Storytelling with Data

International bestseller with over half a million copies sold! Celebrate a decade of data storytelling with this special 10th anniversary edition of Storytelling with Data. Featuring refreshed visuals, expanded content, and new insights, this collector's edition builds on the classic's foundational lessons, empowering you to craft persuasive data stories. Don't simply show your data—tell a story with it! Storytelling with Data teaches you the fundamentals of data visualization and how to communicate effectively with data. You'll discover the power of storytelling and the way to make data a pivotal point in your story. The lessons in this illuminative text are grounded in theory, but made accessible through numerous real-world examples—ready for immediate application to your next graph or presentation. Storytelling is not an inherent skill, especially when it comes to data visualization, and the tools at our disposal don't make it any easier. This book demonstrates how to go beyond conventional tools to reach the root of your data, and how to use your data to create an engaging, informative, compelling story. Specifically, you'll learn how to: Understand the importance of context and audience Determine the appropriate type of graph for your situation Recognize and eliminate the clutter clouding your information Direct your audience's attention to the most important parts of your data Think like a designer and utilize concepts of design in data visualization Leverage the power of storytelling to help your message resonate with your audience Together, the lessons in this book will help you turn your data into high impact visual stories that stick with your audience. Rid your world of ineffective graphs, one exploding 3D pie chart at a time. There is a story in your data—Storytelling with Data will give you the skills and power to tell it.

Reflecting on the Past 10 Years ix Foreword xiii Acknowledgments xv About the author xvii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 the importance of context 19 Chapter 2 choosing an effective visual 35 Chapter 3 clutter is your enemy! 71 Chapter 4 focus your audience’s attention 99 Chapter 5 think like a designer 127 Chapter 6 dissecting model visuals 151 Chapter 7 lessons in storytelling 165 Chapter 8 pulling it all together 187 Chapter 9 case studies 207 Chapter 10 final thoughts 241 Appendix a the narrative arc 257 Appendix b your role in storytelling with data 277 Appendix c more model visuals 293 Bibliography 303 Index 307