June 1, 2017

HOW WE MADE 101 LINKEDIN GRAPHICS IN 24 HOURS

This article originally appeared on Column Five.

There’s nothing we love more than solid data storytelling, especially when we get to help a brand bring their own data to life. LinkedIn’s 2017 Workforce Report is our latest collaboration with the brand—and a stellar example of how to turn internal data into headline-worthy content. If you’ve been hesitant to use your own data in your marketing, their example will convince you to do it ASAP.

LINKEDIN’S DATA GOLDMINE

We’ve collaborated with LinkedIn on many projects over the last few years, helping the company communicate through e-books and infographics. (We also trade content marketing tips from time to time.)

Since we believe strongly in LinkedIn’s mission to connect people to opportunity, we’re always happy to help them reach their audience through compelling visual content. Luckily, they have plenty of great ideas for all sorts of content, thanks to their goldmine of data.

With access to 133 million U.S. worker profiles, 3 million monthly job postings, 20,000 companies, and the 50,000 potential job skills workers can add to their profiles, LinkedIn has especially unique insight into the state of the U.S. workforce.

Instead of letting that data rest in their servers, the brand wisely sought to turn it into a useful resource for their audience. Thus they created the LinkedIn 2017 Workforce Report, a monthly report to shine a light on the U.S. job economy.

Each month, they analyze the data for country-wide trends, as well as trends in 10 of the largest U.S. cities. The report details the most interesting and influential metrics about the American workforce, including hiring trends, migration between cities, and relative scarcity and abundance of skills.

The report is meant to help workers better navigate their careers and to give companies a better understanding of the state of their industries, making it a fantastic piece of content to support LinkedIn’s mission.

The report also happened to be an enormous undertaking, requiring some of the biggest design problem-solving we’ve ever had to do.

A DATA VISUALIZATION CHALLENGE

LinkedIn came to us with a formidable request to contribute data visualizations to the report; they needed us create 101 beautifully designed graphics and data visualizations every month—and deliver them within 24 hours of receiving the data. While this seemed impossible initially, even with our entire design team working on it, we knew we could do it if we figured out a way to automate the graphic creation process dynamically from the data.

Fortunately, our software company Visage, a web-based design platform that allows users to create visual content and reports, had been building a new feature to address this very significant yet common challenge. (Many clients and companies we talk to are struggling to find a solution for regularly creating well-designed graphics with minimal time and effort.)

To complete LinkedIn’s ask—and ensure accuracy and quality of the graphics—Visage and Column Five collaborated to create an automated system.

First, our team designed on-brand templates for the graphics and data visualizations that would accompany each report. Then we implemented these custom templates into Visage, where they could be easily edited by the LinkedIn team.

Our new Google Sheets integration enabled us to connect LinkedIn’s data directly to the report, so we could refresh the graphics with a single click when new data was received.

Through this process, the LinkedIn team was reassured that all charts were accurate, on-brand, and ready for publish as soon as they were created. Even better, we could create a high volume of visualizations in very little time.

It was exciting to test these new features with such an amazing client and come up with a helpful solution that both teams felt confident in. So far, the LinkedIn 2017 Workforce Report has been well-received, so we’re glad it paid off.

(Although only in its second month, the report has garnered 8,600+ mentions and significant buzz. In February, it was tweeted by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. March’s report was also tweeted by President Donald Trump and featured in a live segment on CNBC.)

We hope it will continue to make an impact each month, and we’re proud to be a part of the project.

We’d also encourage you to consider what data you might turn into a great piece of original content or regular series. If you need a little help, we’d absolutely love to help you out.

Want more on creating great data-driven content?

• Find out the 3 reasons you should pursue data storytelling.
• Check out the animated infographic we made to showcase NewsCred’s survey results.
• See how we turned 10 million data cells into a sleek interactive for Northwestern University in Qatar.

Source: Visual News

June 1, 2017

Filmmaker In Focus Series: Crime

Our next three films in our Filmmaker In Focus Series tell tales of danger, consequence, and risk. If you missed these standout movies at our film festival, all are available to watch now!

In Ben Young‘s debut feature Hounds of Love (SXSW 2017 North American Premiere, Narrative Spotlight), Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple and quickly realizes she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive. Young is an award winning writer and director who began his career as a screen actor at the age of 12. He has since gone on to working in commercials, music videos, fashion, series television and short film. Hounds of Love is currently playing in theaters.

In the documentary Mommy Dead and Dearest (SXSW 2017 World Premiere, Documentary Feature Competition) Erin Lee Carr enlightens us about Dee Dee Blanchard and her ailing, wheelchair-bound daughter, Gypsy Rose and the mystery that surrounds their relationship. Carr is currently directing a third true crime story for HBO with producer Andrew Rossi as well as writing a book commissioned by Random House. Mommy Dead and Dearest is currently streaming on HBO.

Small Crimes (SXSW 2017 World Premiere, Narrative Spotlight) follows a disgraced former cop, fresh off a six-year prison sentence for attempted murder, who returns home looking for redemption but winds up trapped in the mess he left behind. Evan Katz‘s directorial debut Cheap Thrills premiered at SXSW in 2013 where it won the Midnighter Audience award. Small Crimes is currently streaming on Netflix.

Hounds of Love

Q: Tell us a little about your film?

A: Hounds of Love is a psychological thriller exploring themes of control and codependence between a teenaged girl and a couple in their thirties who abduct her. It was shot in 20 days entirely on location in Western Australia over a period where the daily temperature was up to 107F.

Q: What motivated you to tell this story?

A: My mother is a crime fiction writer and often gave me books on true crime she’d read for her own research. One of these was about women who commit murder and I found it fascinating how their motivations were very different from why men tend to kill. This was something I hadn’t seen explored on screen much, certainly never in Australia, so it got me thinking about how I could do it. In further research I discovered the very real and unfortunate phenomenon of couples who kill together. This to me was a concept I felt provide the footings for an interesting and disturbing character driven, psychological thriller that could be executed for a low budget. As a director who’s interest is primarily in character and performance this seemed like the perfect idea for me to develop.

Q: Tell us a random fact?

A: I’m an Australian who grew up on a sheep farm about an hour away from where our film is set. I began my career as an actor at 12 then moved onto direct commercials, kids television, short film and music videos. While at film school I worked as a clown at kids birthday parties.

Mommy Dead and Dearest

Q: Tell us a little about your film?

A: Things are not always as they appear, especially in the case of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Child abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love converge in this mystery involving a mother and daughter who were thought to be living a fairy tale life that turned out to be a living nightmare.

Q: What motivated you to tell this story?

A: I could not believe that this actually happened.

Q: Tell us a random fact?

A: Well, I won the award for “Little Miss Irish Princess” in Hopkins, Minnesota in 1994 for doing a jig in front of city hall. Don’t worry, it was more of a Fargo thing than a Toddlers and Tiara moment. Now, I am obsessed with crime and the internet and I lucky enough for that to be my job.

Small Crimes

Q: Tell us a little about your film?

A: It’s a gonzo riff on the classic “Man Out of Prison” and “Search for Redemption” subgenres.

Q: What motivated you to tell this story?

A: To some degree my interest in seeing how far I could get an audience to follow somebody who is so obviously the wrong character to root for – also a chance to comment a bit on the political and social climate in our country these days. For some reason, the truth seems to hold less and less value to us as a culture, and I’m fascinated/horrified by what that says about us. I think the “hero” of Small Crimes (played beautifully by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is sort of a weird amalgamation of current politicians, and people that I know personally. There’s probably even a little bit of me in there.

Q: Tell us a random fact?

A: I have the attention span of a flea, but can tell you the name of the most obscure death rock album I listened only once way back in High School, if asked. I literally can’t remember a five numeral code two seconds after I’ve been told, even with a gun to my head. Please don’t test this. Also, I’m obsessed with food, hip hop, and anything pulpy, dark, and funny.

Explore More Content From SXSW 2017

Get inspired by a multitude of diverse visionaries at SXSW – browse more 2017 Keynotes, Featured Sessions, Red Carpets, and Q&A’s on our YouTube Channel.

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The post Filmmaker In Focus Series: Crime appeared first on SXSW.

Source: SxSW Film