Hey, Motley.
Since Alexandra already provided a comprehensive overview of the video, I won’t reiterate all of those points.
I’d rather discuss “Journalism in the Age of Data” in the context of creating information visualizations for the benefit of the audience.
Scott Bryan-Frazer of the BBC said journalists are learning how to really interrogate data and present it to the audience in the best way. He said they want to see what’s important and know why they want to look at this particular visualization.
Superwoman Amanda Cox of The New York Times said editing is important. Heck! Throw some data out.
So what should designers do?
Do they just show the data, allowing the user to interpret it and draw his own conclusion.
Do they use the martini glass (micro to macro) format, which is strictly telling the story and then opening up the story to the user for more information?
Or Do they use the drill-down (macro to micro) story? This is a non-linear format that provides an overview of something that allows the user to then drill down to find more specific information.
Some designers are going for the trendy stuff — what seems like art for art’s sake. But who really understands how to use the ebb and flow chart?
“Not I,” said the little brown girl.
The NYT's traveshamockery of an infographic.
I’m so excited to see what the future holds.
As John Grimwade said: “Data visualization is here to stay…We better all get on board.”