For the next part of my research, I chose to watch the Google talk ‘Storytelling with Data’ by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic. I picked this specifically because, while David McCandless focuses on the beauty and ‘eye candy’ of data, Cole focuses on the clutter and the psychology of how we see. Since my project is all about ‘visual overload’ and how to use it strategically, I wanted to learn from someone who is an expert in the exact opposite: cleaning up the mess to make a clear point. I wanted to understand the rules of ‘perfection’ in data storytelling so that I can know exactly how and when to break them in my own maximalist designs.
In her talk, Cole explains that we aren’t naturally good at storytelling with data because we usually just ‘show’ the data instead of ‘explaining’ it. She talks a lot about Gestalt Principles of Visual Perception—how our brains look for order and try to group things together. One of her main points is about clutter. She says that every single element you add to a design takes up ‘cognitive load’ (which connects back to what I read in Steve Krug’s book). If you add too much, the user’s brain just shuts down because it’s too much work to process. Her goal is to strip everything away until only the most important ‘aha!’ moment is left.
What I found really useful was her advice on preattentive attributes. These are things like color, size, and position that our eyes notice before we even realize we are looking at them. Cole shows how you can use a single pop of color to lead the audience’s eye exactly where you want it. This made me think about my own posters for the ‘Growth of Consumerism’ project. While I want my posters to feel crowded and ‘loud’ to represent the mess of consumerism, I still need to use Cole’s logic to make sure the key message doesn’t get lost in the noise.
My conclusion after watching this is that storytelling is just as important as the data itself. If I just throw facts at people about how much waste the fashion industry creates, they might ignore it. But if I use Cole’s ‘storytelling’ structure—starting with a problem, building tension, and ending with a call to action—I can make a much stronger impression. Her approach is very ‘clean’ and corporate, which is a great contrast to the Maximalism I am exploring.
This talk is incredibly relevant to my master’s thesis because it taught me about the ethics of visual communication. Cole warns that we can easily mislead people with how we scale our graphs or use colors. In my work, I want to use ‘Strategic Friction’ to slow people down, but I have to be careful not to use ‘Dark Patterns’ or deceptive tactics that Cole and Harry Brignull warn about. My plan is to take her rules for clarity and focus and apply them to my maximalist layouts. I want to create a design that looks like a ‘conspiracy’ or a mess at first glance, but once the user starts ‘deciphering’ it, they find a very clear, data-driven story hidden inside. It’s about finding the balance between her ‘less is more’ and my ‘more is more’ to see which one actually changes consumer behavior in Croatia.
Disclaimer: AI was used in making this blog.