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Data Storytelling with Google Looker Studio
Data Storytelling with Google Looker Studio

Data Storytelling with Google Looker Studio: A hands-on guide to using Looker Studio for building compelling and effective dashboards

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Profile Icon Sireesha Pulipati
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€18.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (6 Ratings)
Paperback Oct 2022 464 pages 1st Edition
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Sireesha Pulipati
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€18.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (6 Ratings)
Paperback Oct 2022 464 pages 1st Edition
eBook
€26.99 €38.99
Paperback
€48.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at €18.99p/m
eBook
€26.99 €38.99
Paperback
€48.99
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Renews at €18.99p/m

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Data Storytelling with Google Looker Studio

Introduction to Data Storytelling

Data storytelling makes the presentation of data compelling and persuasive. This is a book about learning how to use the Looker Studio tool to visualize data and build useful reports and dashboards. Before we learn how to build different visual data representations, it’s important to first understand the craft of storytelling with data and its utility. It will serve us well to take a step back and understand the big picture.

This introductory chapter sets the stage for understanding the meaning of data storytelling and its importance. We will go through the components of a good data story, understand how data storytelling manifests at work, and learn the key skills required to be a good storyteller. Finally, we will learn about an approach to building effective data stories. In this chapter, we will cover the following main topics:

  • Understanding data storytelling
  • Building data stories – an approach

Understanding data storytelling

Simply put, data storytelling means telling a story using data. According to Brent Dykes, author of the bestselling book Effective Data Storytelling, data storytelling is the skillful amalgamation of data, narrative, and visuals.

Why tell a story? Stories are an integral part of our lives and are the most natural way we consume and retain information. Compared to straightforward facts and messages, stories are memorable, impressionable, relatable, and persuasive. Stories appeal to the humanness of the audience. Stories often help in communicating a complex concept or message more effectively. This is evident through the prevalence and effectiveness of parables, fables, and other forms of stories throughout human history.

Structuring a data story

Stories can be told in different ways and can have different purposes. Some have a moral or a lesson to teach, some report events, while others just entertain. In the simplest sense, a story has a...

Building data stories – an approach

Business dashboards and reports pose unique challenges in crafting a story owing to the dynamic nature of the data they support. In this section, we are going to learn about the 3-D approach to designing and building effective dashboards. The approach consists of three main stages as shown in the following figure:

Figure 1.5 – Stages of the data storytelling approach

In the Determine stage, you need to work on determining the audience for the dashboard, the key business questions they need answering, and the data required to answer those questions. In the Design stage, you will work on the narrative, select the right visuals, and identify the required interactive controls. In the Develop stage, you create the visuals and implement the right colors and visual cues for a seamless user experience. In this final stage, you will choose the appropriate delivery method and accordingly deploy and share the dashboard...

Summary

In this chapter, we have discussed what data storytelling is and how it’s distinguished from data visualization. We have understood the core elements of a data story and how data stories differ for static and dynamic content. We have learned about the 3-D approach to building data stories for dashboards that comprises three major stages: determine, design, and develop. In the determine stage, we determine the target users of the dashboard, the key business questions that the dashboard needs to address, and the data required to answer those questions. In the design stage, we build the narrative, define the right metrics, and choose the right visualizations and interactivity. Finally, in the develop stage, we actually build the visuals and interactions and choose the colors and other visual aspects. We also deliver the dashboard to the end users and ensure data freshness as part of this final stage.

It is really important to have a good understanding of the data storytelling...

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Key benefits

  • Gain a solid understanding of data visualization principles and learn to apply them effectively
  • Get to grips with the concepts and features of Looker Studio to create powerful data stories
  • Explore the end-to-end process of building dashboards with the help of practical examples

Description

Presenting data visually makes it easier for organizations and individuals to interpret and analyze information. Looker Studio is an easy-to-use, collaborative tool that enables you to transform your data into engaging visualizations. This allows you to build and share dashboards that help monitor key performance indicators, identify patterns, and generate insights to ultimately drive decisions and actions. Data Storytelling with Looker Studio begins by laying out the foundational design principles and guidelines that are essential to creating accurate, effective, and compelling data visualizations. Next, you’ll delve into features and capabilities of Looker Studio – from basic to advanced – and explore their application with examples. The subsequent chapters walk you through building dashboards with a structured three-stage process called the 3D approach using real-world examples that’ll help you understand the various design and implementation considerations. This approach involves determining the objectives and needs of the dashboard, designing its key components and layout, and developing each element of the dashboard. By the end of this book, you will have a solid understanding of the storytelling approach and be able to create data stories of your own using Looker Studio.

Who is this book for?

If you are a beginner or an aspiring data analyst looking to understand the core concepts of data visualization and want to use Looker Studio for creating effective dashboards, this book is for you. No specific prior knowledge is needed to understand the concepts present in this book. Experienced data analysts and business intelligence developers will also find this book useful as a detailed guide to using Looker Studio as well as a refresher of core dashboarding concepts.

What you will learn

  • Understand what storytelling with data means, and explore its various forms
  • Discover the 3D approach to building dashboards – determine, design, and develop
  • Test common data visualization pitfalls and learn how to mitigate them
  • Get up and running with Looker Studio and leverage it to explore and visualize data
  • Explore the advanced features of Looker Studio with examples
  • Become well-versed in the step-by-step process of the 3D approach using practical examples
  • Measure and monitor the usage patterns of your Looker Studio reports

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Oct 27, 2022
Length: 464 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781800568761
Vendor :
Google
Category :

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Product Details

Publication date : Oct 27, 2022
Length: 464 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781800568761
Vendor :
Google
Category :

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Table of Contents

16 Chapters
Part 1 – Data Storytelling Concepts Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 1: Introduction to Data Storytelling Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 2: Principles of Data Visualization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 3: Visualizing Data Effectively Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Part 2 – Looker Studio Features and Capabilities Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 4: Google Looker Studio Overview Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 5: Looker Studio Report Designer Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 6: Looker Studio Built-In Charts Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 7: Looker Studio Features, Beyond Basics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Part 3 – Building Data Stories with Looker Studio Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 8: Employee Turnover Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 9: Mortgage Complaints Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 10: Customer Churn Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 11: Monitoring Report Usage Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

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Corey Oct 27, 2022
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This book is amazing. It not only covers how to build dashboards the right way, but also the reasons and psychology behind the technique. If you read this book, you will be years ahead of your peers who are just trying to craft insights using intuition.It's an all-in-one book where you understand why we crave visualizations, which ones are best for each situation, how to actually do this in Looker Studio (Data Studio), and real world use cases of how the author has done this at Google.I can't think of a better way to go from beginner to expert, especially because Data Studio has had such sparse documentation and tutorial.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Zyad El Jebbari Oct 29, 2022
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A beautiful read, whether you are new or proficient in business intelligence tools?
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Steven Lu Nov 08, 2022
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It is a well-written book for both beginners in the data analytics field and professionals who have been using other BI tools. From the fundamentals of data storytelling to the different kinds of visualizations, Sireesha did a great job keeping the readers engaged by explaining the logic behind every step of presenting a persuasive data report.I especially like the latter part of the book which teaches me how to use the skills I learned from the earlier part into solving real-world problems. Sireesha made it very easy to follow along with the detailed steps and example images while not leaving out the reasons for the way she structured the reports.I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Looker Studio or just learning about data visualizations in general.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Karavati Damu Nov 01, 2022
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New or need to improve your skills of data storytelling using Looker studio - This is a book for you!Sireesha has done an amazing job in structuring the content in the book in such way that it not only helps with learning the features and capabilities of Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) but also teaches the importance of data visualization to drive the adoption of dashboards in enterprise. The examples in the later half of the book are a great way to put the theory into practical application.A great addition to my collection of books on data storytelling!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Lydia Y Oct 27, 2022
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This is a nicely structured book - starting from the high-level concepts to the fundamentals of data storytelling, detailed explanations of the data visualization principles, then moving towards the specific capabilities of Looker Studio (Google Data Studio). The quality of the text, the organization of the chapters, the resources and the graphics are perfectly in line. The book includes a great number of images to help understand the concepts (also perfectly explained a good visualization is worth a thousand words). I especially appreciate that the book covers at great length the visualization principles, including the pre-attentive attributes and color theme selection, which are so important for visualizing data but highly likely to be ignored by the amateur analysts like me.Sireesha also guided me step by step on how to use Looker studio in this book. I have no experience with the tool but was able to pick it up and start creating my first dashboard quickly following the steps.In summary, if you are new to data analytics, new to Looker Studio, or have some experience about either field during the day-to-day work but are seeking for a thorough learning opportunity, “Data Storytelling with Looker Studio” by Sireesha Pulipati is a must-read and a must-study material.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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