Why data stories?
Data stories are more important than ever before.
Fight against disinformation
We live in a world inundated with information, but accuracy can be a problem. Data visualisation allows us to better see the scale of an issue, and suss out what’s real and what’s not. When we understand things better, we’re better equipped to assess what’s out there and what we can do.
Move people to action
Data stories can be very persuasive, moving people to shift mindsets, exercise empathy and take action. When done with care and precision, data stories can change hearts and minds.
Address gaps and celebrate diversity
Storytellers help shed light on issues and communities deserving of the spotlight, breaking the hegemony of popular discourse. Data stories can invite curiosity and interest, illuminating cultures and communities in joyful and innovative ways.
But data stories are not easy to create.
Data stories involve multiple skills and tools to leverage each skill properly. This involves time, resources, troubleshooting, and often, someone who is a master in coding. How can we make this process pain-free and easy for all storytellers?
How do we know? We’re just like you. Our team encountered the same problems when we were starting out. Data storytelling seemed destined to be time, labour and skill intensive. Until we built the solution ourselves.
Lapis is everything we’ve always wanted in a tool for data storytelling. But we dreamed even bigger. Lapis is a tool, a platform, and a community, all-in-one. Because no one creates data stories alone.
Acknowledgment
The first phase of development of Lapis is supported by the
2022 Google News Initiative (GNI) Challenge.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our user research participants. Your invaluable insights have been instrumental in shaping Lapis into the platform it is today. We couldn't have done it without you!
Read more about our research here.