If you are serious about creating better reports, it’s time to take a step back. In this post I’m going to share my F.R.E.D. method for evaluating modern report dissemination. But let’s start with something I’ve learned slowly over the last two decades of my data design career. The biggest problem with most evaluation, research, […]
How to create simple infographics.
Stop overthinking infographics. Not every infographic needs to be a fully illustrated well-developed story. It can be enough to just share a simple factoid or quote and give it some pretty colors. In my workshops I tend to call simple infographics, micrographics. But you also might see them mentioned as featured images, small infographics, or […]
What is a quadrant graph?
Interactivity can really elevate certain charts, graphs, and illustrations. In this series of posts I will be highlighting visuals that work particularly well within interactive reports and data dashboards. First up, the quadrant graph. What is a quadrant graph? Simply, it’s a scatterplot with a two by two grid overlayed on top. There are different […]
Annual Report Design – How to create 5 reports with 1 design.
In today’s blog post I’ll show you a contemporary approach to annual report design. Instead of ending up with 1 report, you’ll end up with 5, each designed to meet a separate need. At the end of this process you will have 5 different styles of report. But before we jump into design, let’s first […]
Report Study – Ford Foundation Evaluations
In this series of blog posts I will share examples of professionally designed modern reports. For each report I’ll also write out a list of things to notice. My goal is not to critique but to show you real life examples of design concepts to help you become a better report designer. This week I […]
Report Study – Goalkeepers 2022
In this series of blog posts I will share examples of professionally designed modern reports. For each report I’ll also write out a list of things to notice. My goal is not to critique but to show you real life examples of design concepts to help you become a better report designer. First up, the […]
Stop trying to create Goldilocks reports.
You know the story of Goldilocks and the three bears? Little girl breaks into the house of three bears while they’re out for a walk. Then proceeds to eat their food, break one of their chairs, and eventually falls asleep in one of their beds. The story came to mind when I was thinking about […]
Access is NOT a Vanity Metric
Do you ever think about the amount of work that goes into a conference presentation? How many hours do people spend planning their conference proposal, meeting with collaborators, putting together their presentation (or poster), traveling to the event, and then eventually presenting? And then they complain that having a blog would take too much of […]
Reporting is a Conversation
Do you remember the early days of social media? Back then there were a lot of bloggers, marketers, and other digital communicators talking about how social media platforms were conversational. Less broadcasting, more back and forth. For whatever reason, in the research and evaluation reporting world, that message never really stuck. We still broadcast our […]
6 Big Reasons to Ditch the PDF Report
Still delivering your final report as a PDF? You’re definitely NOT alone. The PDF final report is still very much status quo in the research and evaluation worlds. But I think it’s time we move on. We give too much up when we choose to use PDFs for our reports. And the features we give […]
Make Me Think
There is this fantastic book on usability written by Steve Krug called, Don’t Make Me Think. It’s not new, first released out all the way back in 2000. But if you have never read it, you should. Even if you have never really considered yourself a web designer. “Don’t Make Me Think!” Krug’s First Law […]
Grandpa Henry’s Potato Leek Soup
I’m taking a sick day today. Picked up a case of strep throat at the end of last week that’s now hopefully working its way out of my system. But sick days are boring, and instead of streaming yet another movie or show, I thought I would share the recipe for my favorite soup. My […]