Data stories appear to be most effective when they have constrained interaction at various checkpoints within a narrative, allowing the user to explore the data without veering too far from the intended narrative.

What is Data Storytelling?

https://venngage.com/blog/data-storytelling/

Components of a data story

Storytelling is abstract

It is not merely:

a technical matter of creating an image
designing the right chart

Rather it is:

the broader considerations that impact nearly every decision you make in the way you frame and present a project

The story is the culmination of distilling the information and insights gathered through the analytic process

It is often represented by a series of well chosen and developed visualization, but these visualizations reflect intentional design choices based on your understanding of the data, the story and your audience

Telling Your Data Story

Story components

To tell a story you have to define a story

A story is how what happens affects someone who is trying to achieve what turns out to be a difficult goal, and how they change as a result

Plot: how the story unfolds
Protagonist: the main character
Problem: a difficult goal for the protagonist to achieve
Transformation - the “so what?”: how the protagonist changes as a result

Story linearity

Whether driven by time or logic, stories are typically is linear
Beginning, middle and end

Every story is linear, with a well-defined beginning, middle and end. However, those pieces don’t have to take equal time.

Stories have pacing, which creates tension and interest, and makes the storytelling more compelling.

Traditional vs. Data Stories

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Aristotle vs. Brecht

Sometimes you don’t want to “resolve” the tension!
Aristotelian drama: audience goes home “satisfied”
- The story is wrapped up, all of the loose ends are tied up, and everything resolves (whether in a happy or sad ending)
Brechtian drama: audience is left with discomfort, ambiguity, unresolved tension
- Sounds like something you wouldn’t want to do (and you don’t, in many cases), but sometimes can be more effective for spurning people to action!

Common visual narrative Genres

Standard Infographics

An infographic is a collection of imagery, data visualizations, and minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a topic.

Data Infographics

Data infographics are infographics that rely entirely or mostly on numbers to tell the story. This often includes data viz, such as charts and graphs, but not always.