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Maximum Impact - Now Do You See?

This is a new series in which we will be specifically focusing on how Insight teams can have more impact. We want our key stakeholders to be interested in and engage with the insights we provide. If we can’t achieve this, we might as well give up. This first article looks at the thorny issue of data visualisation.

There are many ways to engage our audience. One is telling stories. Another is painting a picture that shows the patterns and connections that exist in the vast array of data we collect about our consumers and markets on a day-to-day basis. Our minds love puzzles and working out how different things fit together. Through data visualisation, we satisfy our audience’s need to work it out for themselves - but in a very easy and intuitive way. You can use this to guide them so that they can reach (and therefore own) the all-important ‘Aha!’ moment.

 
Look and learn
We’ve covered data visualisation in previous 5MI articles and tips, but we sense that most people don’t know where to start and therefore just revert to standard charts.
 
The first step is to acknowledge that this isn’t easy – if you don’t, it will probably remain a mental block and won’t happen. There are numerous applications available that will help you but if you don’t know what you want to create in the first place, they aren’t going to be of much use.
 
The next step is to sit down and map out the actual process of creating data visualisation. This will undoubtedly be a team effort, as it’s unlikely that anyone could tackle it all on their own. So, it’s worth spending time working out who is involved and how:
 
  • Who is responsible for the big picture and the communication plan: i.e. who decides the main message and objective? Who is the intended audience and what do you want them to know, feel, do? Where will the visualisation be shared for maximum effect (via presentation, poster, email, newsletter…)?
  • Who is responsible for the integrity of the data and ensuring that it is accurate and correctly represented?
  • Who is responsible for the visual artistry: creating the visualisation and bringing it to life in such a way that the viewer can ‘see’ the story? What tools are best – a quick storyboard in Excel or an ‘all singing, all dancing’ interactive data visualisation? What are the guidelines for the imagery: the branding, colours, fonts etc? (Remember that looks aren’t necessarily everything – style over substance won’t necessarily win you any brownie points and could alienate your audience towards future visualisation projects).
 
Here are the ideal skills that go with these roles. Those involved need an understanding of:
 
  • How people assimilate information and how best to communicate with them through stories and pictures.
  • Data, the connections that exist and a way of seeing it all differently, so that people can draw out the insight.
  • How to paint the picture technically (i.e. technical skills combined with a creative eye). For this category, we have found an excellent list of available resources here that will help to get you started.
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