Step 7: Visualize Data Effectively
Create engaging data dashboards and infographics that track progress toward your goals in a memorable and easy-to-understand way for community members.
Why It’s Important
You’ve spent considerable time collecting data, both historically and through community engagement. This data is invaluable, but its true potential is realized only when it is effectively communicated to the community. Data alone, without context or narrative, can be overwhelming and difficult for the average person to understand and act upon. Simply presenting numbers and statistics may not resonate with community members, nor will it inspire them to support or participate in your sustainability initiatives.
Engaging your community requires transforming raw data into compelling stories that highlight the significance of the information and its impact on their daily lives. This transformation involves creating data dashboards and infographics that are not only visually appealing but also easy to understand and remember. By doing so, you can spark interest, foster understanding, and motivate action toward achieving sustainability goals. Engaging visuals help bridge the gap between complex data and community awareness, making sustainability efforts more tangible and relevant to everyone.
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Overall Focus on Graphics
To make an infographic more effective, focus on simplicity, clarity, and engagement. Use a clean design with a clear hierarchy of information. Limit text and use concise, easy-to-understand language. The goal is to create visuals that are well-received and easily understood by the reader. All design choices and particular implementations must serve this purpose.
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Data Storytelling 101
Throughout our entire process, we’ve focused on telling stories. This is where data-driven stories come in. Presenting data in a comparative way that tells a narrative is more effective. To successfully do that, we can borrow from storytelling features in the process of building the dashboard.
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1. Figure Out the Narrative
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Start by identifying the key message you want to convey. Look for patterns and trends in the data that tell a compelling story about the issues that matter most to your community. Think of it as finding the storyline in a book—what happened, why it happened, and what it means for the future.
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Here’s an example using the data from the community in Step 4. This community was struggling with increases in temperatures, air pollution, and asthma rates.
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2. Know Your Audience
- Understand who you are sharing this data with. Is it local residents, business owners, or city officials? Each group will have different interests and concerns. Tailor your message to address what is most important to them and think about how the data can help them make informed decisions.
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3. Highlight Key Points​​
- Focus on the most important data points that support your story. Avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information. Instead, highlight the key findings that clearly illustrate the impact of your sustainability efforts and what actions are needed.
4. Add Detail Where Needed
- Provide additional details for those who want to learn more. This could be clickable links or expandable sections that give a deeper dive into specific data points. Use familiar terms and examples to make the information relatable and easy to understand.
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By integrating storytelling techniques into data visualization, you can create dashboards and infographics that not only inform but also engage and inspire your community. At CIW, we help facilitate this process, ensuring that your data tells a compelling story that motivates action. By using these strategies and tools, you can ensure that your sustainability data is not only shared effectively but also drives community engagement and action.
Next Steps
Are you ready to move beyond simplified graphics to include interesting data graphics in your Climate Action Plan materials that people remember? In the download below, take a look at some of our examples and tips that we use to present data in an interesting way so that people will remember these statistics and stories.
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