For Dashboard Week Day 4, DS56 will be diving into the literary world of Goodreads, exploring the relationships between books, genres, and the millions of readers who rate them. The group will use Tableau to transform book data and reader feedback into a cohesive, story-driven infographic.
The Brief
The group has been provided with two datasets (originally sourced from Maven Analytics) covering the Goodreads to 2017:
- Goodreads_works: Metadata on all books, including titles, authors, and ratings.
- Goodreads_reviews: Individual, detailed user reviews and star ratings.
DS56 may use Tableau Prep to clean this data, if they decide that is necessary. Using the data, and any additional literary data of their choosing, the consultants will need to create a visually stunning infographic that balances data analysis with high-end graphic design. Unlike a standard business dashboard, this should feel like a piece of data journalism.
Design & Storytelling Expectations
As the focus of this challenge is creating an infographic, there’s a strong emphasis on design. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Research: Before you jump in - get a good understanding of what a great infographic should look like, how it differs from a regular dashboard, and find some inspiration!
- The Flow: Don’t just dump charts on a page. Think about the order - start with the big hook to grab attention and lead the reader down the page to the more specific, interesting finds.
- Keep it Simple: With so much data, it’s easy to get messy. Use clear labels and short notes to explain why a chart matters so the reader doesn't have to guess.
- Finishing Touches: Everything should be clean and polished. No messy axes or default Tableau colors - make it look like something you’d find in a high-end magazine or a data blog.
DS56 will present their Goodreads infographic sketch and dashboards at 3.30pm this afternoon, followed by a blog reflecting on their process of turning raw data into a visual story. Good luck! 📚