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Engaging dataviz examples

I love dataviz, especially when it is both full of insights and easily accessible to a wide audience. Here are some examples of particularly engaging visualisations I collated, ordered by technique used.

Engaging techniques, examplified

Interactive / gamified viz

The NY Times “You Draw It” format is a great example of how simple interactions can lead to profound insights.

Data Gifs / “animated shorts”

Scrollytelling

Scrollytelling is unpopular in dataviz circles. But it’s still widely used. If well done (eg. a viz combined with actually-scrolling text on the page), it can work really well.

Visualising social media

In this case, “social media” often means Twitter.

Building your own: factors to consider

There are specific things to consider to make a visualisation / infographic compelling, based on what type of data is available.

  • Do we have geolocalised data? Maps are both great-looking and very easy to understand.
  • Do we have personal data? A piece is more compelling if it allows comparison of the viewer’s details or demographic to the rest.
  • Do we have live data? If the data updates in any way it will be more interesting to come back.
  • How well does it have to work on mobile? There isn’t as much space there.
  • How much does your audience know? If they stumble upon it, will they be able to understand it?

References

Sources of great dataviz examples:

Dataviz learnings: