Narrative Visualization: Telling Stories with Data

TLDR

Data visualization is promoted for revealing stories, yet data stories differ from traditional storytelling and are increasingly used by journalists, sometimes replacing written narratives. The study systematically reviews the design space of narrative visualizations. The authors review case studies from news media and visualization research, identify distinct genres, and characterize design differences, interactivity, and messaging in terms of the balance between author‑imposed narrative flow and reader‑driven discovery. Their framework proposes design strategies for narrative visualization, highlighting promising under‑explored approaches for journalistic storytelling and educational media.

Abstract

Data visualization is regularly promoted for its ability to reveal stories within data, yet these “data stories” differ in important ways from traditional forms of storytelling. Storytellers, especially online journalists, have increasingly been integrating visualizations into their narratives, in some cases allowing the visualization to function in place of a written story. In this paper, we systematically review the design space of this emerging class of visualizations. Drawing on case studies from news media to visualization research, we identify distinct genres of narrative visualization. We characterize these design differences, together with interactivity and messaging, in terms of the balance between the narrative flow intended by the author (imposed by graphical elements and the interface) and story discovery on the part of the reader (often through interactive exploration). Our framework suggests design strategies for narrative visualization, including promising under-explored approaches to journalistic storytelling and educational media.