How can you use animation to bring data to life?

1 Why animate data?

Animation can enhance data visualization by adding movement, interactivity, and context. Movement can help you highlight trends, changes, and patterns in data, as well as attract attention and create interest. Interactivity can help you explore data from different angles, zoom in and out, and reveal more details. Context can help you provide background, narration, and meaning to data, as well as connect it to real-world scenarios and emotions.

2 What software to use?

There are many software options for creating data animations, depending on your needs, budget, and skill level. Some of the most popular and versatile ones are Adobe After Effects, which is a professional tool for creating motion graphics and visual effects; Tableau, which is a powerful tool for creating interactive data dashboards and charts; and Google Data Studio, which is a free and easy tool for creating and sharing data reports and stories. You can also use other software like PowerPoint, Excel, or R, or online platforms like Flourish, Datawrapper, or Animaker.

3 How to design data animations?

Designing data animations requires thoughtful planning and creativity. Start by selecting a clear and reliable data source, such as your own data or one from a reputable source. Then, define your audience by utilizing personas, scenarios, and user stories. Craft a concise message with a hook, headline, and takeaway to structure it. Finally, choose the format, layout, color, typography, and animation for your animation to create the desired style. Templates, examples, and guidelines can be used to help inspire your style.

4 How to animate data?

Animating data involves using software features and techniques to create movement, interactivity, and context. To ensure that your data visualization is effective, you should use movement wisely to show change, comparison, correlation, or causation in data. Additionally, you should add interactivity carefully to enable your audience to explore the data. Finally, you should provide context clearly to explain the data visualization and connect it to real-world scenarios and emotions. When using these techniques, make sure that they are consistent, smooth, intuitive, responsive, relevant, and accurate.

5 How to test and share data animations?

Testing and sharing data animations are essential steps to guarantee your data animation is effective and available. You should test your data animation to ascertain if it works as intended, conveys your message accurately, and caters to your audience's needs and expectations. You can use various methods of testing, such as usability testing, feedback, or analytics, to assess your data animation and refine it if necessary. Additionally, you need to share your data animation to reach your viewers and accomplish your objectives. You can use various channels of sharing, such as websites, social media, blogs, or presentations, to circulate your data animation and connect with your audience. Moreover, you can utilize different formats of sharing, such as video, GIF, or interactive web page, to optimize your data animation for different devices and platforms.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?