visuadata-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0123740371

30. “...this example reinforces my thesis that in order to
design a tool, we must make our best efforts to
understand the larger social and physical context
within which it is intended to function.”
Bill Buxton, “Sketching User Experiences”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0123740371/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=visuadata-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0123740371

31. Contextual thinking for visualisation
What’s the best visualisation solution?
It always depends.

32. #3
IMAGINATIVE
Harnessing instincts

33. Our instincts offer a unique perspective
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/what-you-get-when-30-people-draw-a-world-map-from-memory/282901/

34. Our instincts offer a unique perspective
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2013/06/a-short-essay-about-interpretation-doodling-perceptions-and-people/

35. Our instincts offer a unique perspective
http://visualizing.org/galleries/peoples-choice-visualizing-london-2012-olympic-games

36. Importance of sketching

37. Influence and inspiration
http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/img/screenshot2.jpg

38. Influence and inspiration
http://www.visualisingdata.com/index.php/2012/05/the-fine-line-between-plagiarism-and-inspiration/

39. EXERCISE
Audience participation

40. What keywords and imagery come to mind?
ANALYSIS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF
PSYCHOTHERAPY TREATMENT ON
PATIENTS IN ALASKA, 2013

41. What keywords and imagery come to mind?
Care
Help
Support
Improvement
Deterioration
Healthy
Unhealthy
People
Individuals
Anonymised
Integrity
Authoritative
Sensitivity
Transparency

42. What keywords and imagery come to mind?
http://design-seeds.com/palettes/ArcticLove600.png

43. What keywords and imagery come to mind?
GRAPHIC TO MARK THE MILESTONE OF THE
500TH EXECUTION IN TEXAS

44. What keywords and imagery come to mind?

45. Imaginative thinking for visualisation
What mental visualisations – instinctive
keywords and imagery – form when you
think about a task, its topic and its data?

46. #4
JOURNALISTIC
Harnessing curiosity

47. Self-initiated curiosity
http://bklynr.com/block-by-block-brooklyns-past-and-present/

48. Self-initiated curiosity
http://guns.periscopic.com/

49. Self-initiated curiosity
http://guns.periscopic.com/?year=2010

50. The journalist-analyst sensibility to find and show

51. One to watch: Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/christopher-ingraham

52. “A photo is never an objective reflection, but always an
interpretation of reality... I see data visualization as sort of
a new photojournalism – a highly editorial activity.”
Moritz Stefaner
http://well-formed-data.net/archives/1027/worlds-not-stories

53. Editorial focus: Filtering
http://i.imgur.com/RmXbrDZ.jpg

54. Editorial focus: Filtering
http://i.imgur.com/RmXbrDZ.jpg

55. Editorial focus: Representative angle?
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/05/diego-maradona-belgium-famous-photo#_

56. Editorial focus: Representative angle?
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/05/diego-maradona-belgium-famous-photo#_

57. Editorial focus: Other angles available?
https://twitter.com/toddlerlex/status/440393501810118656/photo/1

58. Editorial focus: Other angles available?
https://twitter.com/toddlerlex/status/440393501810118656/photo/1

59. Pattern matching, sense-making, sniffing out the story
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Landmesser

60. Pattern matching, sense-making, sniffing out the story
http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/latest

61. Pattern matching, sense-making, sniffing out the story
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/19/upshot/peyton-manning-breaks-touchdown-passing-record.html?abt=0002&abg=0

62. Journalistic thinking for visualisation
What triggers your data-focused curiosity?
What ‘photos’ of your data do you need to
convey your message?

63. #5
CRITICAL
Developing the craft

64. Independent critical thinking
http://eagereyes.org/blog/2014/beyond-the-knee-jerk-reaction

65. “There is a tendency to just reflexively make fun of
certain types of charts, in particular pie charts and
3D charts. While that is often justified, there are also
exceptions... we have to suppress the knee-jerk reflex
and give them a moment of thought
before ripping them apart.”
Robert Kosara
http://eagereyes.org/blog/2014/beyond-the-knee-jerk-reaction

66. Choices: The breadth of critical thinking (136 charts in 34 secs)

67. Choices: The depth of critical thinking
http://openvisconf.com/2014/

68. Choices: The depth of critical thinking

69. Dieter Rams’ ‘10 principles of good design’
https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design

70. “Designers Touching Their Face”
http://dttf.tumblr.com/

71. “#8 Good design is thorough down to the last detail...
Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance.”
Dieter Rams’ ‘10 principles of good design’
https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design

72. EXERCISE
Team participation

73. Prizes to be won! Need two teams of 3 people…

74. Identify as many visualisation design decisions as possible...
http://hint.fm/wind/

75. Critical thinking for visualisation
How can your resolve the
best design choices from the vast range
and depth of options available?

76. 5 ATTRIBUTES OF
GOOD VISUALISATION
THINKING

77. ORGANISED
CONTEXTUAL
IMAGINATIVE
JOURNALISTIC
CRITICAL

78. Let’s get this little guy working

79. LET’S HAVE A THINK ABOUT
DATA VISUALISATION THINKING
Andy Kirk
@visualisingdata