30 minutes of data visualization

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 WORKSHOP 30 MINUTES OF DATA VISUALIZATION Sébastien Pierre, FFunction inc. @Hack Ta Ville, September 8th 2012 www.ffctn.com

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 THE GOALS ➔ CRASH COURSE TO BASIC DATA VISUALIZATION – Using free, publicly available tools (Google Docs) – Learn the core principles of “dataviz” – Learn how to understand a dataset – Learn how to tell a visual story

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 DATA

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 IT STARTS WITH DATA ➔ DATA IS YOUR RAW MATERIAL Select it with care, respect it, understand it. Always prefer raw data to already arranged/aggregated data.

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 BE HUMBLE ➔ DATA COMES BEFORE YOUR IDEA You might already think of a great visual for your data, but it might just not work with the specific data that you have!

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 BE TRUE ➔ DATA MIGHT NOT SAY WHAT YOU'D EXPECT You might already have an opinion on what the data should show/say... but it might very well tell a very different story from the one you had in mind!

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 BE PREPARED TO FAIL ➔ DATA MIGHT NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO TELL Sometimes the data doesn't tell anything, however you present it, however you process it. It's OK, you've just trained your ability to visualize data fast!* *but you'll often be rewarded if you keep trying!

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 DATA VISUALIZATION

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 TRANSFORMING NUMBERS

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 INTO VISUALS

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 BASED ON A LANGUAGE OF SHAPES, SIZES AND COLORS

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 WORKSHOP

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 STEP 1: GET THE DATA ➔ SPENDING BY THE GLOBAL MIDDLE CLASS Dataset created by Prof. Homi Kharas at the Brooking Institution in New-York and kindly provided by the Redwood Group http://www.redwoodgroup.net ➔ Get the data http://goo.gl/KxciV

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 The data represents the projected spending of the middle class in major regions worldwide, from 2009 to 2030

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 STEP 2: GET TO KNOW THE DATA ➔ WHAT IS REPRESENTED? Identify the variables used in the data ➔ WHAT ARE THE DIMENSIONS? Measure the span of the variables ➔ CAN WE SPOT TRENDS? Try to spot interesting changes or patterns

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 REGIONS DATA ELEMENTS

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 REGIONS YEARS DATA ELEMENTS

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 REGIONS YEARS SPENDING ($) DATA ELEMENTS

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 REGIONS YEARS SPENDING ($) DATA ELEMENTS 9 regions 4 in Asia 9 regions 4 in Asia

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 REGIONS YEARS SPENDING ($) DATA ELEMENTS 30 years 3 actual 27 projected 30 years 3 actual 27 projected

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 MIN/MAX/AVERAGE help you understand the data MIN/MAX/AVERAGE help you understand the data

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 But the numbers are too big to be relatable But the numbers are too big to be relatable

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 So we just display the rounded numbers in billion dollars So we just display the rounded numbers in billion dollars

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 Average is 1/4 of the max, which hints at some extremes Average is 1/4 of the max, which hints at some extremes

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 A visualization could help understand the trends A visualization could help understand the trends

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 REMARK #1: There is a big increase to the max around the end of the timeline REMARK #1: There is a big increase to the max around the end of the timeline

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 REMARK #2: Average growth seems linear, with a slight inflexion around the middle of the timeline REMARK #2: Average growth seems linear, with a slight inflexion around the middle of the timeline

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 REMARK #3: The min doesn't really take off REMARK #3: The min doesn't really take off

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 A visualization of the whole data gives more explanation about what we've noticed A visualization of the whole data gives more explanation about what we've noticed

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 INSIGHT #1: India is going to do better than the #1 in 2029 INSIGHT #1: India is going to do better than the #1 in 2029

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 INSIGHT #2: Somewhere around 2023, India, China and the rest of Asia are each going to outperform the US INSIGHT #2: Somewhere around 2023, India, China and the rest of Asia are each going to outperform the US

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 INSIGHT #3: South America, Middle East and Africa are apparently not really taking off INSIGHT #3: South America, Middle East and Africa are apparently not really taking off

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 We could have started by looking at the data directly, but trends are definitely easier to spot here We could have started by looking at the data directly, but trends are definitely easier to spot here

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 STEP 3: WHAT'S THE STORY? ➔ TURN INSIGHTS INTO A STORY We've found three notable things in the data, now how can we communicate them visually?

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 IDEA 1 The US is often the point of reference in economy, so how do other countries compare to the US?

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 This visualization actually doesn't tell a really different story from the original data itself, as North America was conveniently close to the X axis This visualization actually doesn't tell a really different story from the original data itself, as North America was conveniently close to the X axis

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 Focusing on just Asia, we put the highlight on 2023, where India, China, and the rest of India lead the way Focusing on just Asia, we put the highlight on 2023, where India, China, and the rest of India lead the way

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 While Japan stays stable and brings another perspective to the picture While Japan stays stable and brings another perspective to the picture

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 IDEA 2 India will have a significant growth, so how will other countries do in comparison?

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 We tell an alarming story of the decline of today's big economies (compared to India). The end of the world as we know it will be 2023 We tell an alarming story of the decline of today's big economies (compared to India). The end of the world as we know it will be 2023

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 IDEA 3 Absolute amounts often hide the variations in small numbers, what if we focus only on the growth?

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 Looking at the growth, we tell the optimistic story of the growth and rise of Sub-Saharian Africa Looking at the growth, we tell the optimistic story of the growth and rise of Sub-Saharian Africa

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 1:DATA ➔ MASSAGE THE DATA Data will rarely give you insights as-is. You need to transform it, clean it and simplify it to make it useful.

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 2:VISUALIZATION ➔ LOOK FOR TRENDS & PATTERNS Although the numbers will give you hints, basic visualizations will help you quickly see the overall trends as well as spot points of interests in the data.

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 3:STORY ➔ THERE'S NO OBJECTIVE VISUALIZATION A visualization is always a perspective on the data, and different visualizations will tell different things with the same data.* * Note that visualizations also often have more authority than illustrations in the reader's mind.

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ffunction inc. © FFUNCTION INC, 2011 4:TOOLS ➔ LESS IS MORE You can use simple, free tools to do data- visualization. You don't need to be a programmer, designer or journalist to get started – but you'll learn to be all of these along the way!