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FreshSpectrum

Dissemination that Actually Works

Step 1. Nerd it Out.
Step 2. Break it Down.

Writing long technical reports is not only okay, it's essential. Just don't forget to break it down when it counts.

Stick around and I'll teach you how.

Virtual Workshops Free Resources

Hi, I'm Chris Lysy, welcome to my website.
Just a few of my past clients

Main Content

Beyond the Reporting Revolution

In 2022 I wrote a book called The Reporting Revolution. It was all about how we needed to stop reporting like it was 1999 and move away from our PDF tradition.

But our biggest problem isn't actually how we share our technical work. It's okay to keep the nerd report nerdy. In fact, it might even be the ideal step 1.

Just don't forget to move to step 2. The part where you break it down into accessible visual formats for decision makers, practitioners, community members, and all the other people who are unlikely to read your nerd report.

As an information designer & dissemination strategist, that's what I do for a living, it's what I teach in my workshops, and what I write about on this blog.

Creative Workshops for Data People

You don't need to be a professional designer or pay a lot of money for professional tools to do professional work. You just need some extra skills you were never taught in grad school.

I think every researcher and evaluator should learn how to do these four creative things.

  1. Design simple visual reports.
  2. Illustrate your findings.
  3. Tell good data stories.
  4. Effectively share your work.

So that's what I teach through private trainings and my public workshops.

1. Design simple visual reports.

Learn how to design and structure short, high-impact visual reports—including one-pagers, infographics, blog posts, and slidedocs. Taught using Canva (and/or PowerPoint).

Next Public Session: TBD
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2. Ilustrate your findings.

Move beyond word clouds with my practical illustration framework. Learn simple but effective techniques that make text-heavy qualitative findings accessible.

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3. Tell good data stories.

Discover narrative frameworks that weave data into memorable stories, helping your insights resonate with decision-makers.

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4. Effectively share your work.

Stop treating dissemination as an afterthought. Build a measurable digital strategy using my practical Theory of Use framework.

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Free Resources

I have lots of great (and free) resources from ebooks to guides to cartoons. Here are some of my favorites.

Free-to-Read Books: The Reporting Revolution & Compelling Qualitative Data Visualization

Guides & Templates: Theory of Use, UX Evaluation, Two Step Canva Templates, Resource Transformations (Before & Afters)

Cartoons: My biggest post: 128 Evaluation Cartoons. You'll also find thousands more scattered across the blog.

Challenges: The FreshSpectrum Challenge is a weekly series of DiY activities to get you practice. There's also a support community.

Blog: I've posted hundreds of articles from over 16+ years of blogging.

Tips & Tutorials: I share quick tips and tutorials over on my YouTube channel.

Weekly Newsletter: I share practical stuff weekly.

Latest Blog Posts

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