You worked through the night on your brand’s strategy slides. 

But then, the D-day arrives and 10 minutes into the presentation, everyone’s like this:

GIF Source: Giphy

It’s not that you didn’t do a good job, it’s just that the presentation didn’t capture their attention. 

So, what can? 

Well, storytelling.

More specifically, data storytelling — it involves sharing insights from complex data using visualizations and engaging narratives. 

That’s what we’re going to chat about in this guide. Here, we’ll unpack this data story thingy, dive into its benefits, and show you how to transform your data into stories too. 

Let the show begin.

What is data storytelling?

You know how you rarely get bored listening to a juicy story or watching your favorite movie?

That’s what data storytelling tries to do with complex data. 

It transforms boring reports and statistics into compelling stories people want to engage with. And breaks down complex concepts so the audience can better understand them. 

So instead of boring charts, stats, and graphs, you have animated alternatives like this map from Oxfam Ireland.

GIF Source: Oxfam Ireland

With this, it’s much easier for recipients to digest the information. It does this by using maps and scrollytelling with animated text to share findings of their annual report with the audience.  As users scroll through, they can see the different places Oxfam was active in the past year and box highlighting statistics associate with those locations. 

Overall, data storytelling involves creating an engaging narrative about data using interactive elements.

Now, how about we show you some examples?

What are some good examples of data storytelling?

Sometimes, seeing is believing. That’s why your favorite high school teacher used a lot of examples to explain things to you. 

We decided to do the same thing and use examples to help you understand this whole data storytelling concept.

Here, you’ll see firsthand how web designers use data to tell engaging stories.  

So, shall we?

1. The Fry Universe

Let’s start with this fun one from Chris Williams, a designer. 

GIF Source: Chris Williams

Chris is passionate about interface design and data visualization. 

And The Fry Universe is one of his projects.

It’s a detailed explanation of various fry shapes and why people like them. 

The first bit you’ll see is the different fries all floating and turning in digital space. This animated format used here helps viewers understand and remember the various fry shapes highlighted.

As you scroll down, the floating fries are streamlined into one rotating animation where differences between the fries are mentioned. 

The motion visuals make understanding the differences between fry forms and fried and unfried portions more engaging as you’ll want to keep scrolling to what’s next. 

Now, this whole business about the fry universe would be boring if Chris wrote it as a blog post. 

But by leveraging data storytelling, that curiosity we spoke about earlier really kicks in. 

Readers are more interested in going through the data. They no longer think it’s boring. 

2. Lowest temperatures

Did you study geography and science in school?

If you did, how much of our beloved Earth’s data do you remember?

Not sure you can recall any of that?

Perhaps it’s because everything was boring and written in text. 

But imagine if the data had been presented to look as fun and interactive as the way Chit Chart presents it.

Image Source: Chit Chart

Chances are it would have stuck in your memory for a long time. 

The graphic looks simple. But it does an amazing job of listing areas with the lowest temperatures in an engaging way. 

Instead of the typical bar charts, Chit Chart uses ice as the bars. With a polar bear on top of the graph representing cold temperatures. These visual elements make the chart relatable and look more intriguing to readers. 

Plus, they can easily tell what the data is about because of the visuals used. 

While Chit Chart didn’t use motion visuals, it still tells a captivating story with data.

3. Brexit By Numbers

When the United Kingdom exited the European Union, there were all kinds of conversations about it. 

What did it mean for the UK? How would it impact the EU? Stuff like that. 

To a professor of economics or a data analyst, discussions like that are probably like watching an action movie.

But to the average person, not so much. And so, Sky News took matters into its own hands. 

Image Source: Sky News

It released a post that simplified complex information into an interesting story without leaving out stats, dates, or numbers. 

How did Sky’s journalists pull that off? 

You guessed right … with data storytelling.

They began with a one-sentence backstory of the Brexit journey. Then in order not to overwhelm readers, there was this cool timeline showing important Brexit milestones. It allows them to learn about Brexit history with ease and makes them curious about what comes next as they scroll down. 

Sky News also had these interesting graphs that visually displayed the number of EU citizens migrating to the UK since their exit. 

GIF Source: Sky News

Now because of how the charts are created (with no information), it enhances user engagement as they’ll want to see what kind of graph it is. And when they do by hovering over them, the stats pop up.

4. BetterUp Insights Report

Reports, most of the time, are too formal. 

You have a lot of “Based on,” “According to,” and “Studies show,” alongside stats and graphs.

It’s quite informative. But in a serious kind of way. 

As such, it’s not material people willingly want to go through. But if it’s put together like BetterUp’s report, people will be keen to explore it.

For its insight report, BetterUp created this interactive story with its data. 

GIF Source: BetterUp

It starts with a sparkly ‘people in a boat’ graphic that depicts the topic: A new kind of inclusive leadership for a new world of work.

Then as you scroll down, you’re taken on a journey through the data they obtained in a fun way. 

Instead of chunky text and complex data, they use visual animations and colorful wheels that complement the text to capture people’s attention. The interactive elements make the report so fun, that you’ll want to keep engaging the content.

Overall, the visual features of the report help readers understand complex data as it simplifies information using sliders, charts, and hover effects so readers get eased in for the solid stuff. 

5. Medals are forever

Chit Chart has another spot on our example list. 

It’s a chart of the top five Olympic medal–winning countries in the world. The graphic they use is similar to a typical graph.

But theirs is more fun. 

Image Source: Chit Chart

They use medals, with the countries’ flags representing the bar lines found on an ordinary graph. 

And on the actual medal, a pie chart highlights the number of medals each country has won, including what kind of medals they are. 

Pretty good data storytelling, innit? 

6. The New Zealand Labour Party Win

Our next example is from Stuff, a New Zealand media company. 

When the NZ Labor Party won an election by a historic landslide, Stuff decided to create a piece explaining just how massive the victory was. 

Image Source: Stuff

It produced interactive graphs, maps, line charts, and bar charts to support the story. 

At first glance, they look static and probably a little boring. But as you scroll, the interactivity is triggered, showing readers crucial data points in an interesting way. 

The map here showed the different places where the election was held. Then as you scroll down, red arrows appear on the map indicating how massive the Labour Party’s win in that area was. So places with more red arrows showed LP’s landslide victory and blue arrows meant the opposition took the lead there. 

7. Buy/Rent Calculator

The New York Times created this calculator to help people choose between buying or renting an apartment.

Image Source: The New York Times

Sounds like something that’ll be complicated, yeah?

But it’s not, really!

It has this adjustable chart where users can pick a home price, how long they plan to stay, mortgage details, and some other key elements. 

Then, the calculator does its magic and gives them raw numbers to help them make a decision. 

Easy!

8. Spotify Wrapped

Unless you took a short trip to Mars, you should know about the famous Spotify Wrapped. 

An annual data analysis from the music company of all the songs a user listened to in the last year. 

It’s something everyone looks forward to. And another perfect example of a data story. 

Image Source: Spotify

Now imagine for a second that the Spotify guys sent you all that data in an Excel sheet. 

Think you’ll be interested in it anymore?

Not really. 

In that instance, the number of times you listened to a song last year becomes ‘meh.’ Even though the data is practically the same. 

How it’s presented makes the difference. Users are taken through this exciting audio and visual experience based on the data from their listening habits. 

They go through the songs they listened to the most. Favorite artists. It’s always an exciting moment. 

For Spotify, this storytelling strategy saw them experience a 21% increase in app downloads after their 2020 ‘Wrapped.’

That’s what data storytelling can help you achieve. 

What else can it offer?

Follow us closely. 👇

What are the benefits of data storytelling?

Ever wished people spent more time studying your data analysis projects?

You put in a lot of work. But sometimes, it just feels as if readers skip to the key points and move on.

They don’t spend time taking in all the raw data and metrics you hustled to obtain. 

“You’re so correct. What can I do?”

Well, what you need is a good data story. So instead of the typical data science, you make it interactive. Appealing enough to help your target audience with their decision-making.  

And here’s what you’ll get with that:

• Compelling narrative: Effective data storytelling helps you communicate complex information in a simple way. This makes it easy for users to digest and go through all your data. And that’s the whole idea. You go with an interesting story they can easily understand, alongside captivating visuals. 
• Human touch: Before, your information was just raw datasets put together. Now, it has more oomph. There’s a story people are in love with, interactive data they can engage with. It no longer looks like a boring block of text; the key insights are so much more accessible.  
• Good rep: Nowadays, it’s not just enough to have high-quality content. Can it capture people’s attention so they want to read it? That’s another key takeaway from data storytelling. 

Your target audience takes one look at your content and goes, okay, looks like these folks know their audience. Before you know it, word spreads like wildfire. And your brand becomes the go-to for people looking for simple, good-quality information. 

• All the cool metrics: If you’ve had difficulty getting folks to spend more time on your site, it’s time to call on the power of data stories. People love a great time. 

So if your site can offer that and provide actionable insights too, you’d better believe all your metrics numbers will start popping. High conversion rates, click-through rates, increased dwell time, etc. The whole works. 

• Excited stakeholders and colleagues: You can also use data stories to share new data insights within your organization. Get everyone — decision-makers, colleagues — buzzing about the moves you’ve been making. 

In other words, no more uninspiring reports during monthly huddle yawnfests. Because you’re using data visualization tools to design your reports, everyone is hooked. They can easily understand the message you’re trying to drive home. 

“Okay, I hear you. However, the data my company gathers is usually complex. How do I use it to tell stories?” 

Great question. 

And that’s what we’ll talk about in the next section. 

How can you turn your data into stories?

Data and stories. 

How do you merge these two concepts together?

You just need to find the right hack and you’re good to go.

For this piece, we’ve outlined five for you. 

1. Find your narrative

You want to start by looking beyond the numbers and charts. Rather, focus on creating a story that helps interpret the data. Making it relatable to your audience. 

How do you do that?

First, identify what story your data wants to tell. 

Is there a conflict your data identifies or a burning question it answers?

Are there new trends or insights emerging from your research? Is there a pain point you want to address? Are you comparing two concepts?

If you have answers to those questions, it’s time to look for a human element in the data. And start from there. 

That’s how you can find the right narrative for your data story. 

2. Gather your data

Once you have a narrative for your data story, it’s research o’clock. 

Find the right data to support your narrative. 

Go with sources you can count on. Or roll up your sleeves to source your own data. 

Connect with your audience through surveys and interviews. Learn about their pain points. What solutions have they used in the past? Were they effective? 

Collect every data item you can about the topic. And ensure you understand it or you’ll have a hard job bringing it to life for your audience. 

3. Choose your visuals

By now, you know what the data and numbers are saying. 

But as we’ve established, those aren’t enough to engage your audience. 

You need interactive visuals like in the previous examples to step up your game. 

They can be charts, tables, graphs, maps, or anything that best represents your data. 

This is where a powerful tool like Ceros excels. Ceros is a set of design tools that can help you do all sorts of creative things.

With Ceros Editor, for instance, you can design compelling visuals for your narrative. 

No design inspiration for your visuals? Don’t worry, Ceros has tons of templates you can browse through to get inspired. You can even edit them if you want.  

And that’s not all.

You also have Ceros Studio at your service. With this tool, you can add interactivity to the mix in just three steps. 

First, you’ll need to decide on triggers for interaction. Perhaps you’d prefer that users just hover over a hotspot for an interaction to happen. The other options are clicks and viewing. 

Once that’s sorted, choose an action you want to be triggered. Show/hide toggle. Spinning animation. Or ‘go to the next page’ action. 

You have different options. 

Finally, specify the target of your interaction. Will it be an object, bar line, or anchor?  

By adding interactivity to your data stories, you’ll get people raving about your data analytics, reports, or articles on social media. 

4. Craft your story

Making your data story the talk of the town isn’t just about having the right data and visuals. 

Individually, they aren’t the icing on the cake. 

The real deal is weaving them into a compelling narrative. 

One that contains all the right data your audience needs. 

And has an ending with a clear call to action, if it’s a marketing campaign. 

People who go through your data story should feel as captivated as if you were talking to them directly. Or at least something close to that. 

***

With that, it’s time to close the curtains on this guide.

The ball is now in your court. 

How do you want to play it?

Move on to the next guide or put what you’ve learned here into practice?

If it’s the latter, this last bit is for you…

Start telling data stories

Stories are one of the oldest forces on Earth. 

They’ve been passed down through generations. Capturing the minds of the hearers. 

Keeping them glued to their seats while the storyteller worked his magic. 

Now, it’s your turn. 

Your turn to tell stories with data and achieve your brand goals. 

To make data so interesting that stakeholders are eating out of your hand. Figuratively speaking, of course. 😉

Such a bold journey, my friend. And you’ll need all the help you can get as you embark on it. 

Meet Ceros, your creative guide on your quest to tell tales about data. 

With this guide, you can design stunning visuals to capture people’s attention. And add engaging interactions to keep them glued to your data stories. 

What do you say, eh?

You can request a demo first to see Ceros in action. If you love it, we can pick it up from there.