Establishing intent – the visualization's tone

Earlier, we looked at a collection of different phrases that articulate realistic intentions for creating a data visualization. We've just proposed three classifications for how you might organize these terms according to their function.

There will sometimes be an overlap between these otherwise distinct categories, but you should be able to determine relatively clearly where your work intends to fit on the scale between explanation, exploration, and exhibition.

Setting the function is just one part of the "intent" equation. The clarity of your potential design pathway will be much more apparent as we now consider the second dimension of intent—tone.

Establishing a suitable tone goes beyond function and more towards the style of the design experience. It concerns the type of stimulus or desired emotional response that you are trying to create. It is therefore important for you, as the designer, to be able to reason what sort of design will achieve...