The Thesis

Nowadays, many government bodies – from towns, to municipalities, regions, nations and supranational unions – publish open data. Though these datasets are often of high quality, institutions are recurrently at loss as to how to communicate and publish the knowledge that their data holds to a diverse audience in an increasingly dense information landscape. The status quo is still to provide reports and yearbooks that summarize findings and insights in a PDF-format. These print-oriented publications are limited in the way they can apply data visualization, interaction design and narrative structures to allow people to gain useful insights into the subject-matter at hand.

My Master’s thesis “Beyond the PDF” examines how a traditional PDF report can be published as a dynamic online publication that employs data visualization and data-driven storytelling. The thesis uses the report “Key Data on Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe” by Eurydice as a case study to explore how a user-centred information design can make government reports more relevant and insightful to a diverse audience. The result is a re-designed prototype of the report that allows for a reflection on the continuum between different users, informative and experiential data visualization, explorative and story-driven structures, and in-depth and vertical exploration. This applied outcome is complemented with a written thesis part that describes the process and summarizes relevant theoretical background.

The thesis is planned to be completed in Spring 2020. It is developed in collaboration with members of the Eurostat Dissemination and User Support Unit, who provide their extensive experience and knowledge in creating both print and digital products in the field of official statistics.