When telling a data story, an author has an intention they seek to convey to an audience. This intention can be of many forms such as to persuade, to educate, to inform, or even to entertain. In addition to expressing their intention, the story plot must balance being consumable and enjoyable while preserving scientific integrity. In data stories, numerous methods have been identified for constructing and presenting a plot. However, there is an opportunity to expand how we think and create the visual elements that present the story. Stories are brought to life by characters; often they are what make a story captivating, enjoyable, memorable, and facilitate following the plot until the end. Through the analysis of 160 existing data stories, we systematically investigate and identify distinguishable features of characters in data stories, and we illustrate how they feed into the broader concept of "character-oriented design". We identify the roles and visual representations data characters assume as well as the types of relationships these roles have with one another. We identify characteristics of antagonists as well as define conflict in data stories. We find the need for an identifiable central character that the audience latches on to in order to follow the narrative and identify their visual representations. We then illustrate "character-oriented design" by showing how to develop data characters with common data story plots. With this work, we present a framework for data characters derived from our analysis; we then offer our extension to the data storytelling process using character-oriented design. To access our supplemental materials please visit https://chaorientdesignds.github.io/

翻译：在讲述数据故事时，作者怀有向受众传达的特定意图。这种意图可能表现为多种形式，例如说服、教育、告知甚至娱乐。除了表达意图外，故事的情节必须在保持科学严谨性的同时，平衡可消费性与趣味性。在数据故事中，已有多种方法被提出用于构建和呈现情节。然而，如何构思并创造呈现故事的视觉元素，仍有待拓展。故事因角色而生动——角色常使故事引人入胜、令人愉悦、易于记忆，并有助于观众持续关注情节直至结尾。通过对160个现有数据故事的系统分析，我们识别并归纳了数据故事中角色的显著特征，阐明它们如何融入“角色导向设计”这一更广泛的概念。我们明确了数据角色所承担的角色类型及其视觉呈现形式，以及这些角色之间的相互关系。我们识别反派的特征，并界定了数据故事中的冲突。我们发现，需要一位观众能够紧紧跟随的中心角色来引导叙事，并识别其视觉表征。随后，我们通过展示如何将数据角色与常见数据故事情节进行结合，阐释了“角色导向设计”。基于分析，我们提出一个数据角色框架，并运用角色导向设计扩展了数据故事创作流程。如需访问补充材料，请访问 https://chaorientdesignds.github.io/