DataComics from Byte-Man

Data Comics: The Power To Influence Data Science Storytelling

Comics Data Science Study

Data comic is a new genre of data visualizations, inspired by the visual language of comics. Comics are a medium to story telling and story telling is the power to influence in Data Science. Data comics combine techniques from the tradition of comics and from infographics, data visualization and explanations.

Let’s check out one example:

Data Comic

Potato Chips vs Banana Chips

Potato vs Banana: Chips War

Casual Data Story

Potato Chips vs Banana Chips

A chip or crisp is any type of snack food in the form of a crisp, flat or slightly bowl shaped, bite-sized unit. Chips / crisps are made from vegetables/fruits, vegetable and flavourings. Chips are certainly not a health food but that doesn’t stop them from being extremely popular, especially with the younger generation. This time we decided to compare two popular types (Potato Chips & Banana Chips) on different fronts.

Origin

Potato chips(sometimes called potato crisps) is originated from New England, USA as one man’s variation on the French-fried potato while Banana chips (sometimes called banana crisps), is originated from Kerala, India.

Production

China is the biggest producer of potatoes followed by India while India is the biggest producer of bananas followed by China. However, the Netherlands is by far the largest exporter of potatoes while Ecuador is the largest exporter of bananas in the world.

Nutrition

Both banana and potato chips offer some nutritional value, potato chips contain less carbs than banana chips, and banana chips have a few nutritional advantages over potato. Although fresh bananas and potato are much healthier.

Snack Food(serving: 100 g)CaloriesFatCarbs
Potato Chips54737.47 g49.74 g
Banana Chips51933.6 g58.4 g

Banana chips may be a healthier alternative to potato chips even when they are fried. According to USDA data, a comparable serving of potato chips provides about the same number of calories as banana chips, but less than one gram (0.6g) of fiber. Banana chips provide over a gram. However, both type of chips are high in fat and salt.

Market Value

The global potato chips market reached a value of $30 Billion USD in 2019 while the global banana chips market clocked around $100 million USD in 2019.

Now, as you compare both data comic and casual data story presentation, you find that a data comic is making data representation more engaging and enjoyable. Data Scientist often struggles to write stories about complex, data-driven topics in a way an audience who won’t read a report, long article, or deep-dive analysis. So here data comics come to a data scientist’s rescue. Data Comics is a new genre of data presentation which borrows the elements of visual communication from a century-old art. However there are both pros and cons of this novel genre.

Pros and Cons of Data Comics

Pros of Data Comics:

  • More Engaging
  • Space-efficient
  • More Enjoyable
  • Faster To Read

Cons of Data Comics:

  • Decreasing Reusability
  • Need Extra Time & Effort To Create
  • Required Design Skills
  • Multiple visualizations Create High Visual Complexity