Data Stories: Make an Impression with Animation
Short animations can be used to tell stories or convey experiences. These examples show different views of a solar eclipse, subway growth in China, and a symptom of dyslexia.
- By Lindsay Stares
- August 16, 2017
Solar Projections
All of the U.S. will witness the upcoming solar eclipse on August 21, if the weather cooperates. To see what the eclipse will actually look like in various places, try this tool from Vox. You can enter a zip code to get a dynamic animation that projects the experience of the eclipse at that location. The combination of one simple input with the animated projections makes this tool engaging and accessible.
Subways Spread in China
As the Chinese economy grows and changes, infrastructure projects such as subways are being completed at incredible speed. The chart and map in this article from Quartz demonstrate why animation is a great technique for showing growth.
Experience Difficulty Reading
This little javascript project animates text by randomly shuffling the internal letters of each word. It’s intended to help the viewer understand a bit more about how some people experience dyslexia. In this case, the animation is necessary for the purpose of the tool -- if the letters don’t move, you lose the effect.
About the Author
Lindsay Stares is a production editor at TDWI. You can contact her here.