Data Storytelling¶

Skill version 0.4.0

Assemble explanatory charts into a scrollable, editorial article — masthead, narrow reading column, prose interleaved with charts, each captioned by its takeaway. The charts themselves follow Distilling Explanatory Plots; this is the Panel shell around them. Complete piece: examples/graphic_story.py.

Contents¶

• Reading column
• Prose-then-chart rhythm
• One visual family
• Assume no interaction
• Gotchas

Reading column¶

Clamp the body to a readable width instead of letting it stretch: wrap the article in pmui.Container(width_option="md") inside a pmui.Page. Section/masthead name goes in Page.title, the story's headline in the body as pmui.Typography(variant="h3"), the dek as a subtitle1 in text.secondary. An editorial serif (theme_config typography.fontFamily) sells the article feel.

Prose-then-chart rhythm¶

Build one pmui.Column alternating a short paragraph and the chart it sets up, so the reader meets the point before the picture. Charts go in pn.pane.HoloViews (no pmui equivalent) and auto-theme under the Page.

One visual family¶

Route every chart through one shared style() helper and one small palette — consistency is what makes a stack of charts feel authored rather than piled up.

Assume no interaction¶

A story is read, not operated: keep the explanatory rule that the static view carries the message (toolbar=None, direct labels, annotations in place). No widgets, no sidebar.

Gotchas¶

• Body prose goes in pn.pane.Markdown (renders inline **bold**/`code`), not pmui.Typography (plain text) — use Typography for the headline and dek.
• Page.main needs a list: main=[container], not main=container. No sidebar for an article.
• The masthead AppBar defaults to blue; set palette.primary.main (e.g. a dark ink) so it reads as a masthead rather than an app header.