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 contra...
Jan 11, 2022•1 hr 8 min
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://for...
Dec 28, 2021•12 min
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.
Nov 30, 2021•31 min
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
Oct 19, 2021•50 min
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
Sep 28, 2021•33 min
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....
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 4 min
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: yo...
Jul 20, 2021•44 min
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
Jun 15, 2021•44 min
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
May 25, 2021•39 min
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...
Mar 30, 2021•9 min
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!
Feb 16, 2021•39 min
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...
Jan 25, 2021•8 min
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...
Dec 22, 2020•1 hr 4 min
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.
Nov 24, 2020•35 min
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
Oct 13, 2020•22 min
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
Sep 29, 2020•11 min
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
Aug 25, 2020•10 min
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!
Jul 28, 2020•10 min
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 m...
Jun 09, 2020•55 min
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
May 05, 2020•30 min
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
Mar 31, 2020•16 min
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 prot...
Feb 18, 2020•18 min
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
Jan 28, 2020•15 min
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...
Dec 31, 2019•20 min
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 da...
Dec 10, 2019•8 min
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 not...
Nov 19, 2019•15 min
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
Nov 05, 2019•9 min
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 ...
Oct 08, 2019•21 min
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 - Creativity - Technical Skills - Communication - Introspectiveness - 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...
Sep 24, 2019•7 min
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...
Sep 03, 2019•19 min
