In today’s data-driven world, presenting information creatively and compellingly is critical. Interactive data visualizations and dashboards allow you to bring data to life through interactivity, animation and storytelling. Rather than simply showing static charts, leveraging tools that allow users to engage with the data exploratorily fosters deeper understanding and insights.
Interactive elements provoke curiosity, clarify complex information, illustrate trends and patterns, and ultimately enable better data-informed decision-making. In the section below, we’ll discuss the top Interactive Data Visualization techniques.
Purpose of Interactive Dashboards
The core purpose of interactive dashboards and data stories is to inform, educate, influence or incite action among target audiences. Well-designed dashboards act as a vehicle to:
- Visually communicate key data insights
- Highlight important trends, outliers and patterns
- Allow seamless drilling down into finer details
- Enable self-service analytics exploration
- Present data in an engaging, accessible manner
- Tell a story and connect messaging to metrics
Interactive dashboards make data democratisation possible as information is no longer confined to canned reports. Audiences spanning across the organization can leverage these dashboards to extract customized views to aid their specific needs and tasks.
Ways to Make Data Interactive Using Storytelling Tools
Here are the six compelling techniques to make data interactive using interactive visualization tools:
1. Interactive Dashboards
Interactive dashboards are one of the most popular and effective ways to engage audiences with data. The best dashboards allow users to intuitively filter, sort, drill down, and visualize data based on their needs. Features like tooltips, hover interactions, dynamic filtering, and real-time updates help drive interactivity.
2. Scrollytelling
Scrollytelling entails crafting data narratives that users uncover through scrolling and interactions. Key data visuals, text snippets and graphical elements are choreographed through the scroll experience to reveal insights. As users scroll, interactive elements help guide them through key takeaways and details.
3. Infographics and Data Visualization
Infographics use graphic design principles to represent data, process flows, and concepts in an easily consumable visual format. The strategic use of icons, illustrations, charts, and minimalist copy makes complex data accessible and memorable.
4. Interactive Reports and eBooks
Interactive reports and ebooks allow the embedding of dynamic dashboards, filters and visualizations to enrich static content. Users can change parameters or select data points within the narrative flow to extract custom views and drive insights.
5. Augmented Reality (AR) for Data Presentation
Augmented reality overlays digital elements like data visuals, video and graphics into the real environment. AR makes data tangible by linking contextual information with physical objects that users interact with. This breeds localized and interactive data experiences through smartphones and wearables.
6. Gamification of Data
Gamification applies gaming elements like points, rewards, leaderboards, badges and challenges to data stories and dashboards. This taps into users’ competitive instincts to encourage engagement with data and drive actions. The sense of purpose, progress and fun fostered through gamification cultivates a sticky data-first culture.
Conclusion
Leveraging interactivity, visual encodings, and contextual storytelling lets you craft compelling data experiences. These techniques allow audiences to explore, drill down, and manipulate the data, which makes for meaningful engagement. The analytics tools and design choices today enable rich interactive dashboards, infographics, reports, and apps that were hard to conceive even a few years ago. You can use these techniques and examples discussed to breathe new life into your data stories and trigger action!