Animating Data

Julia Smith
2015 Knight-Mozilla Fellow
@julia67

Data visualizations are great.

We understand this:

Credit: Gallup

Better than this:

Credit: Gallup

Better than this:

Credit: Gallup

They can show trends:

Credit: Pew Research Center

And relationships:

They can clarify information:

Credit: Tampa Bay Times

And they can tell a story:

Credit: Washington Post

Sometimes, they can tell a story better with animation.

Two types of animation:

• Enhance the user interface
• Enhance the data

Enhancing the UI

• Create fluid transitions
• Provide visual feedback
• Guide the user

Enhancing the data

• Illustrate change
• Enhance relationships
• Provide context
• Create an emotional response

Illustrating change

Credit: Tampa Bay Times

Enhancing relationships

Credit: New York Times

Enhancing relationships

Credit: Jim Vallandingham

Providing context

Credit: ProPublica

Creating an emotional response

Another (lighter) example

Credit: Polygraph

Thanks!