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Understanding Partitioning and Sequence in Data-Driven Storytelling

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Information in Contemporary Society (iConference 2019)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 11420))

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Abstract

The comic strip narrative style is an effective method for data-driven storytelling. However, surely it is not enough to just add some speech bubbles and clipart to your PowerPoint slideshow to turn it into a data comic? In this paper, we investigate aspects of partitioning and sequence as fundamental mechanisms for comic strip narration: chunking complex visuals into manageable pieces, and organizing them into a meaningful order, respectively. We do this by presenting results from a qualitative study designed to elicit differences in participant behavior when solving questions using a complex infographic compared to when the same visuals are organized into a data comic.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For engagement and effect, a few panels may consist solely of artistic content, but this puts corresponding artistic burden on the designer.

  2. 2.

    Please see https://streamable.com/pw7xi for a video showcasing our tool. Note that this URL is anonymized, so does not break the confidentiality of the reviews.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland, College Park, USA

    Zhenpeng Zhao & Niklas Elmqvist

  2. Cisco Systems, Inc., San Jose, USA

    Rachael Marr

  3. U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, USA

    Jason Shaffer

Authors
  1. Zhenpeng Zhao
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  2. Rachael Marr
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  3. Jason Shaffer
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  4. Niklas Elmqvist
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhenpeng Zhao .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Natalie Greene Taylor

  2. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Caitlin Christian-Lamb

  3. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Michelle H. Martin

  4. University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    Bonnie Nardi

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Zhao, Z., Marr, R., Shaffer, J., Elmqvist, N. (2019). Understanding Partitioning and Sequence in Data-Driven Storytelling. In: Taylor, N., Christian-Lamb, C., Martin, M., Nardi, B. (eds) Information in Contemporary Society. iConference 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11420. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15742-5_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15742-5_32

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15741-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15742-5

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