Data comics

Graphic Medicine are also curating COVID comics

19 July 2021 Data comics Project News
Page header from graphicmedicine.org

Our project partners, Graphic Medicine, have been busy collecting COVID-19 comics since the early days of the pandemic.

Graphicsmedicine.org is also run in Spanish

Even before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 15, 2020, MK Czerwiec and Alice Jaggers, co-owners of the Graphic Medicine website, had started curating dozens of coronavirus webcomics.

The collected comics are posted in 8 categories: educational, vaccine-specific comics, ethics/social justice, comics about caregiving, comics by patients, coping & humour, historic, and non-comic resources.

 

Founder of GraphicMedicine.org, Dr Ian Williams, coined the term ‘graphic medicine’ for the name of the website in 2007. Since then, the site has continued to explore the interaction between the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare.

 

The site is made up of a community of academics, health carers, authors, artists, and fans of comics and medicine. Several COVID comics have been posted on the site since the curation started last year.

 

Graphic Medicine also publishes in Spanish and Japanese, and run the pathographics project

Credits

Featured images are obtained from https://www.graphicmedicine.org/

Kufre Okon Author
Research Assistant

I am a trainee communications researcher with a background in journalism. My research interest is in health communications targeting disadvantaged groups. I studied international media framing of COVID-19 for my MA. My current research interest is in identifying online media contents which can be powerful triggers of public health behaviour change. 

email
s5220116@bournemouth.ac.uk

A Visual Cure: The Importance of Data Comics & Graphic Medicine in the COVID-19 Pandemic

10 February 2021 0 Data comics Perspective
Featured Image courtesy of Alexandra Alberda (2020)

Data can be daunting. The representation of information as convoluted webs of numbers and graphs is oftentimes bewildering and off putting. In a time where data is becoming increasingly important in the lives of a sprawling range of demographics (Tapper 2020), the need for coherent, reliable representations of statistics and facts grows more and more prevalent. This need could potentially be sated by data comics and graphic medicine, an emerging field for simplifying data championed by PhD researcher Alexandra Alberda. Alberda provided an online talk about the topic at Bournemouth University in October of 2020, right at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The concepts of graphic medicine and data comics here are defined as the grappling of medical data, statistics and qualitative findings, and the representation of this data visually or narratively by way of comics, illustrations or infographics (Williams 2012). The intended outcome of such visual representations is to provide for a given audience a means to interpret healthcare data in a manner more entertaining and engaging than some academic examples, such as a PowerPoint presentation or journal article (Zhao 2015). As a result, data comics and graphic medicine promise to induct non-specialised groups into the realm of potentially difficult medical data and provide useful information regarding this topic.

Cover of comic on COVID-19 data literacy written by Dr. Anna Feigenbaum, illustrated by Alexandra Alberda

Throughout the course of her talk, Alberda highlighted some of the benefits of employing graphic medicine to convey complex statistics and concepts regarding health to a generalised audience. These benefits range from the engaging nature of data presented graphically or humorously to the use of graphic pathographies to communicate the individual healthcare journeys of patients and workers. These informative, personalised memoirs help both to preserve the facts of a given healthcare crisis and provide meaningful representation regarding complex personhood (Avery Gordon cited by Alberda 2020). As such, graphic medicine is demonstrated here not only as a means to communicate difficult health statistics, but as a humanised narrative tool to address the mental impacts of related healthcare situations (Farthing et al. 2016).

Alberda proceeded to discuss the potential power data comics and graphic medicine could wield in regards to the encouraging of meaningful change. If this kind of visual data can help non-specialist audiences feel included in the conversation regarding healthcare, and inspire empathy within them, then there is potential for graphic medicine to incite a widespread behavioural shift. Evidence of the comic medium bearing this kind of impact can be found in Yeung et al.’s (2014) study, which ascertained that a manga comic promoting healthy eating had influenced a number of New York children to reconsider their snacking habits.

Harnessed properly, the illustration of important health messaging can lead to revised attitudes and behaviours regarding relevant issues.

Each of these points, of course, have potential application concerning the current COVID-19 pandemic. Heartfelt graphic pathographies about life in lockdown could help cultivate a sense of connectedness in these decidedly disconnected times. Emotive, informational comics could inspire bolstered respect for social distancing conventions. The implications of this method of communicating data are as broad as they are promising.

Reference List

Alberda, A., 2020. Graphic Medicine. In: Feigenbaum, A., Alamalhodaei, A., The Data Storytelling Workbook. England: Routledge, 163-166

Farthing, A., Priego, E., 2016. Data from ‘Graphic Medicine’ as a Mental Health Information Resource: Insights from Comics Producers. Open Health Data [online], 4 (1)

Leung, M., Tripicchio, G., Agaranov, A., Hou, N., 2014. Manga Comic Influences Snack Selection in Black and Hispanic New York City Youth. Research Brief [online], 46 (2), 142-147

Tapper, J., 2020. 'Go figure: how Britain became a nation of armchair statisticians'. The Guardian [online], 8 Nov 2020. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/08/go-figure-how-britain-became-a-nation-of-armchair-statisticians [Accessed 3 Feb 2021]

Williams, I.C.M., 2012. Graphic medicine: comics as medical narrative. Medical Humanities [online], 38, 21-27

Zhao, Z., Marr, R., Elmqvist, N., 2015. Data Comics: Sequential Art for Data Driven Storytelling [online]. Maryland: University of Maryland.


Originally published at: https://covid19speakerseries.edublogs.org/2021/02/10/a-visual-cure-the-importance-of-data-comics-graphic-medicine-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/.

Jonny Sexton Author
Research Assistant

My name is Jonny, and I am currently working on my postgraduate degree in Media and Communication at Bournemouth University. My background as a freelance illustrator means I know a thing or two about comics, and I am interested in learning about the potential of this medium to communicate meaningful social ideas and concepts. 

email
s5305195@bournemouth.ac.uk

Graphic Images: how webcomics can aid public health awareness

28 January 2021 0 Data comics Perspective
Dave Whamond/CagleCartoons.com

As you’ve probably guessed from the title, webcomics are being discussed as a new method for getting across public health messaging. Alexandra Alberda, a researcher at Bournemouth University, explained some of her ideas about how and why webcomics – and data-comics – work so well at getting across info, with a particular focus on using them during the pandemic.

COVID-19 has been a long and drawn-out catastrophe, and there has been a need to get urgent messages out to the public for everyone’s safety and well-being. But these messages can get muddled, drowned amongst a sea of long press-conferences, Twitter mis-info, and wild conspiracy videos. This is where the unique aspects of webcomics can step in and help.

Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR

For a start, comics are easy to engage with for a lot of people, young and old. They have an aesthetic and use of language that is simple enough to be accessible for a very broad target audience. That broad appeal, especially in the context of educating the public about a pandemic, makes them a potentially powerful tool for public health communications.


‘Data-comics’ are something Alberda discussed in her talk as part of the speaker series. Now, the words ‘data’ ‘statistics’ and ‘figures’ are bound to immediately put off a lot of people (myself included) who don’t have a mathematical bone in their body. The same goes for charts and graphs, which can be pretty dry at the best of times. So, data-comics attempt to bridge that gap, and aim to repackage that info – for example, virus R-numbers, infection rates, risk calculations etc. – into something more easily digestible and understandable.  Take XKCD, the long-running webcomic that blends scientific topics with sardonic humour and a classic stick-figure aesthetic, or the Graphic Medicine project run by illustrators and academics to see how data-comics can be used in public health communications

Randall Munroe/XKCD.com

At the heart of it all is storytelling. Alberda outlines that a key part of web and datacomics about medicine and public health is transforming a whole mess of disparate facts and figures and putting them into a story format. Storytelling is such an innately human way of making sense complex things and issues. We tell children cautionary tales to warn them of the dangers out there, we package world events and issues into news stories and articles, and we even organise our memories into story-like structures. A great example of this can be seen in a webcomic that’s sprung up specifically to explain coronavirus to kids in a way that hopefully appeals to them through light-hearted dialogue and a fun, childish drawing style.

So, webcomics might just be an ideal way to get public health messages and guidance across effectively and entertainingly to a wide range of people across all demographics, and COVID-19 might just be the push that gets the ball really rolling.

Comic credits, from top to bottom:

Featured image: Malaka Gharib/NPR
Dave Whamond/CagleCartoons.com
Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR
Randall Munroe/XKCD.com

All images have been used for educational purposes, please contact s4599277@bournemouth.ac.uk for removal.

Originally published at: https://covid19speakerseries.edublogs.org/2021/01/28/graphic-images-how-webcomics-can-aid-public-health-awareness/.

Conor Byrne Author
Research Assistant

I’m Conor, I’m currently studying for my MA in Media and Communications at Bournemouth University whilst also working as a freelance writer. My research interests lie in niche media and internet subcultures.  

email
s4599277@bournemouth.ac.uk

Dr. Anna Feigenbaum delivers keynotes on Data Storytelling and COVID-19

8 December 2020 0 Activities Data comics
Sketchnote illustration of Dr. Feigenbaum’s keynote address.

On The 27th of November 2020, Dr. Anna Feigenbaum presented a keynote presentation at the Data Storytelling Symposium hosted by the Data Stories project at Kings College London. She delivered her keynote address on Humanising Data Stories to a webinar audience of over 400 registered participants. Arising from work co-created with colleagues and PhD candidate Alexandra Alberda, the presentation explored techniques for telling more empathetic and effective stories both with and about data. Highlighting the ‘statistical chaos’ of COVID-19, Dr. Feigenbaum’s presentation showcased both her own comics collaborations with research illustrator Alexandra Alberda, as well as work of other comics artists and illustrators, both amateur and professional.  This keynote was part of a series of talks and workshop Dr. Feigenbaum and Alberda have given over the past few months, including participation in the ESRC Festival of Social Science and a keynote at BU’s EdD conference, as well as international conferences IGNCC and ISPIM and most recently the Coronavirus, statistical chaos and the news event co-hosted by Bournemouth University, the Royal Statistical Society and the Association of British Science Writers on December 4, 2020.

Illustration by Alexandra Alberda (comic script by Anna Feigenbaum, Alexandra Alberda and Yazan Abbas)

Dr. Feigenbaum joined a prestigious line-up of science journalists and academic experts, sharing pilot research that forms part of her upcoming UKRI/AHRC COVID-19 Rapid Response grant project on ‘COVID-19 Comics’. This project aims to enhance the role that comics can play in public health messaging through an analysis of the content, circulation patterns and social media engagement of webcomics about COVID-19. Dr. Feigenbaum leads a team of BU colleagues and partners as PI, alongside Alexandra Alberda, Professor Julian McDougall, Dr. William Proctor and Dr. Sam Goodman. Project partners are Public Health Dorset, the Information Literacy Network and the Graphic Medicine Collective. To find out more about this work or about hosting a data storytelling workshop for your project team, contact afeigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Originally published at: BU Research Blog

Anna Feigenbaum Administrator
Professor in Digital Storytelling

I am a writer, researcher, teacher and workshop leader specialising in data storytelling for civic good. From digging into dusty archives to data visualising absent deaths, I am drawn to the difficult, the messy, the ethically challenging questions that exist around the edges of debates over how we tell stories with science and data. As a consultant and trainer, I collaborate with charities, NGOs, Public Health organisations, investigative journalists and other researchers to explore empathetic and effective ways to tell data stories. I believe that it is often those without access to big budgets and fancy tools that hold the data stories we most need to change the world.

email
afeigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk
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Recording of Dr. Pirtle’s talk on COVID-19 and Racial Capitalism now available

29 October 2020 0 Data comics Presentations

On October 27th we were honoured to host Dr. Whitney Pirtle, whose ground-breaking work on health inequalities and COVID-19 has helped set the agenda for debate and discussion on the impacts of the pandemic on BAME communities. In her presentation Dr. Pirtle introduced key concepts for better addressing health inequities in both our research and practice. Insights from this talk will be brought forward into our research activity discussion around Health, Science and Data Communications, being coordinated by Dr. Lyle Skains here at BU.

You can listen to Dr. Pirtle’s presentation recorded on zoom.

To learn more about Dr. Pirtle and her work you can visit her website and read a copy of her paper on which this presentation is based.

Originally published at: BU Research Blog

Anna Feigenbaum Administrator
Professor in Digital Storytelling

I am a writer, researcher, teacher and workshop leader specialising in data storytelling for civic good. From digging into dusty archives to data visualising absent deaths, I am drawn to the difficult, the messy, the ethically challenging questions that exist around the edges of debates over how we tell stories with science and data. As a consultant and trainer, I collaborate with charities, NGOs, Public Health organisations, investigative journalists and other researchers to explore empathetic and effective ways to tell data stories. I believe that it is often those without access to big budgets and fancy tools that hold the data stories we most need to change the world.

email
afeigenbaum@bournemouth.ac.uk
follow me

COVID-19 Data Literacy is for Everyone: A research webcomic on Nightingale

6 May 2020 0 Data comics Featured comics

Very recently my colleagues, Dr Anna Feigenbaum (FMC) and Aria Alamalhodaei, co-authors of the recent The Data Storytelling Workbook (Routledge, 2020), for which I am a research illustrator, have collaborated again to create a webcomic that responds to data literacy needs highlighted by the emotional responses to COVID-19 data visualisations which are very prominent during this time.

From instructional hand-washing infographics, to calls to ‘flatten the curve,’ data visualisations are telling us how to live, and predicting our possible futures. As the cascade of open data relating to the COVID-19 virus grows, so too do the charts and graphs claiming to decipher, decode, and translate this data for everyday understanding.

Our hope is that by presenting data literacy principles to our readers we can provide analytical tools needed to give back a sense of empowerment and grounding when encountering COVID-19 data visualisations. In order to do this we have presented key points made by designers, researchers, and data storytellers who are working to educate on and highlight practices that do not contribute to ‘fake news,’ alarmist and harmful data visualisations.



COVID-19 Data Literacy is for Everyone was published on Nightingale, The Journal of the Data Visualisation Society on Medium. Within minutes of being live the webcomic was selected as a quality contribution and will be featured on Medium more broadly to the data science community.

In order to have a positive impact through this work, we are currently putting together a multi-audience based lesson plan for educators to use with their students. Since sharing we have received positive feedback from across the web and, based on one of these interactions, are now working with a new collaborator to translate the webcomic into Italian.

If interested in reading our comic please following this friend link: https://medium.com/p/covid-19-data-literacy-is-for-everyone-46120b58cec9?source=email-e838f6276def–writer.postDistributed&sk=dcae1f34f7812bfc80662b0c305bd5bb

Originally published at: BU Research Blog

Alexandra Alberda Author
Doctoral researcher and Research Illustrator

My PhD, titled Graphic Medicine Exhibited: Public Engagement with Comics in Curatorial Practice and Visitor Experience since 2010, explores the intersections of the comics medium, health, and exhibition to understand potential methodological approaches and sociocultural values of these experiences. My collaborative projects, namely with Dr Anna Feigenbaum and Aria Alamalhodaei, have explored such topics as public health, data storytelling and visualisation, comics (graphic medicine, graphic social science, data comics), and creative-led knowledge exchange. As a research illustrator I have worked on a number of projects, including the recent The Data Storytelling Workbook (Routledge 2020) and two COVID-19 webcomics. As a curator, I explore how different media, such as comics and zines, can create more emotive connections between different cultures, place, and time, contribute towards decolonisation, and foster social justice and care in upcoming museum professionals. 

email
aalberda@bournemouth.ac.uk
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