Data Viz Today: Recent Episodes
Alli Torban
Helping you become a more effective information designer.
You want to create effective data visualizations. That’s hard work. There are so many decisions to make, like chart type, annotations, and color!
Will this podcast help?
Host and fellow data viz designer Alli Torban is in the trenches with you. She shares the latest tools and methods that she’s discovered while on the job and interviewing top designers.
If you’re an analyst, journalist, or designer who wants to hone your skills with specific tactics, then this show could be just what you need.
Do you think your job is just to present the data? In this episode, we talk about why reporting numbers isn't enough and why your interpretation, context, and framing matter when communicating with leaders. Our guest, Morgan Depenbusch, is a data storytelling and data visualization expert who studies how insights influence people and decisions. Let's get to the show!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/101
When it comes to aggregating your data in your charts, it's hard to know what's overkill and what your reader actually needs. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic and Mike Cisneros have an interesting approach where they want you to start with thinking about your audience and what decisions they need to make based on the chart, and anchor yourself there first. Then the design decisions become easier after that. It's a really practical chat, so I hope you enjoy it. Let's get to the show!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/100
Have you ever thrown a giant number at the top of your dashboard and hoped it did… something? Steve Wexler (yes, the guy who coined the term BAN, or Big Ass Number) joins me to teach you how to turn those big numbers into meaningful, context-rich moments that will make your user celebrate or panic (in a useful way!).
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/99
In this episode, I’m joined by Bill Shander to talk about how to hold your own in stakeholder discussions in dataviz projects, even if you’re just starting out. He shares practical techniques from his new book Stakeholder Whispering, including how to build credibility, ask better questions, and stay grounded when opinions fly.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed in a stakeholder meeting, this one’s for you. Let’s go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/98
In this episode, I’m joined by Avery Smith to talk about how to actually land a data job right now without getting ghosted by resume bots. He shares his SPN method: Skills, Portfolio, Networking. We get into how to build just enough skills, why personal projects matter way more than you think, and how to reach out without being weird. If you’re job hunting (or might be soon), this one’s for you.
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/97
In this episode, I’m trying out a brand-new game called Next Question to help you sharpen your data storytelling skills by exploring the kinds of clarifying questions experts ask when facing challenges. I’m joined by Kat Greenbrook, author of The Data Storyteller’s Handbook, and together we tackle real-world scenarios and share what questions we’d ask to steer data storytelling projects in the right direction.
Show notes
Grab a copy of my book Chart Spark
In this episode, I share the introduction of my book, Chart Spark, to inspire you to take the first steps towards a more fulfilling career, whether you’re trying to transition into dataviz or integrate more creativity into your work.
I’ll redefine what creativity means, share why you need it in your dataviz work, show you how to cultivate a powerful creative practice, and finally, I share my personal story of having a fractured career at age 30 and turning it all around — including what everyone’s calling the oh-so-relatable “trash can story”.
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Grab a copy of my new book Chart Spark — available in paperback, ebook, pdf, or audiobook.
- If you think the book deserves a review, I’d be so grateful if you shared your favorite part in an Amazon or Goodreads review 🙏🙏🙏
- Need a team workshop? Read more about my Impactful and Innovative Data Communication 3-hour workshop that will increase the effectiveness of your team’s data communication to guide decisions and spark innovation.
- Invite me to speak at your conference, event, or to you team!
- Join my newsletter
There’s no way around it: If you can speak confidently about your dataviz work to other people, you’ll make a bigger impact. But you’re shy, nervous, an introvert, and not a natural speaker! That’s ok. You CAN learn this skill. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, a data storytelling expert, best-selling author, and CEO of Storytelling with Data, joins us today to share how to identify and fix those pesky presentation nerves so you can finally have the impact you want.
Let’s go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/94
Cole's best-selling books including Storytelling with You: https://www.storytellingwithdata.com/books
My book Chart Spark: https://www.chartsparkbook.com
Are you looking for ways to make your work stand out in a crowded industry, like sports? Or maybe looking for a topic with pretty clean data to create a portfolio project? In today’s episode, we’re chatting with Shri Khalpada, a D.C. area creative coder and Principal Software Engineer at Cleaning the Glass, which is an NBA analytics website founded by Ben Faulk that’s available to the public and also has more robust tools for NBA teams. Shri shares how he increased his chances of landing a coveted sports analytics job, and a few lessons he’s learned working with sports data that can be applied to any dataviz job.
Let’s go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/93
Grab my book Chart Spark, which has NINE prompts to help you be more innovative in your data communication: https://www.chartsparkbook.com
If you think the book deserves a review, I’d be so grateful if you shared your favorite part in an Amazon or Goodreads review 🙏🙏🙏
Sponsor: Data Elixir newsletter! https://dataelixir.com
Are you ready to write a book? Or maybe see it in your future down the road? Well, I spent hours and hours researching the book publishing process, spoke with tons of authors about their experience, and then lived through it myself.
I want to save you some time and share what I learned. Recently I shared all about the process with the Elevate Dataviz Learning Community that I co-founded and I’m sharing that conversation here today…
In this episode, I share what's included in a book proposal, how advances and royalties work, what was harder and easier than expected, and much more!!
Grab my new book Chart Spark (available in paperback, kindle, PDF, or audioboook): https://www.chartsparkbook.com
Hop on our sponsor Data Elixir's awesome newsletter: https://dataelixir.com
Have you ever felt like you made a big career mistake? Like you completely chose the wrong college major or took the wrong job. Well, today we’re chatting with Charama Sulemane, a data analyst at the United Nations Office for Project Services. But only a few years ago, he was a fresh graduate in Mozambique and found out that no one was hiring for data science jobs in his area. He was questioning his decision to get into this field. But not ready to give up, Charama made a few smart moves that landed him his first job in dataviz.
Let's go!
Sponsor: Subscribe to the Data Elixir newsletter!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/92
My book Chart Spark: https://www.chartsparkbook.com
Data Viz Today, hosted by Alli Torban, is a friendly and insightful podcast for anyone interested in data visualization. It offers practical advice, showcases the latest tools and methods, and features inspiring stories from the field, aimed at analysts, journalists, and designers seeking to refine their data viz skills.
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com
Chart Spark book: https://www.chartsparkbook.com
Elevate Dataviz Learning Community: https://www.elevatedataviz.com
Follow Alli Torban on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisontorban
In this episode, I answer some common questions I’ve received lately about creativity, freelancing, dataviz process, and more. Let’s go!
- What platforms would you join when on the look out for a network, freelance projects etc?
- I want to transition into a dataviz job but not sure where to start?
- What exactly do you mean by 'creativity' in the context of data and analytics? How can data people be creative?
- How do you respond to negative feedback of your creative idea?
- What do you do when you feel unmotivated?
- How do you handle the feeling of not living up to a client's expectations? I want to be creative and do my best work, but it's a lot of pressure!
- I feel like I'm stuck in my own bubble when it comes to being inspired. How do I branch out
- What is a common mistake people make when brainstorming or ideating?
- How do I know if my graphic is effective or if I should try to be more creative? I’m confused when to keep pushing or if it’s good enough.
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/91
In this episode, I’ll share a concept and prompt from my NEW book CHART SPARK, and how I applied it to the library check-out receipt to develop a creative idea that uses dataviz to encourage people to go to the library more. Use this prompt in your work to come up with creative ideas! Let’s go!
- Now available: Chart Spark
- Join my newsletter
- Show notes
In this episode, Alberto Cairo shares some common threads he’s noticed among his dataviz students who go on to excel in this field and common traits he noticed while interviewing accomplished visualization designers for his new book The Art of Insight.
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/89
Hey dataviz friend, my book is launching in early December (CHART SPARK), and after giving a workshop this morning that used the prompts from the book, I realized....chatting and brainstorming with other people is my happy place!
So, do you wanna chat? Anything on your mind about dataviz careers, creativity, or brainstorming on a real project? I'm opening my calendar on Thursdays until the year-end for fun coffee chats. Snag a time on my calendly below. No cost or commitment required – just good vibes and chart sparks! 📊⚡
https://calendly.com/allitorban/chart-spark-virtual-coffee-chat-with-alli-torban
In this episode, we explore Dr. Barbara Wixom's insights on the three main ways companies (or even freelancers) can monetize data and dataviz, drawing from her extensive research and the insights of her book, Data is Everybody’s Business. She shares the patterns of successful data monetization gathered over 29 years and we brainstorm ways it applies to dataviz work. Also, since Barb was a client of mine, we get a sneak peek into clients' top concerns when beginning a dataviz project so we can improve our processes. Let’s go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/88
As data people, we tend to be more logical and analytical, which makes navigating creativity’s ambiguity a little tricky. So I called on Andy J. Pizza to help us out. To me, he is creativity personified — illustrator, author, podcaster, and more! He’s worked with big clients like The New York Times and Nickelodeon, and has a new book coming out where he illustrates “invisible things.”
In this episode, Andy shares how his ADHD has become his superpower in his creative work, the little tricks he’s found that help him create, how he sees critique in a new way, and he shares his three phases of inspiration. Plus, Andy predicts what will be necessary for creators of all kinds in a future full of artificial intelligence. Even though he’s not a dataviz designer, you’ll see many parallels in your work. Let’s go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/87
In this episode, I share the framework that helps me decide when to stick with “best practices” or try a new approach in my visualizations. We explore four key variables: the reader's time and patience, the need to capture attention, past struggles conveying a concept, and the designer’s available time and resources. Let’s go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/86
In this episode, we dive into the world of scientific visuals with Jen Christiansen, Senior Graphics Editor at Scientific American and author of the new book Building Science Graphics.
Jen shares when to consider including visuals in your work, the power of “welcoming gestures”, and the effectiveness of comics in explaining complex concepts. We also discuss collaboration, the strategic use of arrows, and how to keep your projects organized. Let's go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/85
In this episode, we explore how to practice openness through a fun activity that combines serendipity and structure. London City Hall's Data Visualization and Information Design Lead, Mike Brondbjerg, shares how he creates beautiful pieces of art dictated by the roll of a dice, and how these serendipitous experiments led him to create an incredible 3D flower project with census data! Let’s go…
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/84
What’s it mean to X-ray a dataviz? This is my new method to make sure I learn from my dataviz inspiration and organize it in a way that helps me use it later. In this episode, I’ll share what it is and how you can X-ray dataviz too. Let’s go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/83
Join my newsletter: https://dataviztoday.com/newslettersignup
We know that we’re supposed to gather inspiration, but then what? Gabrielle Mérite, a senior data visualization designer at Pentagram, shares what to do with your inspiration to put it to work for you!
Join my newsletter! https://dataviztoday.com/newslettersignup
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/82
Why are habits/rituals important to your creative practice and what are some examples? Duncan Geere, Will Chase, and I share what's been most impactful to our dataviz practice!
Shownotes / watch video: https://blog.elevatedataviz.com/the-elevate-dataviz-show-6
RJ Andrew's creative rituals infographic: https://infowetrust.com/project/routines
How do you approach creativity for personal projects vs business intelligence? That's our big creativity question today for Neil Richards.
Neil Richards is the author of the new book Questions in Dataviz, Lead Business Intelligence Analyst at JLL, and four-time Tableau Visionary.
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/81
How do you approach creativity for personal projects vs business intelligence? That's our big creativity question today for Neil Richards.
Neil Richards is the author of the new book Questions in Dataviz, Lead Business Intelligence Analyst at JLL, and four-time Tableau Visionary.
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/81
We’re exploring creativity in information design from the perspective of amazingly creative people in the field! Let’s hear how Manuel Canales, the graphics assignment editor at the Washington Post and previously the senior graphics editor at National Geographic, gets the most out of his creativity. How he approaches the pressure of a new project has changed the way I work! Let’s go…
Show notes
We’re exploring creativity in information design from the perspective of amazingly creative people in the field! Let’s hear how Marcelo Duhalde, the Associate Creative Director at the South China Morning Post, approaches creativity. We dive into how he defines creativity, what his process is like, what kills his creativity, and more!
Show notes
We’re exploring creativity in information design from the perspective of amazingly creative people in the field! Let’s hear how Marcelo Duhalde, the Associate Creative Director at the South China Morning Post, approaches creativity. We dive into how he defines creativity, what his process is like, what kills his creativity, and more!
Show notes
We’re exploring creativity in information design from the perspective of amazingly creative people in the field! Let’s hear how Duncan Geere approaches creativity. We dive into how he defines creativity, how he gets the most out of his creativity, and more!
Duncan Geere is an information designer living in Sweden who works with graphics, words, and sound. He's one-half of the loud numbers, data sonification podcast and studio. And one-quarter of the Elevate data viz learning community. Duncan is always surprising me with his creative data sonification experiments, and he's also a really deep thinker. So I knew he'd have some interesting answers to my questions about creativity and he did not disappoint!
Show notes
Volunteer to be a Beta reader for my new book!
We’re exploring creativity in information design from the perspective of amazingly creative people in the field! If it’s not a magical process, then what is it? Let’s hear how Mesa Schumacher approaches creativity.
Mesa Schumacher is a science artist currently living in Fiji who specializes in communicating complex ideas through illustration, infographics, and animation. Mesa's work can be found in National Geographic and Scientific American, on signage at the National Zoo, in academia, and on giant puzzles!
We dive into how she defines creativity, what her routines are, what kills her creativity, how she presents creative ideas to clients…and more!
Shownotes
Volunteer to be a Beta reader for my creativity book!
We’re exploring creativity in information design from the perspective of amazingly creative people in the field! If it’s not a magical process, then what is it? Let’s hear how Andy Kirk approaches creativity. We dive into how he defines creativity, what his routines are, what kills his creativity, how he presents creative ideas to clients, where he finds inspiration…and more!
Shownotes
Volunteer to be a Beta reader for my creativity book!
Today, I’m launching a mini-series all about creativity in information design. If you’re like me and came from a data background, communicating information in creative ways can feel a bit like a magical process, so over this series, I’ll invite creative information designers and dive into their process: What are their routines, what kills their creativity, how do they present creative ideas to others…and more!
Let’s hear how Stefanie Posavec approaches creativity in information design…
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/75
Stefanie Posavec's work
Sign up to be a Beta reader for my new book on creativity in information communication!
Today, we have Danielle Alberti on the show to share a behind-the-scenes look at how to become and be a data journalist! She's the editor of the data visualization team at Axios and shares:
- What's a typical day as a data journalist
- Which skills are important
- What she looks for in a resume and portfolio when hiring for a data journalist position
- What she would do differently if she were starting her data journalist career over again
This interview with Danielle was the special opening segment to the Elevate Learning Community conference — you can watch the whole conference with thoughtful talks about information design here: https://elevatedataviz.com/live
Full shownotes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/74
Today, we have Zan Armstrong with us to share 3 simple alternatives to aggregating time series data in the usual ways so you don’t lose important nuance. It’s so easy to get pushed into aggregating data a certain way by our software so being aware of some alternatives is really helpful when you’re analyzing and visualizing data.
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/73
I walk you through my process for creating a data viz brief and how to use it!
If you're interested in a short training and getting a copy of the data viz brief template that I use with my clients, shoot me an email with the subject line "INTERESTED!" and if there's enough interest, I'll host a live training! hello@allitorban.com
When you’re kicking off a data viz project, do you have a series of questions that you ask to uncover the goals, audience, and data? Want to know how to kick it up a notch? I know I do! Recently, I had the pleasure of working with Liz Hatherley, whose whole expertise is wrapped up in pulling this kind of information out of her clients, which has led to incredibly smooth dataviz projects!
In this episode, Liz shares more about what kinds of questions she’s asking in her discovery workshops and how we, as data viz designers, can start integrating more strategic thinking into our own workflows. Let's go!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/72
Join the Elevate Membership Program!
I invited a few of the best dataviz designers and freelancers I know on the show today (Duncan Geere, Gabrielle Merite, and Will Chase) and we absolutely stuffed the hour with as many dataviz freelancing tips as we possibly could!
In this episode, we demystify the whole process: starting from when someone emails you that they’re interested in your work, what you should write back, what you should ask in the discovery call, basics to include in your contract, tips on how to price your work, tools we use to prototype our visualizations, how to present your work to your client, navigating through feedback rounds, and more! I told you this episode is packed!! Let’s go…
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/71
Today I’m calling out the biggest things I learned in the past year. There’s just something about naming it that helps me remember to keep doing it in the new year and even how I can take it up a notch in the next year.
In this episode, I’ll highlight the three biggest lessons I learned this year, and they all stem from better communication with clients, ourselves, and with our colleagues. Let’s get to it!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/70
Elevate Membership waitlist: https://forms.gle/wBDXYYm3rEawY3pPA
Have you ever reimagined your tabular data set as a network and discovered new insights? Networks are an obvious choice if you’re visualizing someone’s social network, for example, but there are so many more possibilities!
In this episode, Dr. Keita Broadwater will explain what a network is, share a couple of examples of tabular data reimagined as a network, and give us a few tips on when a data set might be ripe for this kind of analysis.
How do we future-proof our data viz careers? What skills are important now and 10 years from now as software companies come and go and $5 dashboards pop up on Fiverr?
In this episode, Dr. Jonathan Schwabish and I talk about what our consultant work looks like right now and how we’re working to future-proof our careers. This is a joint podcast between Data Viz Today and PolicyViz so we’ll both be asking questions. Let’s go!
https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/68
Have you written off 3D as a big no-no?
Not yet!
In this episode, Dr. Tyler Morgan-Wall shares his latest innovations and impactful use cases of his Rayshader package in R. Take a listen and be amazed at the samples in the show notes!
(you can use Rayshader and R for free!)
https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/67
Have you heard of data sonification?
It’s the process of turning data into sound, and there's a novel podcast out now called Loud Numbers where Duncan Geere and Miriam Quick introduce a data story, explain how they sonified it, and then play the sonification they've created.
In this episode, we discover how they created their podcast, what’s the benefit of turning data into sound, and how we can make our own sonifications without sounding like complete amateurs!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/66
It’s easy to think you have to be the master at D3 and also have the design eye of an artist in order to have a fulfilling data viz career, but that has not been my experience, nor the experience of my guest today Amanda Makulec who is the Data Visualization Society’s Executive Director.
She’s heard her fair share of data viz origin stories, frustrations, and career pro tips, so I asked her to come on the show and share with us her golden advice on navigating a data viz career (spoiler alert: you don’t need to be a unicorn!).
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/65
How can you take a dense, technical report and turn it into something people will actually read?
In this episode, Ann K. Emery shares the top tips that she recommends to her clients that have been bringing reports to life for years!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/64
What can we do to make our data visualizations more accessible to more people, especially those with disabilities?
In this episode, Frank Elavsky shares how we can integrate accessibility into our current data visualization workflow. It’s a skill just like anything else, so let’s get practicing!
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/63
Ah, money. The topic everyone wants to hear about but no one wants to talk about! It’s a complicated and nuanced subject because there are so many variables that factor into someone’s compensation, but...
In this episode, I’ll share some highlights from the responses in the Data Visualization Society community survey to give you a sense of what data viz professionals are pulling in.
Don't forget to check out the interactive chart in the show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/62
What are the ingredients of a successful personal project? How do you even know what topic to make your personal project about? What constraints make for a successful personal project?
In this episode, data visualization designers Nadieh Bremer and Shirley Wu share insights they learned from completing a year-long collaboration that ended with a new book called Data Sketches!
Do you feel lost when you’re creating a chart? Are you feeling around in the dark with every new project? Confidence comes with practice, but you can also take a few smart steps, in the beginning, to create an effective chart.
I’ve interviewed top designers for years on my podcast while creating and experimenting on my own, and I’ve found that these steps reap great rewards.
Try them out, and you’ll feel more confident in your data visualization skills regardless of the situation or your toolset.
If you need help making your data visualizations a reality, I’d be happy to help! I have space in my consulting schedule opening up; I specialize in creating static charts, maps & infographics that are engaging and effective. Drop me a line!
https://www.allitorban.com/resources/1
The last episode of the year!
In this episode, I have a little data viz tennis match with fellow podcaster Lea Pica.
We found the most inspiring visualizations in four categories: climate change, COVID-19, racial injustice, and the US presidential election.
Lea and I bounce back and forth describing our favorite in each category and the mastery on display for each.
What was your favorite data viz this year?
Shownotes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/60
Have you ever created a successful graphic that really hit the mark and you felt like you were just spot on?
Do you know how you can consistently replicate that feeling? If not, I have an idea of what you might be missing...
Art direction!
In this episode, we'll learn when you need art direction and when you don't, and how to use art direction to make sure you and your client work efficiently together to create graphics that hit the mark.
Have you ever felt frustrated when you're trying to express important data to someone? Do the bars and pies just seem to fall flat?
Try turning the data into an experience! In this episode, I try to bottle up Miriam Quick and Stefanie Posavec’s creative genius that they poured into their new book so that we can create data experiences in our work, too.
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/58
I recently went on a journey to improve my design skills, and looking back, I learned a lot about how to build a skill and one big lesson about being a creator...
Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/57
Chart legends are so key (ha!) to make your chart understandable, but you need to give it some thought and care.
The goals of a good legend: informative and concise
It shouldn’t be a puzzle.
So how can we enhance the default legend to be more informative and concise without becoming a puzzle?
Let’s jump into 3 ways to enhance your legend!
Show notes
What are the invisible tools (i.e. processes or methods) that I use to help me create visualization more efficiently?
I pinpointed 3 roadblocks that I encounter frequently, and in this episode, I share the invisible tools that I use to catapult over them and keep moving.
Let’s go!
Are you interested in freelancing or consulting in data visualization? Being your own boss as a full-time freelancer has its own set of unique challenges, and of course, many benefits!
But from the outside looking in, it’s hard to know where to even start...
How do you find clients? How do you know what to offer?
How do you reach out and pitch to potential clients? How do you communicate the value that you bring and know what to charge?
How do you make sure you end up getting paid?!
There’s so much! But don’t worry, Dr. Stephanie Evergreen joins me today, and I asked her all the questions. Let's go!
In this episode, Shirley Wu shares the specific things that she looks for in potential collaborators, the steps she took to execute her innovative People of the Pandemic game, and how she overcame her moments of self-doubt under the mounting complexity of creating a game from scratch…
Show notes
You feel that mounting frustration in your body and you're about to lose your patience... what could have avoided this?!
In this episode, I talk about 3 common sources of frustration and what you can do to sidestep them. Let's go!
Show notes
I’ve noticed that many of the really engaging graphics have something in common: really thoughtful annotations. Usually, we think of annotations as a way to communicate context (like the title, subtitle, data labels) or point out outliers or specific events.
But what if we thought of annotations as a tool beyond just context. What if we could use annotations to keep the reader more engaged?
In this episode, we’ll learn about a recent project by Alyssa Fowers, where she visualized data about protests around the U.S. and the specific things she did to create annotations that made her project more engaging. Let’s go!
Show notes
I started this show almost two years ago, and I’ve been asking everyone that I interview: what’s your advice to data viz designers just starting out.
Today, I gathered all their advice and wrapped up nicely into this one episode.
Let's go!
Show Notes
Happy new year!
It's time for goal-setting, right? One small thing you can do throughout the year that will make you a better information designer (and not drive you crazy) is focus on building your data viz toolbox.
I've been filling my toolbox over these past 50 episodes, and while I'll never be done filling it, the more I fill it, the easier my job is.
In this episode, I’ll share with you the top 9 episodes that helped give me a structure for filling my toolbox. Here's to 2020!
Show notes
Why do we care about finding the underlying emotion in our project?
Because it can help guide us toward visualizing the data in a more meaningful way for our audience. It helps you hone in on their point of view and what they really want.
In this bonus episode, I show a quick technique that I learned recently that helps me get to the underlying emotions quickly.
Join my newsletter! (you'll get my guided brainstorming template in the welcome email, plus my top tips after each episode)
Original data viz about DVS survey results
Contagious by Jonah Berger
Grafiti.io
Have you ever been asked the explain the value of visualizing data? I always jump to “it reveals insights you couldn’t see before!” But while I was at the Data2Dome conference last month, I had a light-bulb moment. Revealing insights is just part of the puzzle…
In this episode, I share stories of how the planetarium community is using data to engage scientists and the general public in really innovative ways, and then I pull all the pieces together to see our value in a whole new light.
Show notes
Data2Dome
Tips to your inbox! Join my newsletter :)
It's no secret that creating two charts to show different views on a data set can be very powerful. But can connecting them somehow make it even more impactful?
In this episode, we learn how Mohamad Waked used two charts with a captivating connective tissue to shine a light on a very important issue happening in the world right now.
Show notes: www.dataviztoday.com/shownotes/48
It’s no secret that some charts lie. You might be thinking that only a subset of people who maliciously create a chart to serve their interests are guilty of this, but the truth is, there are many ways in which a chart can lie.
You can make a mistake in your design, or use data that’s insufficient, or make conclusions that aren’t accurate. I’m guilty of this, and guess what… so is Alberto Cairo! He wrote a whole book on How Charts Lie based on his experience creating and reading charts.
In this episode, I finally got to ask Alberto’s opinion on some burning questions that I have, like
- how he personally reads charts to assess their quality,
- how he’d structure a graphics team today to make sure they create quality graphics, and
- where he thinks we’ll be fighting misinformation in the coming years.
- Most importantly, he explains why we shouldn’t throw up our hands and give up on charts even when some mislead us.
Show Notes
Alberto's book How Charts Lie
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Having a data viz mentor is a great resource! BUT...
One person doesn't need to be everything to you. Maybe building a Board of Directors could be more helpful.
I've built a virtual one that has seats for those who inspire me with
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Creativity
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Technical Skills
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Communication
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Introspectiveness
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Fellow Data Viz Nerdery
In this episode, I talk about who I've chosen for my DVBOD ;) and how I plan to keep in touch with what they're doing virtually.
My calendly page :)
My newsletter
Are you struggling with putting together an effective portfolio? I find it hard to know if I'm using my time efficiently. What do I need to include? When is it enough?!?
Luckily, Dillon Winspear is here to help. He's reviewed hundreds of portfolios as a Senior UX Lead at Domo, and I asked for his top tips for building a portfolio. Listen in and learn how to impress your hiring manager even if you only have 10 minutes to spare!
- Show notes
- Subscribe to Dillon’s podcast Designed Today
- Follow Dillon Winspear on Twitter
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BONUS EPISODE! WOOHOO!
I've been using a new topic sentence formula to help me gain clarity around my data visualizations, and I wanted to share it with you! I hope it's helpful. Let me know if you use something like this too. :)
Visualization isn't always about revealing the patterns in our data. Sometimes it can be used to bring people together. This featured viz is a project by Amy Cesal and her now-husband Zander Furnas that they created for their wedding to connect their guests to them and each other.
In this episode, we'll hear how this project was created, what they’d do differently in retrospect, and what specific questions you need to ask yourself before you start designing data viz to connect people.
Show Notes
Amy and Zander's Medium article all about the project
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Data Literacy is on everyone’s mind right now, but it always seemed like a nebulous topic to me. What is it exactly? How can you tell how literate you are? More importantly, how do you improve?!
In this episode, we’ll learn why you need to assess yourself, no matter how literate you are, and how to identify the next step you need to take to improve on your weak spots today.
Show Notes
17 Key Traits of Data Literacy PDF
Data Literacy Assessment Dashboard
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Every day, events are happening and people are moving through time making decisions. How do we visualize that? How do we visualize that for hundreds of people in a way that still makes sense? Even more challenging, how do we humanize that visualization?
In this episode, we’ll learn how Sahil Chinoy and Jessia Ma from the New York Times solved this problem by combing hundreds of paths into a narrative chart.
Show Notes
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Can we combine explanatory and exploratory data viz? That's just what Duncan Clark and his team over at Flourish are trying to accomplish by giving everyone the ability to create a "Talkie."
In this episode, find out what it is and how to create an effective one. Bonus: Duncan shares the one thing that would impress him in a data viz portfolio!
Show Notes
Follow Duncan and Flourish on Twitter
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Are you terrified of color? Me too! :) Sometimes there are just too many choices. So I’m going on a color diet! What's a color diet? Well, for me, it means to be more conscious about how I use color in my visualizations to make sure that I’m using color to solve a problem.
In this episode, we’ll talk about how a color diet can improve your work, plus a few tips on how to get the most out of the few colors that you do use.
Show Notes
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How can you add more information to your flow charts? Incorporate small multiples! In this episode, we learn about Chris DeMartini's data visualization that brings together small multiples and a flow chart (an NBA bracket) to add context to the flow. Find out how he created it, and how this technique can be applied elsewhere!
Show Notes
Chris DeMartini's blog posts
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I’ve been on a mission to improve my design abilities, and there are three design tweaks that I’ve found to be really effective in making my visualizations look more professional. In this episode, I share these three tips that pack a punch!
Show notes
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Resources page
Courses
Can you write your way to data viz success? It might be hard to see how writing could improve your visualizations but in this episode, I'll lay out 3 compelling reasons WHY you need to start writing today. Plus, I'll share easy 3 steps to get you started.
This episode is inspired by the creative passion project Market Cafe Magazine that's created and independently published by Tiziana Alocci and Piero Zagami. Listen to what it takes to self-publish a data viz magazine!
Show Notes
Market Cafe Magazine Website
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What a year… I was honored to join Enrico Bertini and Moritz Stefaner on their Data Stories podcast along with Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic and Jon Schwabish to discuss our highlights from the year and what we hope to see in 2019.
This is a re-broadcast of that amazing episode. I also added an intro with some thoughts on my 2019 data viz goals and ideas on how you can tackle your own. I’d love to know what yours are! Here’s to another year filled with data viz projects, collaborations & learning…
Feel free to download the PDF that I used for my 2019 Data Viz Goalsetting in the show notes below.
Show Notes
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I recently caught wind of a forthcoming data viz book all about the craft of being a data storyteller called Info We Trust by RJ Andrews, and I wanted to know all about it!
So I hopped on the phone with RJ and got the scoop on how he cleverly structures his days to be the most creative data storyteller and author that he can be, plus he shared his essential components to being consistently creative, even when faced with a limited toolset or under a deadline.
I hope you enjoy our chat, and you can pre-order his book (due out January 2019) here!
Show Notes
RJ's Website
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Have you ever pushed the boundaries of visualization? Did you receive any push-back? Do you want to experiment more with new chart types, but you’re not sure where to start or maybe you’re worried about people’s reactions? In this episode, we’ll hear how Richie Lionell created his thought-provoking data viz, how he handled criticism gracefully, and how you can get started creating something new in spite of potential negative feedback.
Show Notes
Senator Voting Patterns viz
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What should you do when you plot your data points and realize they're all on top of each other?? I recently learned that this is called "overplotting" and in this episode, I'll offer 3 techniques to help you handle this problem so you can get back to analyzing & visualizing!
Show Notes
Follow Data Viz Today on Twitter
Check out my Adobe Illustrator for Data Viz course!
When's the last time you saw a box plot? How about the last time you created one?! It's been a long time for me, but this week's featured data visualization by Eric William Lin has convinced me to reconsider using this often clinical chart type as a beautiful and powerful way to tell a story. In this episode, we'll hear how Eric built his Kantar IIB Shortlisted viz, plus a few suggestions for how and when YOU could try a box plot!
Show Notes
Check out my Adobe Illustrator course!
Eric's Viz
VOTE for Eric's viz --> Kantar's IIB Awards!
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How can you consistently generate interesting visual story ideas from your data set? I’ve been on a quest to find a process for this, and I recently found guidance in a book for authors who are trying to get their non-fiction short stories published by editors. I used what I learned to create a worksheet that brings me from a basic stat to eight story ideas! In this episode, you’ll learn about the reasoning behind it and hear it in action!
Show Notes
^Download the worksheet in the show notes! :)
NEW COURSE: Design Your First Visualization in Adobe Illustrator in Under 30 Minutes
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How can you add interaction to make your story more impactful and memorable? In this episode, host Alli Torban explores specific interaction techniques that you can try in your visualizations to more effectively inform your reader. Featured data visualization project by Ludovic Tavernier perfectly shows how handing over the power to your reader can create an engaging experience.
Check out my Adobe Illustrator course!
Show Notes
Ludovic's Viz
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When is it beneficial to visualize your data in 3D? We know that people love the “cool” factor of 3D, but I think most people know to avoid it now. But in which cases could it be useful in understanding your data? In this episode, host Alli Torban explores the pros and cons of 3D viz. Featured data visualization project by Ryan Baumann shows a beautiful way to make custom 3D visualizations of spatial athletic data.
Show Notes
Ryan's Athlete Data Viz Site
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Do you ever have a client that's not sure what they need, and you also feel at a loss on how to visualize their goal in the most useful way? In this episode, I talk about how I'm bringing back my old Help Desk skills to break through that wall (or vizzer's block ;D) and dig up useful dashboard ideas.
Show Notes
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How can you find your unique data viz style? I've started my quest to find mine, which I hope will help me find my voice and create work that’s more representative of my point of view. I know it’s not something that happens overnight, but what can I do to get started? Featured data visualization project by Federica Fragapane provides plenty of inspiration for how to get on the right path.
Show Notes
Federica's Portfolio
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Is it ever beneficial to stray from the usual chart types and create your own original, novel data visualization? i.e. A viz where you decide what each free-form shape, line, and color represents. In this episode, host Alli Torban explores how this technique can lead to a deeper connection to your data. Featured data visualization by Sonja Kuijpers perfectly illustrates how creating an original visualization can turn overwhelm into clarity.
Show Notes
Sonja's Website
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I loved reading Edward Tufte's “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information” for the first time as part of the Data Vis Book Club! He's known as a pioneer in the data viz field but has also received criticism for his "my way or the highway" approach. I highly recommend reading his book, not necessarily as a data viz rulebook, but as a valuable perspective to consider. In this episode, I talk about the 3 things that I'll try to do better in my data visualizations now that I've read Tufte's book. What about you?
Show Notes
Edward Tufte's Book
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Being able to see the difference between well-designed and poorly-designed data viz is half the battle! But when your work always looks amateurish to you, it can be really frustrating. In this episode, host Alli Torban identifies specific ways that you can close the gap between your good taste and your developing skills. Featured data visualization by Jane Pong perfectly illustrates how dense data can still be designed in a clean and engaging way, and I take notes from her to remake my viz from a past episode!
Show Notes
Jane's Website
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How can you create a data viz that feels inviting to your reader? Host Alli Torban explores the specific design elements that can offer your reader an enjoyable experience. Featured data visualization by Sarah Bartlett perfectly demonstrates how investing in an inviting design can lead to a pleasant, informative, and memorable experience.
Show Notes
Sarah's Website
Sarah on Twitter
Data Viz Today on Twitter
Have you ever heard these words? "We don't have a budget for this work, but we can offer you exposure!" Whether you're more in the graphic design camp or the data journalism camp, you'll probably run up against this at some point in your freelancing journey. In this episode, I offer 3 questions to ask yourself before agreeing to do data viz work for free so that you can protect your time and engage in projects that are truly a win-win.
Show Notes
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How can visualizing streaks in your data help you find patterns and gain perspective? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways you can see your data in a new way by highlighting the period of time that something is happening - a streak. Featured data visualization by Frank Elavsky perfectly demonstrates how streaks are not only beautiful but can also reveal patterns and new questions.
Show Notes
Article with Viz
Frank on Twitter
Data Viz Today on Twitter
How has my data viz design process changed over the past 5 months? Well, it was pretty non-existent to start with, but after interviewing 20 top data viz designers, I've learned a lot and now have a much more defined design process.
In this episode, I share my current 7-step process and would love to hear what yours is like so we can learn from each other!
Show Notes
Data Viz Today Twitter
Data Viz Today Instagram
How can segmenting your line chart into intervals help you gain insights into your data? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways you can visually break up your line chart into intervals as a way to quickly see your data from a different perspective. Example questions you could answer: Which marketing campaign had the greatest effect on sales? Does varying the basketball shot clock length change how many points are scored? Featured data visualization by Ben Jones perfectly models how this technique can visually communicate a relationship between two metrics.
Show Notes
Ben's Website
Ben's Twitter
Data Viz Today Twitter
What are isochrone maps and how can you use them for advanced analysis or data art? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways you can create and use isochrones for personal or work challenges. Featured data visualization project by Topi Tjukanov perfectly models how isochrones can bring out interesting insights.
Show Notes
Topi's Website
Topi's Twitter
Data Viz Today Twitter
How can you see your data viz with fresh eyes? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways you can view your work from a new perspective when you're short on time!
Show Notes
Download the Printable
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How can you start your own data viz passion project that hones your skills and opens the door to new opportunities? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways you can find and execute a passion project that brings you joy and growth. Featured data visualization project by Amy Cesal perfectly models how a passion project can be fun, bring new opportunities, and grow your skills!
Show Notes
Amy's Website
Amy's Twitter
Data Viz Today's Twitter
How can you take your scatter plot to the next level? Host Alli Torban dives into 3 ways you can layer onto a scatter plot to enhance your reader’s understanding of the data.
Show Notes
Maarten's Website
Maarten's Twitter
Data Viz Today's Twitter
How can visualizations help people make decisions and set goals? Use a simulation/what-if analysis and visualize the results! Host Alli Torban dives into why simulations are so powerful in persuading people and how to know if your client could benefit from a what-if visualization!
Show notes
Gabrielle's Website
Gabrielle's Twitter
Data Viz Today Twitter
What can we learn from the top-notch Data Team at the Economist? Host Alli Torban dives into the 3 things that she learned from their team as they put together their predictive model for the U.S. midterm elections. (Hint: the complexities of predictive model building, visualizing uncertainty, and annotations!)
Shownotes
The Economist's Midterm Election Predictive Model
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How can you use visual metaphor to evoke emotion? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways to find a visual metaphor that's right for your data. Featured data viz by Valentina D'Efilippo models how to use visual metaphor to create a beautiful, meaningful, and memorable data viz.
Shownotes
Valentina's Website
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How can you enhance your portfolio with maps? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways to get started making your own maps! Featured data viz by Hyemi Song models how to use a beautifully styled map to show emerging spatial patterns.
Course: “Make Your First Custom Map in Under 30 Minutes”
Show Notes
Hyemi's Website
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How can you encourage a reader to explore your data visualization without adding any interactivity? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways to make an exploratory static data viz - no coding necessary! Featured viz by Krisztina Szucs models how to encourage exploration by visualizing the rating and profit of past box office hits.
Show Notes
Krisztina's Website
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How can you make your sports viz appeal to a wider audience to include those passively interested in your sport? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways to pull out the strategy and nuance of your sports data. Featured viz by Ben Matheson models how to appeal to a wide audience by visualizing the strategy behind the run/rest decisions of Iditarod mushers.
Show Notes
Ben's Website
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How can you secure client buy-in for your data viz designs? Host Alli Torban dives into specific ways to practice that will bring your data visualization from good to great. Featured vizzes by Pooja Gandhi and Adam Crahen are perfect examples of a collaborative process that will elevate your designs and ultimately help you gain client buy-in.
Show Notes
Data Duo Website
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How can we approach a dataset that will make people feel connected to it? How can we humanize our data viz? Host Alli Torban dives into these questions by examining Rodrigo Menegat and Vinicius Sueiro's data visualization called "All the Government Barbecues," which won a Kantar Information is Beautiful Award in 2017.
Show Notes
Follow Rodrigo on Twitter
Vinicius' Website
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This episode features Zak Geis' eye-catching data viz inspired by radar charts. This is a difficult chart type to work with! In this episode, host Alli Torban dives into its limitations and how you can best implement it.
Shownotes
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Do you add annotations to your data viz? Susie Lu's data visualization presented Emmy nominations in a clear and concise way thanks to her smart annotation choices. Susie is the Queen of annotations - she's the creator of the popular D3.js library that gives you the ability to customize annotations and labels. In this episode, host Alli Torban dives into the important aspects of an annotation, and how you can best implement them in your work.
Show Notes
Susie's Website
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How can you get people engaged in your data viz? Jim Vallandingham visualized how long it took people to draw over 50 million doodles for Google Quick Draw, which resulted in a fun and engaging data viz. In this episode, host Alli Torban explores how you can create an engaging data viz too.
Show Notes
Jim's Website
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Have you ever been inspired by a piece of art and wanted to incorporate it into your work? Guney Soykan is an award-winning art director who visualized the tenure of world leaders through composite portraits. In this episode, host Alli Torban explores what we can learn from artists like Guney and how we can take inspiration from art and apply it to our data viz.
Show Notes
Guney's Website
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Do you need to find answers in survey results? Shirley Wu visualized the results of a survey of 981 data viz creators' frustrations and found insights with her unique techniques. In this episode, host Alli Torban explores how you can find answers and visualize your survey results too!
Show Notes
Shirley's Website
Shirley's Twitter
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Are you trying to tell a story with your data? Maybe you can find the story by focusing on where the movement is happening. Pierre Massat brought the familial relationships of Kenyan elephants to life with his data viz. It's a compelling example of using movement to tell a story. In this episode, host Alli Torban explores how you can do the same.
Get the printable mentioned in the show - here.
Show Notes
Pierre's Website
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Have you ever tried to visualize seasonality? It's a fascinating topic. Nadieh Bremer and Zan Armstrong visualized the seasonal patterns of U.S. births in their award-winning data viz. In this episode, host Alli Torban explores how you can find and represent seasonality in data too.
Show Notes
Nadieh's Website
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Zan's Website
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What should you do before you start a data visualization? Define your goal! Lisa Charlotte Rost created the perfect mental model to help you define and achieve your data viz goals. In this episode, host Alli Torban dives into how you can use this mental model to ensure your design decisions are well-guided and thought out.
Show Notes
Lisa on the Datawrapper Blog
Lisa's Website
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What are data visualizations? How can you get better at creating them? Is this show for you? Find out with your host Alli Torban in this intro episode!
Show Notes: www.dataviztoday.com/shownotes/00