Using Data, Understanding Stories 

Louis Novick

Not just boring numbers, but client stories

Are we leveraging what we know to perform client miracles?

We know the client

Are we utilizing our knowledge of the client and their target audiences to our advantage?

Our Means

How are we collecting data and how are we using it to our advantage?

How do we get the data?

• Surveys (could be inaccurate)
• Conversations

See pdf

"I believe we get better data when people are engaged. I don’t want people to feel like we are thoughtlessly extracting personal information from them. I’d prefer to frame everything as a conversation, like one you’d have with a friend."

-Arianna McClain

By knowing our client we can... 

• Begin to understand who they care about.  ie.  Who they are targeting themselves.

• Use this knowledge/data as the input in the design, not just output.

Questions we might ask

• Who are the authority figures, thought leaders?
• Where do they get their information?
• What events do they attend?
• Which websites do they frequent?
• What tools do they use?
• Why are they unique?

If we were going to create a fb ad...

We should not only care about our story but also the potential clients story.

Ex.  People who consider themselves "vegans" might defer entirely from people who consider themselves "vegetarians".

Understanding this allows us to write better copy and send the right message.

When we start looking at the numbers...

• Behind the data is real people.
• Numbers without a story aren't very useful.
• Data should feed the actions we take, uncover the “why” behind the numbers.

Source

https://medium.com/design-x-data/what-chicken-nuggets-taught-me-about-using-data-to-design-b7d44dc7e855