Jiggle
Fellowship | Web-based Data Visualization Tool
Jiggle is a web-based data visualization tool. It was created for journalists who want to show their data stories more effectively without having to worry about implementing their own visual technologies. It provides an easy-to-use format to give practical solutions considering the reality of the Korean media environment and the problems faced by journalists in it.
Context
Google News Lab Fellowship
Google Korea, 2018
Roles
UX Research
Ideation
Tool Design
Video Production
Tools Used
Sketch
After Effects
Illustrator
How Jiggle Works
01 Select Template
Select a template according to the purpose. Each template provides a description of the intended use.
02 Insert Data
Users can write data directly into JIGGLE or from Excel which is a common tool that journalists use when they arrange the data. Then, after users fill in the title, unit, creator, and source and click the button below, they can check the result of the chart immediately.
03 Chart Editing & Preview
Users can change the background theme and bar color. They also can import images or adjust the size or ratio of the screen.After confirming the result, users can save a GIF file.
Final Chart Example
This is an article published by one of the Korean press companies called Money-Today and two main portal sites such as
Daum and
Naver in Korea.
Background
In Korea's media news dependency, 77%of people who consume online news use portal news services compared to only 4% who go directly to the press company website to see the news. However, due to security concerns, Korean portal companies are limiting their image, text, and YouTube links to formats that journalists can use to write their articles. Therefore, journalists cannot provide chart information to readers in a more lively way.
Design Decision
01 Chart Templates
We have analyzed the types of graphs used by journalists for the past two years and classified them by shape, intentions, and frequency used. Based on the results of the classification, we selected the charts to be provided to users as templates. By providing templates, journalists can more easily select the chart animations they need.
02 Input System
Journalists use many computer programs while they write news articles and even if the program changes, they use many input shortcuts habitually. They use “ctrl + c (copy)” and “ctrl + v (paste)” to move data from one to another. Also, if they need to undo, press “Ctrl + Z (Undo)”. Therefore, it was important to understand the user's familiar workflow.
03 Style Editing
To effectively show what the charts mean, other resources such as color, images, and fonts are needed. Most journalists, however, were afraid of new tools and lack a sense of design. Therefore, basic editing features such as 1. selecting a background color 2. importing images and adjusting size, 3. choosing bar color are designed to help journalists.
04 Export as GIF Format
We conducted a short survey of 28 journalists and all said they needed a tool with a simpler and more efficient process than a professional video editing tool. As a result, we decided to create a tool that would allow us to quickly create images in GIF format within limited functionality in a minimal three-step process. Since GIF is a format that online news readers don't have to click on a button to view the charts, we thought the GIF format could make the content more accessible. This format is one of the image formats and allows you to apply dynamic effects.
User Feedback
After three months, the final presentation was attended by many media outlets and people interested in new media. Our team received very positive feedback, especially from journalists who are interested in dynamic charts, and media outlets who cannot hire designers because of their small size but want to create moving charts. We were able to confirm that the key issues and concepts we analyzed were well communicated to people.
Reflections
The final destination will be whether our challenge has had an impact on the world. When Jiggle was first published on the web, we were surprised that Jiggle was in great demand from many journalists and media companies. Without any technical difficulties for journalists, we have succeeded in confirming that charts have the power to change our media landscape.
