Downdescriptions

Downdescriptions is a term used in information design and data communication to refer to descriptive text that emphasizes downward trends, reductions, or negative outcomes associated with a dataset or phenomenon. The term is not widely standardized and appears in a few discussions and case studies as a descriptive category used alongside numerical indicators and visualizations. In practice, a downdescription may accompany a chart or table to provide context, explain causes, and outline potential implications of a decline.

Origins and scope: The word combines down, indicating decrease, with description, reflecting its function as narrative or metadata. Because there is no single governing definition, usage varies by discipline, including data journalism, business dashboards, and cognitive science.

Usage: Downdescriptions can appear as concise captions, paragraph summaries, or embedded notes within dashboards. They typically address what declined, how large the decline is, when it began, and which factors contributed. Good downdescription practice emphasizes clarity, avoids misinterpretation, and supplements numbers with source, uncertainty, and caveats.

Examples: A downdescription in a quarterly report might read: "Sales fell by 8% in Q3, driven by supply chain delays and reduced consumer demand in region X; the decline was partially offset by price adjustments." In web dashboards, downdescriptions help users assess risk by explaining potential future trajectories.

Relation to other concepts: Downdescriptions relate to data storytelling, trend analysis, and context provision. They contrast with descriptions that foreground increases. Critics argue for balanced descriptions that present both declines and recoveries where relevant. See also data visualization, data storytelling, causal analysis, dashboard design.