Data illustration is about more than data visualization. And it's also different from data design. …
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It's not your fault.
Most report creators were trained in school to be thorough and precise. But then, in the professional world, you're told the opposite. To write less and be more visual.
So you make compromises, trying to have it all in one document.
Unfortunately, this just leads to your report being too short to be comprehensive and too long to be interesting.
There is a different way.
I built a practical report design process with three core principles. I call it my F.U.N. approach. Here is how it works.
F is for Flexible
The way you create reports might work for you, but does it work for your audience? Is it in the right design format? Does it work for the busy professional who will only give a three minute skim? Will it give more details to the readers who want the added context?

U is for Understandable
Does reading your report require a PhD? Did you bury important insights in big blocks of text? Do you only use illustrations once in a blue moon?

N is for Not Boring
Are you just assuming your audience is going to be interested in what you have to say? Without evidence? Boring reports are unprofessional, because they just don't work. And when everyone everywhere is overwhelmed, engagement is a requirement.

Is your report boring?
And what should you do if it is?
Find out with this free two page guide.

Hi, I'm Chris Lysy
I used to blame my ADHD. I was a professional researcher and evaluator but I had a really hard time reading most reports and academic articles.
But then I became a cartoonist and learned that even the most complex theories and concepts could be easily explained to almost anyone if you understood the gist. That discovery also helped me to reframe my perspective on reports, articles, and other "complicated" communication materials.
Most ideas are simple, and many are interesting.
We humans just have a really bad habit of complicating simple things and making interesting things boring. As a report design expert I get to help strip away the complications. And if you want to learn, stick around and I'll show you how.
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