Breathing new life into data with Google Data GIF Maker

The Challenge

Google wanted to provide journalists, bloggers and businesses to be able to visualize data sets in a simple, effective way.

After successfully collaborating with Google News Lab, to launch the Data Gif maker in 2017, Toaster were tasked to update the tool in way that allowed for additional functionality and an improved user experience.

The Approach

We wanted to optimise the three elements of functionality that are most important to our audience; efficiency, quality and control.

The GIFs produced within the new tool are quicker to load, rendered in real time on the server, to a HD standard; meaning they look fantastic on larger screens. Additionally, the ability to add more than 2 data points within the new version means users are able to represent increasingly more complex data sets. All of which, helps creators and readers alike.

The Results

Data visualisations are an essential journalistic tool - and with mobile devices now the primary method of consuming news, Google News Lab wanted a tool that outputs these visualisations in formats fit for all devices.

After collaborating with Google News Lab in 2017, Toaster launched Data Gif Maker. In 2019 additional functionality was added to provide an improved experience through increased efficiency, quality and control.

The GIFs produced within the updated tool are significantly quicker to load, rendered in real time on the server, to a HD standard; meaning they look fantastic on larger screens. Additionally, the ability to add more than 2 data points within the new version means journalists are able to represent increasingly complex data sets. All of which, helps creators and readers alike.