Dollar street
Leveraging data to better understand the world we live in
Is data soulless? In theory, yes. Can we infuse life into it? Absolutely.
We often see data as the ultimate goal. We collect it, analyse it, find insights, and then present them. What the data tells us becomes the output and the foundation for communication. And that’s not an issue per se. Heck, that’s part of how I make a living.
But can data also serve as a window to the world we live in?
Beautifully, yes. That’s the premise behind the project called Dollar Street (an initiative by Gapminder). Dollar Street showcases the economic conditions of people around the world by arranging households from different countries by their income. The income levels are mapped on a spectrum—a metaphorical street—with little houses representing different families. And for each of those families, you can see their everyday lives in pictures: homes, belongings, and routines. It’s such an elegant way to understand and feel the global economic disparities and similarities.
Perhaps you’ve heard about Dollar Street before. In my bubble, Hans Rosling—the founder of Gapminder and hence this project—is as famous as Tom Cruise. But when I mention his name at trainings and events I’m often surprised how few people have heard of him. After all, he’s considered to be the father of data storytelling! So whether you’re just discovering his work or have known about it for years, let’s dive deeper into the underlying principles of Dollar Street to see how they can inform our data practice.
Data is a means, not an end.
Dollar Street includes numbers, quite a few of them. They range from $25 to $20,000. There’s almost any figure in between, as shown by the little houses on the street (see the gray band at the top of the website). But showing these numbers is not the goal. They’re just a navigation filter: what does life look like for a family living on $200 a month in Kenya? What about the Philippines? How does that compare to our own life? What are the things we get to enjoy with the extra money we earn? Here, data is used as a means to inform. And effectively so.
Data is emotional.
Is emotional data an oxymoron? I hope you’ve just answered “absolutely not” in your head. I’d argue it’s quite the contrary. I regularly write and talk about how important it is to create an emotional connection with your audience when communicating data. If you want your listeners to take action, there’s simply no other way around it. And Dollar Street is a brilliant example of that. Instead of histogrammes that show the distribution of income across the globe, we get pictures. Pictures of real people in their homes help us see, empathise, and imagine what their lives look like. Because of that empathy, we’re much more likely to remember this information. And perhaps do something about it when an opportunity presents itself.
Data can change perceptions.
I hope by now you went exploring Dollar Street a little bit. Perhaps you even got lost in the database and forgot to come back to this newsletter. That’s fine 😉 If you are back, what did you learn? Did you have preconceived notions about what things look like in other countries in the world? Or about how people living there feel? Is there something new you discovered? Exploring the Dollar Street database has an immense potential of opening our eyes to the realities of the world we thought to be different. Hans Rosling used to say “Let my dataset change your mindset”. Those pictures can do that even better.
What does that mean for us? I wonder if we should keep the lessons from Dollar Street in mind every day. Perhaps even repeat them as a mantra:
Data is a means, not an end.
Data is emotional.
Data can change perceptions.
What do you think? What guiding principles do you abide by in your daily work?
Do let us know and thanks so much for reading! 🙏
See you next week,
—Evelina
Upcoming events 📆
Want to learn data storytelling with me? You can attend one of these trainings:
🇫🇷 One-day data storytelling course in Paris on March 26. Read this article to learn more and get a discount with the code TRAINER100.
🏴 Two-day data storytelling course in Utrecht on April 16-17.
🏴 Three-week online data storytelling bootcamp starting in early June. This will be an updated and improved version of my usual course. As always, you can use the code THEPLOT10 for 10% off.
🗽P.S. I’ll be in NYC April 4-12! Send me a note if you’d like to grab coffee.
Enjoyed this post? Why not share it with a friend?
When you refer The Plot to a friend or colleague, you become eligible for the following rewards:
⭐️ 5 referrals: chart review
⭐️⭐️ 10 referrals: 30min 1:1 session
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 30 referrals: 1hour 1:1 session + project review