Introduction to Visual Analysis and Storytelling

Week 1 – Introduction to Visual Analysis and Storytelling

Themes: introduction · purpose · audience

We begin with the big picture and what you will learn in the course.

• Activity: Introduce yourself and your background – getting to know your classmates.

Week 2 – Introduction to R and ggplot2

Themes: adding ggplot2 to your storytelling toolkit

We introduce the R programming language and the ggplot2 package for data visualization.

• Activity: Assignment: Create a simple scatterplot using R and ggplot2.

Week 3 – Tableau Tutorial

Themes: adding Tableau to your storytelling toolkit

We dive into Tableau as a visual analytics tool, focusing on connecting to data, building basic charts, and assembling simple dashboards to support exploratory analysis.

• Activity: Making a simple dashboard in Tableau.

Week 4 – Effective Visuals: Color

Themes: color theory · accessibility · emphasis

We explore how color choices affect perception, accessibility, and meaning in visualizations. You’ll practice applying color to highlight, group, and encode data—without overwhelming the viewer.

• Concepts: categorical vs. sequential palettes, color blindness considerations.
• Activity: redesign a chart with improved color use.

Week 5 – Effective Visuals: Preattentive Features & Application

Themes: attention · salience · visual hierarchy

We study preattentive features such as position, size, color, and form, and learn how to use them to direct attention and structure visual stories.

• Concepts: preattentive attributes, visual hierarchy, clutter reduction.
• Activity: annotate and refine an existing visualization using preattentive cues.

Week 6 – Developing Your Story (Theory & Example)

Themes: story arc · framing · audience needs

We connect visualization design to classical storytelling structures. Through examples, we examine how to frame questions, choose comparisons, and build a narrative arc around data.

• Concepts: problem framing, narrative arc, key message.
• Activity: sketch a story outline for your own dataset or case.

Week 7 – Midterm Presentations

Themes: presentation · feedback · reflection

You present your midterm project: a focused analytical story supported by visualizations. We use structured feedback to help you refine both content and delivery.

• Deliverable: midterm presentation.
• Activity: peer and instructor feedback.

Week 8 – Vega-Lite

Themes: grammar of graphics · JSON specs · web-native visuals

We introduce Vega-Lite as a declarative visualization grammar. You’ll learn how to encode data, mark types, and basic transformations to build visualizations in the browser.

• Concepts: encoding channels, marks, simple transforms.
• Tools: Vega-Lite online editor / environment.

Week 9 – Animated Vega-Lite & Improving Communication Skills I

Themes: animation · sequencing · oral delivery

We explore animated and interactive features in Vega-Lite, and connect them to best practices for explaining visuals aloud, pacing information, and managing audience attention.

• Concepts: transitions, stepwise reveals, avoiding gratuitous animation.
• Activity: short live walkthrough of an animated visualization.

Week 10 – HTML & CSS; Improving Communication Skills II

Themes: layout · styling · narrative flow

We cover HTML and CSS basics for presenting visualizations on the web and continue to refine your communication skills: clarity, emphasis, and narrative flow.

• Concepts: basic HTML structure, CSS styling for charts and text.
• Activity: simple web page that frames and explains a visualization.

Week 11 – Observable Tryout

Themes: reactive notebooks · sharing · iteration

We experiment with Observable as a platform for interactive, shareable data notebooks, connecting code, visuals, and explanatory text in one place.

• Concepts: cells, reactivity, embedding visuals.
• Activity: build a small Observable notebook around a dataset.

Week 12 – Multi-dimensional Visualization & Overview of Observable Plot

Themes: multidimensional encodings · Observable Plot basics

We look at strategies for visualizing multidimensional data and get an overview of Observable Plot as a concise grammar for building these charts in Observable.

• Concepts: faceting, small multiples, encodings beyond x/y.
• Tools: Observable Plot introduction.

Week 13 – Observable Plot Continued & Case Study Writeup Instructions

Themes: refinement · design choices · case framing

We continue working with Observable Plot to design cleaner, more expressive charts. You also receive instructions for the case study writeup and begin planning your approach.

• Activity: iterate on an Observable Plot chart with feedback.
• Deliverable: case study writeup prompt released.

Week 14 – Leadership Styles & Behaviors for Communication; Case Study Discussion

Themes: leadership · communication · applied storytelling

We discuss leadership styles and communication behaviors, using a case study to examine how data visualization can support persuasion, alignment, and understanding.

• Activity: in-class case study discussion.
• Deliverable: case study writeup (due around this period).

Week 15 – Geospatial & Text Visualization; Final Project Q&A

Themes: maps · text data · project planning

We introduce techniques for geospatial and text visualization and connect them to potential final project directions. You’ll also have dedicated time for questions and feedback.

• Concepts: mapping basics, text-as-data overview.
• Activity: final project planning and Q&A.

Week 16 – Final Project Presentations

Themes: synthesis · storytelling · reflection

You present your final project: an integrated analytical story supported by thoughtfully designed visualizations. We reflect on what you’ve learned and how you might carry these skills forward.

• Deliverable: final project presentation.
• Activity: reflection on course learning and next steps.