Designing Effective Briefs and Graphics
NCSL Fiscal Analyst Seminar
October 11, 2018
Portland, Oregon
Kate Watkins
Chief Economist
Colorado Legislative Council
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Presentation Overview
• Five pathways to effectiveness
Art and ‘theory’ of information visualization
• Information visualization tools and resources
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Evidence is evidence, whether words, numbers, images,
diagrams, still or moving. It is all information after all.- Edward Tufte (2006: 83)
Source: Charles Joseph Minard (1869), reproduced in Tufte’s (2001) The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
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Source: Charles Joseph Minard (1864), reproduced in Tufte’s (2001) The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.4
Five pathways1 to effective briefs and graphics
1) Simplify complexity
2) Know your audience
3) Build credibility
4) Maximize visual appeal
5) Leverage others
1While not exhaustive, these pathways provide a good start.5
Simplify complexity
Step one: Become an expert.
Know the information well enough to be able to identify and explain complicated elements.
Anticipate questions and build answers into you your work.
Step two: Simply let the information speak.
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Simplify complexity
Put the bottom line first.
Get to the point.
Eliminate unnecessary information.
Get rid of extraneous words and ‘chart junk’.
Provide references and links to other resources.
Tell a story.
Lead your audience through topic sentences and visuals.
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Get to the point
Eliminate unnecessary information
Tell a story
Safe Baby Handling Tips by David Sopp & Kelly Sopp
Simplify complexity
Get to the point
Eliminate unnecessary information
Tell a story
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Organizing an Effective Briefing
Summary. Answer the question first.
Topic sentence. Supporting documentation.1
Topic sentence. Supporting documentation.2
Topic sentence. Supporting documentation.2
1,2Footnotes for those who like digging into the weeds.
11https://www.wsj.com/articles/going-going-gone-banksy-artwork-shreds-itself-after-sale-1538827181
Get to the point
Summary up front, followed by supporting
information
Visual explanation
Know your audience
Who is your audience?
Novice Expert
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CEO Uber Geek
Exploratory: Provide information for exploration.
Explanatory: Lead your audience to a conclusion.
What are their needs?
Expertise
Time/Interest
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Know your audience2
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Chart illiteracy
or
The wrong chart?
Know your audience2
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Build credibility
Give your audience the tools to chart their own adventure
• Ask what your audience wants, but provide them with what they need to be informed
• Cite your sources
• Annotate: embed helpful documentation and provide links to supporting resources
• Hand over the source data
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Writing and consuming information is a moral act for both the
author and audience. We must appraise information for its
quality, relevance, integrity. (Paraphrased from Tufte 2006: 83)
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Leonardo da Vinci, The Bones and Muscles of the Arm (1510-1511). 16
‘Mapped pictures’ provide information through annotation,
composition, evidence, instruction, and inspiration (Tufte 2006)
Simply let the information speak.
Source: Darrell Huff’s (1954) How to Lie with Statistics. Illustrations by Irving Geis.
Build credibility: Tell a true story3
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Simply tell an effective and true story
Anticipate chart illiteracy.
Lead your audience visually, while allowing information to speak for itself.
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30
40
50
60
70
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Data source: Institute for Supply Management.
Manufacturing Activity Continues to Expand
Manufacturing
Diffusion Index
Business Activity
Contracting
Expanding
Source: Charles Joseph Minard (1869), reproduced in Tufte’s (2001) The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.
Maximize visual appeal4
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How do we achieve ‘graphical excellence’?
Simplify: Eliminate extraneous details (‘chart junk’)
Tell a story: Use color, not texture
Composition: Alignment, balance are key
When guiding the eye, everything matters
Maximize visual appeal4
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Maximize Visual appeal: Simplify4
Eliminate ‘chart junk’
Maximize the data-ink ratio
Data-ink ratio = Ink used on data
Total ink used
Sparkline
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Maximize Visual appeal: Simplify4
Eliminate ‘chart junk’
Maximize the data-ink ratio
Remove grid lines, other junk,unless it adds value
Image reproduced from Tufte (2001: 113). 22
Maximize Visual appeal: Simplify4
Eliminate ‘chart junk’
Maximize the data-ink ratio
No ducks allowed
Image reproduced from Tufte (2001: 117).
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Eliminate ‘chart junk’
Maximize the data-ink ratio
No ducks allowed
Image reproduced from the Professional Business Development website (pbi-now.com).
Maximize Visual appeal: Simplify
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The eye predictably reads left to right.
Color and emphasis draw the eye.
Left aligning content frames and tidies its visual appeal.
Maximize Visual appeal: Alignment is Key4
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40
50
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2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Data source: Institute for Supply Management.
Manufacturing Activity Continues to Expand
Manufacturing
Diffusion Index
Business Activity
Contracting
Expanding
Alignment is key.
The eye predictably reads left to right.
Left aligning content frames and tidies its visual appeal.
Maximize Visual appeal: Color4
Color and emphasis draw
the eye elsewhere.
Color is superior to texture.
The moiré effect is not your friend.
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Avoid red-green color combinations
Maximize Visual appeal: Color4
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Use contrast
Source: https://colormax.org/color-blind-test/
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Best Practices: Color
2) Be aware of the emotion and culturally-specific connotations of color
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Be mindful of color connotations
(Color can make or break your visualization)
Maximize Visual appeal: Composition, Balance & Symmetry4
Jan Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece (1432).
For more on composition, visit: https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-balance-in-art-182423 29
For more on art theory, visit: http://gracierb.blogspot.com/p/teaching-art.html
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Maximize Visual appeal: Composition, Balance & Symmetry
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For more on art theory, visit: http://gracierb.blogspot.com/p/teaching-art.html 31
Maximize Visual appeal: Composition, Balance & Symmetry
Leverage others
Peer review and pilot test your visualizations and briefings with others.
We see things differently.
Visualizations, like clothing, go out of style…
…sometimes we need the fashion police to tell us when we’ve gone out of style.
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The Colorado State BudgetFY 2017-18: $28.8 Billion1
Data source: Joint Budget Committee Staff. 1FY 2017-18 budget operating appropriatins prior to supplementals.
General Fund
36.8%
Cash
Funds 27.2%
Federal Funds 30.0%
Reappropriated
Funds 6.0%
Health Care 34.5%
K-12 Education 19.4%
HigherEducation 14.9%
Human Services 7.1%
Spending by DepartmentFund SourceCorrections 5.5%
Five* pathways to effective briefs and graphics
1) Simplify complexity
2) Know your audience
3) Build credibility
4) Maximize visual appeal
5) Leverage others
*While not exhaustive, these pathways provide a good start.
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Writing and consuming information is a moral act for both the
author and audience. We must appraise information for its
quality, relevance, and integrity. (Paraphrased from Tufte 2006: 83)
Some Information Visualization Tools
Licensed, for Purchase
• ArcGIS (advanced mapping)
• Adobe Creative Cloud (graphic design)
• Tableau (interactive data visualization)
• Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint for information visualization)
Open Source
• Tableau Public (interactive data visualization)
• R (advanced data visualization, statistical analysis)
• Google Charts
• Google Maps
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Books for Inspiration & Guidance
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Websites for Inspiration
Edward Tufte’s Bloghttp://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/
Tableau Visual Gallery
http://public.tableau.com/en-us/s/gallery
Other Inspirations
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/
http://www.visualcapitalist.com/
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