Multimedia
Multimedia gives an article purpose. Yes, the writing is the true focus, spreading information and making an impact on the world, but any argument needs evidence and numbers to support it, and that's just what multimedia does. It keeps your audience invested in the page and able to push through the thousands of words, so I always have at least one piece per, whether that's infographics, story maps, the classic chart, an infobox, or an image juxtapose. Scroll down to see some of my favorite data visualizations and other multimedia.
Story Map (Genially)
Genially story maps allow me to make my multimedia interactive, as readers can click to enter new sections and explore more. In this way, I can make the information less cluttered, while at the same time more interesting. One of my largest and most in-depth story maps is the one I created as part of our multimedia package for Heritage Fair, and it gives insight into each of the different cultural clubs by sorting them by location.
Juxtapose (Knight Lab)
Although only useful for specific articles that include a visual comparison, when applicable, KnightLab's image juxtaposition lets me show the "before and after" of something, and viewers can slide to see both sides fully. I used this for a feature I wrote on color vision deficiency to show the difference in vision for someone with normal color vision versus someone with a specific type of color deficiency.
Charts (Flourish)
I use Flourish's charts in almost every single one of my articles. It provides a simple and effective way of displaying data with so many different options, from bar charts, to line graphs, pie charts, maps, and more.
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This dual bar graph was made for a feature I wrote on swearing. The graph itself is a data visualization of a study done on how swearing can increase your pain tolerance.
This line and area graph was made for an article I wrote about the newly released Cal Fire wildfire risk maps, where I also interviewed about and covered recent wildfires and hence included this data as visual support.
This map was made for an article I wrote about the REAL ID deadline passing. It shows the compliance percentages of each state in the United States around the date of the deadline. I included it for how quickly it allows readers to see how compliant a state is.