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7A | Digital Media and Storytelling in Higher Education
between elements, and arrows can be used to show causality or hierarchies
of concepts and data (Tversky, 2018).
In visual storytelling, episodes can be replaced by symbols. An example
is the partnership symbol in Figure 4 (two people facing each other shaking
hands), which indicates to the receiver that there was a prior agreement
between the partners before they started working together. For narratives
which compare data, another effective visual tool is the juxtaposition of data
series and the use of visual attributes (e.g., replacing countries with flags or
replacing gender with biological sex symbols). Eurostat’s infographic provides
two types of comparison in one interface by showing the difference in life
expectancy between men and women in the European Union and by giving
examples of the two ends of the scale (Figure 5).
Life expectancy gender gap
2019
EU El
5.5 A
ee ©
years
Number of years which
women can expect to live
840 more than men 78,5
years years
m= LITHUANIA 26,812 71.6
NETHERLANDS 3:1. 83.7 80.6
eurostat
Figure 5. Life expectancy gender gap in EU (Eurostat. https://ec.europa.eu/
eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=File:Life_expectancy_gender_
gap_2021-01 jpg&oldid=517321)
The infographic contains few but relevant details: pink dresses symbolize
women, while men are represented by a blue outfit; flags represent countries,
and grey hair and canes are included as attributes of old age. After learning
the facts, the recipient has a number of questions, including the geopolitical,
historical, and lifestyle factors that cause the differences between the two
countries at the ends of the spectrum. The viewer may be concerned by the
infographic, leading to a reflection on his or her own situation.
Thudt, Walny, Gschwandtner, Sykes, and Stasko (2018) argue that
the advantage of DDS is that it allows recipients to experience the joy of
discovery and find their own story with which to compare to the researcher's
interpretation. Interactive visualizations in particular activate the interpretation
of the recipient, who chooses the perspective or point of view from which