Data Gif Maker

Data GIF Maker was originally conceived by Google News Lab as a tool for data journalists, and built by Toaster agency. The original version launched on May 25, 2017, announced by Simon Rogers (Data Editor at Google News Lab). The initial version was intentionally simple: it allowed users to compare two terms using animated bar-style GIFs, primarily designed for visualizing Google Trends search interest data. The original tool was limited to comparing just two data points. Pim de Wit was involved as a developer on this original 2017 version.

The tool gained significant traction among journalists, educators, and content creators worldwide. People used it to compare everything from famous fonts to favorite dishes, from electoral college results to sports statistics. It was featured extensively in journalism training programs and educational curricula.

Technology Stack (V1/V2):

• HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Canvas-based visualization rendering
• GIF export

Key Technical Features (V1):

• Two-term data comparison
• Single bar-style animated visualization
• GIF export

Key Technical Features (V2):

• Three-term data comparison (Rectangles template)
• Three visualization templates: Rectangles, Racetrack, Circles
• GIF export

The tool achieved widespread adoption across multiple sectors:

• Journalism: Adopted by major news organizations and journalism training programs. Featured in Google News Initiative training resources and the Virginia Press Association's visualization courses.
• Education: Used by educators for teaching data literacy. Described as useful for depicting Electoral College results and other educational datasets.
• Business: Adopted for presentations, reports, and social media content.
• Global Reach: Users worldwide created GIFs for diverse purposes ranging from data journalism to social media content.