Opportunity
I wanted to learn Python. I knew from my previous Spotify project, Spotify provided JSON files, which I download from my personal account. Around the time I downloaded my listening data, we were focusing on data storytelling in our programme. This combination, plus a text to my sister where I asked “Do you think we would’ve survived the last year without Taylor Swift’s productivity?” became the simple motivation for this personal project.

Approach
Although I could unlikely answer my initial research question, I thought I’d have some fun trying. Being a Taylor Swift fan is a divisive subject (or as some say ‘not cool’). So I really leaned into my fandom, creating an elaborate analysis of how Taylor Swift’s productivity helped me get through a global pandemic. The main audience was people who usually engage with my work online. The bonus audience was potential employers. I wanted come up with an entertaining output that showcased my ability to create compelling narratives from data, all the while learning python.

Tools

• Python

• Excel

• Raw Graphs

• Flourish

• Adobe Illustrator

 Although the focus was Python, I decided to follow the steps in Data Storytelling Workbook (Feigenbaum, A. and Alamalhodaei, A., 2020) to create a compelling narrative. The audience was simple and the concept was personal but it was still a useful exercise. I wanted to focus on story and design, less on an elaborate data visualisation.

 Knowing SQL, it wasn’t hard to pick up Python. It’s now a useful part of my data analytics workflow!

I drew on Taylor’s ‘Lover phase’, which means colourful, vibrant and almost mystical. My Square Space site, where I created the story, was limiting. So  the design only came through the visualisations.  In the end, I had to choose a more muted palatte for readibility. I would love to see this piece as an interactive visual essay, like The Pudding’s style, where it could really come to life

I think conversational, approachable writing lends well to communicating data because it doesn’t need to be more complicated than it already is. I wanted the writing in Taylor to be  direct but fun. I drew inspiration from authors like Comedian, Seth Rogen and Novelist Cormac McCarthy, who was a recommendation and I  always refer back to David Olgilvy's How to Write manifesto (Farnum Street).

After I structured the data, I loaded the multiple data views into Flourish, where I created stacked bar graphs – the main visualisation for this piece. I used Illustrator to adapt the design. I also used Raw Graphs for other  visualisations. Typically, I’ll use a combination of these programmes for pieces like this.