How do you use emotions in data visualization?

Why emotions matter in data visualization Emotions hold the key to effective storytelling. When we infuse emotions into our data presentations, we bridge the gap between dry numbers and relatable experiences for our audience. Data often feels distant and detached to most people, by adding emotional context, we create a connection that engages and resonates. For example, instead of merely sharing the count of inbound leads, present a graph that visually tracks how these leads progressed through the funnel. Share more details – highlight the countries and companies they came from. To enhance memorability, use different colors on your graphs along with the numbers to not only make the data more memorable but also evoke an emotional response.

Data in itself can be quite overwhelming with all the complex information. When you combine data with a relatable story, it invokes an emotion, and understanding the complex dynamics of data becomes easier for the audience. The relate to the story and in turn understand the data as well.

Whether you're a storyteller, author, or data visualizer, tapping into emotions is the key to creating content that resonates, informs, and inspires. It's the bridge that connects your message to the hearts and minds of your audience. Here's why emotions matter: 1. Engagement: When people feel something, they become more attentive and involved in what they're experiencing 2. Memory: Information associated with strong emotions is more likely to be remembered. 3. Decision-Making: People often make choices based on how they feel about a situation or data. 4. Connection: Emotional content fosters a stronger connection between the audience and the message. 5. Communication: Emotions transcend language and culture.

Emotions matter because we are emotional beings. Making use of colour, shapes, movement, images, sound and touch, can help our audiences to feel motivated to change.

Choosing which emotions to target is an important step while presenting your data visually. Why? Because you need to evoke the right emotions. Evoking the wrong emotions can negate the whole purpose of data visualization. So, the first and foremost thing to do is deciding what emotion you want your audience to feel through your data. Once you know the answer of this question, it becomes much easier. - Choose what you want your audience to feel. - Choose words, colours, fonts and stats that goes with the emotion. Remember, when you know your primary goal, everything else becomes easier.

Before you choose an emotion it's important to understand the types of emotional responses. These are, happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise. There are experts who have further subdivided these, for example Robert Plutchik has divided it into eight (e.g. rage) and then graded each one of them further (e.g. rage, anger, annoyance). This will provide you with a useful framework to guide your work. For example, do you want to incite rage, only anger, or mild annoyance (or ecstasy, joy or serenity). For example, if you are visualising the amount of waste we generate, depending on your brief/ objective, you can choose rage, anger, or annoyance (or disgust).

Choosing emotions is an art that evolves with practice. By understanding your audience, the context, and your message, you can select the emotions that will best convey your story or data, creating a more meaningful and engaging experience for your audience.

Consider the demographics and the psychographics of your audience. The demographics will tell you who you are designing for. The psychographics will tell you what to consider to make the connections that bond your audience to the information you are presenting. They need to see themselves in the data.

Pick a theme and a colour palette. Avoid going overboard on the visual elements. You want to provide space for the audience to 'fill in the blanks' with their imagination. If designing slide decks and visuals are not your thing, get a professional designer to help you.

Continuing with the example of Rage, Anger, and Annoyance - there are colours and typefaces that associate better with anger than let's say happiness. These colours sometime have cultural connotations too, so it's important to understand those. An orthogonal or pointed shape will associate better with anger than a round one - which might be better to symbolise happiness.

Here's how you can test emotions effectively: 1. Ask specific questions about how your audience felt while engaging with your content. 2. Create two versions of your content with slight differences in emotional cues and measure their responses 3. Monitor social media platforms for mentions and discussions related to your content. 4 Encourage your audience to provide long-term feedback by using comments sections, social media comments, or contact forms. Remember that emotions can be subjective, so it's essential to gather feedback from a diverse group of individuals to ensure your content resonates with a broad audience.

There needs to be a balance of evoking emotions via storytelling and the actual data you want to highlight. If the focus shifts too much on the story and the data takes a backseat, then the storytelling will not be effective.

Share personal anecdotes or stories that connect with the data. Stories are a powerful way to evoke emotions and help your audience relate to the information on a human level Use metaphors or symbols that resonate with the emotions you want to convey. For example, a rising bar chart can symbolize growth and success, while a falling bar chart can represent setbacks or challenges.