Flowing Ideas: How to Craft Unconventional Sankey Charts for Visual Storytelling

In the realm of visual storytelling, the Sankey diagram stands out as a versatile tool for illustrating complex flows and transformations. Traditionally used in energy and economics to show the direction and quantity of flow between processes or categories, Sankey charts are now being pushed to their creative boundaries, finding innovative applications in areas like data visualization, environmental studies, and even marketing. The ability to visualize how something changes or flows from one type to another makes Sankey diagrams highly effective for showing distribution processes, such as financial transactions or social network interactions. However, to truly make Sankey charts resonate with audiences in today’s fast-paced digital world, creators need to venture beyond the conventional and craft unconventional, visually compelling Sankey diagrams that tell a story.

Embrace Unconventionality

The first step in crafting an unconventional Sankey chart is to embrace the idea that traditional boundaries are there to be broken. Forget about the notion that Sankey diagrams are solely for presenting economic or energy data—use them to tell any story that involves flow and transformation. Here are a few unconventional applications to inspire your next project:

The Birth of a Trend: Track the evolution of a fashion trend over time, showing how it began, influenced other styles, and finally faded away.
Social Media Influence: Map the flow of information as it goes viral through different social media platforms, highlighting which platforms contributed the most to the trend’s spread.
Customer Journey: Visualize the journey a potential customer goes through from first awareness of a brand, through consideration and acquisition, and finally to becoming a loyal customer.

Crafting Your Unconventional Sankey

Once you’ve decided on an unconventional story to tell, it’s time to start crafting your diagram. Here are some tips to help you create a visually compelling and impactful Sankey chart:

Choose the Right Software: Utilize modern data visualization tools that offer a high level of customization and the ability to craft complex shapes and flows. Software like Tableau, d3.js, or even Adobe Illustrator can be powerful tools for shaping your unconventional Sankey.
Enhance Readability: Use color effectively to highlight the most interesting parts of your chart and ensure that text is large enough to read at a glance. Consider using icons or symbols to replace text when appropriate to streamline your chart.
Leverage Animation: If your visualization is complex or involves multiple steps, consider adding in animation to guide the viewer’s eye through the steps more smoothly. This is especially impactful in storytelling applications.
Experiment with Shape and Size: In addition to changing colors or adding animation, experiment with changing the shape or size of your Sankey diagram’s arrows. This can convey different types of flow, such as gradual changes versus sudden spikes, more effectively.
Incorporate 3D Elements: For a truly unconventional and immersive experience, integrate three-dimensional elements into your Sankey chart. While this can be challenging to create, it will undoubtedly make your visualization stand out.

Putting It Into Practice

Creating an unconventional Sankey chart is not just about pushing boundaries—it’s about creating a tool that tells an important visual story. Whether it’s visualizing historical data or predicting future trends, every Sankey chart should add value to its audience’s understanding. By understanding the potential of the Sankey diagram and experimenting with it in new ways, you can create visual stories that are not only informative but also captivating and engaging.

In conclusion, the Sankey diagram is a powerful tool for visual storytelling, capable of conveying complex data in a way that’s both educational and compelling. By crafting unconventional Sankey charts, creators can explore new narrative possibilities, breaking the cycle of traditional data visualization and opening doors to a world of innovative visual storytelling.

SankeyMaster

SankeyMaster is your go-to tool for creating complex Sankey charts . Easily enter data and create Sankey charts that accurately reveal intricate data relationships.