More Than Telling a Story: Transforming Data into Visually Shared Stories

Area of Science:

• Data Visualization
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Information Science

Background:

• The visualization community has increasingly explored visual storytelling.
• Existing discussions lack a cohesive process model.
• Understanding visualization as a storytelling medium is crucial for effective communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a structured visual data storytelling process.
• To identify key stages: explore data, make a story, tell a story.
• To discuss future research avenues in this domain.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of visual storytelling discussions in visualization.
• Conceptualization of a multi-stage visual data storytelling process.
• Analysis of the process in the context of current research.

Main Results:

• A defined three-stage process: explore data, make a story, tell a story.
• Identification of insights discovery, narrative construction, and audience communication as core components.
• Established a framework for understanding visualization's role in storytelling.

Conclusions:

• The proposed process provides a comprehensive framework for visual data storytelling.
• Future research should focus on refining each stage and exploring new storytelling techniques.
• Visualization is a powerful medium for narrative communication, with significant potential for further development.