Analysing interactivity: The millions who left
The article on migration flows since Germany’s reunification by ZEIT ONLINE lives by its interactivity.
The article follows the Interactive Slideshow structure with a more balanced mix between the author-driven and the reader-driven approach.
The sequence and strucutre of the story is dictated by the author, but the reader can explore the data and interactive elements further before moving to the next part of the story.
This structure allows the author to give context, explanations and background to the data before the reader can interact with the maps and charts.
The first interactive element
The article directly starts with interactivity: a map showing population flows within Germany between 1991 and 2017. Depending on the selected year, the map shows different flows. From the beginning, the reader can decide which year to focus on and how much time to spend on this first element of the story.
Moves from East to West are illustrated by golden dots, moves from West to East by blue ones. Instead of using straight lines, the dots are constantly moving— from the origin to their destination, representing the people who moved to another part in Germany.
In some years extra information pops up. This way the reader learns more about the context of the migration flows in a particular year.
Giving context through text
The paragraphs in between tell the story beyond the interactive elements.
When scrolling down, a scenic entry takes the reader back to the night of October 3 in 1990 when Germany’s reunification was celebrated.
A following paragraph of methodology explains how ZEIT ONLINE has analysed approximately six million moves between Eastern and Western Germany, emphasising: “For the first time, we now have a clear view of what exactly happened in every region of the East and West after the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Next, a line graph combined with the element of scrollytelling gives a more detailed insight in the emigration from the East, this time starting in 1957. Each scroll reveals more information: context to the three migration waves which mark the highest points of the graph as well as zooming in to the years after the reunification and highlighting turning points.
Picking up on the migration flows in the first map right at the beginning of the story, multiple line charts show the change of departures and arrivals over time for each German region.
Whereas Eastern regions are ranked by their total loss of residents, Western regions are ranked by their total gain.
Again, the readers have the possibility to explore the regions they are particularly interested in and see how they compare to the rest.
The article is also shining light on the effects of a dropping birth rate on the demography of Eastern Germany.
This phenomenon is illustrated on the small town Suhl: no other region has lost as many people since 1991. A time lapse shows the town’s population development over time. Over the years, many of the dots — who represent Suhl’s residents — disappear.
Another element of personalisation comes into play. The readers can type in any German town they are interested in and see its population development as a time lapse.
Additional graphics include a a scatter plot of AfD votes and population development as well as a map illustrating the average age in Germany.
However, these two illustrations would have benefited from added interactivity as the reader can’t select certain points on the scatter plot to see which region they represent. The same goes for the map where the reader can’t hover over specific regions to see their average age.
Instead certain points and regions are highlighted by text.
Does it work?
The interactive elements are vital to the narrative of the story. They make the migration flows which have taken place over almost 30 years more tangible. To be able to explore what effect it had on one’s home town also makes it less abstract.
The Interactive Slideshow structure works particularly well as it provides the needed context for each interactive element before giving the reader time and space to dig deeper into the data if desired.
For my own work, I’m particularly interested in the registrational type of interactivity. Through personalisation the readers can pick the bits they are interested in. Their input directly influences the display and adds personal relevance to the story.
