Late last year, a colleague in Melbourne asked if I knew of a way to animate a Sankey diagram. A Sankey what? thought I, not within reach of Wikipedia (here’s the link). We then had a discussion on the flows of energy from generation to consumption and how such a diagram would transform its shape according to the situation.

In a report, and as a static diagram, the Sankey works quite well. But if its part of a story of varying input and modifying consumption then the diagram has a narrative along which it can contort itself. As we flicked through various technical reports I was thinking this diagram needed to jump off the page, tell the story and connect the various measures by which it is being varied to show the full picture.

So, if we’re working on an urban masterplan and reducing the consumption of electricity, what do those measures look like and how do they impact upon the total system. It didn’t really take all that long to piece together the various elements to make a story board for an animation. Three reports in fact; then some internal investment and the deft graphical hand of Fooch from Squint/Opera (Aus).

In the film, (excerpt below – we’re polishing the narrative) the content and the story are from our reports. We know though that not everyone reads technical reports, so this is the beginning of what’s next – visual reports.