So how do you waste data? I’ve decided to start the year by really digging into my own report design process. My hope is to eventually create a set of tools that can be used to help guide the review of an organization’s reporting strategy. Part of that review will be very user centric. But […]
Because Evidence Matters
I spent a large portion of yesterday writing a blog post that I don’t think I will ever publish. It started with a chat about creative burnout and then kind of went off the rails a bit. Truth is, I’ve been feeling really pessimistic lately. About the current state of society and the actual merits […]
What is adult learning, and its role in evaluation?
This week’s post was written by Chantal Hoff. Chantal is an epidemiologist by training, who works as an evaluator and Senior Consultant at Data+Soul Research. You can learn more about Chantal on LinkedIn and about Data+Soul Research on their website. How it started: Enthusiasm for evaluation. At the end of my first year of my […]
How to open a PDF in Canva (3 simple ways).
Did you know that you can open a PDF using Canva? For years and years, the PDF has been the status quo way to share any kind of research or evaluation report. I think that’s changing a little as organizations push for more accessible formats (like what I offer through ReportPress), but there are still […]
It’s not enough to know.
Evaluation is a systematic process to determine merit, worth, value or significance… But then what? Let’s say you followed a systematic process and came to some conclusions about the value of a program. Your evidence shows that this particular program *doesn’t work so well. What comes next? It’s pretty unlikely that your work is completed […]
Attending a conference? Do this.
I’m writing this at the start of the American Evaluation Association’s national conference. Unfortunately it’s another year that I won’t be attending. But I want to pass some advice to all of you who attend conferences like this one with hopes of building both your skills and your professional reputation. It’s time to think beyond […]
Formstorming Charts, Graphs, and Illustrations
You want to know the secret to improving the quality of your charts, graphs, and illustrations? It’s simple. Create more than one chart, graph, or illustration. Then pick the best one. Or, in other words, formstorm it. Stop taking the easy way out. The following comes from a presentation given by John Cleese on Creativity […]
Is your report too wordy? Don’t do this.
Have you been told your report is too wordy? Or maybe you received input that your report was “too long” or “not reader friendly.” And then perhaps you were given the advice, “make it shorter.” STOP! Don’t follow that advice. In this post I’ll tell you why making your report shorter is often bad advice, […]
Creating Fuzzy Icon Arrays
One of the cool things about teaching data design is that I get to personally learn from the people who take my workshops. Today’s concept comes from Celestyna Galicki. This is the second time I’ve featured one of Celestyna’s creations (see her post on Shadow Logic Models). If you have ever taken one of my […]
How to Use Icons in Reports
Icons can be a really easy and effective way to illustrate reports and visualize qualitative data. In this post I’ll share some examples, give you some icon use tips, and talk about some specific ways you can develop and use your own icons using Canva. In a previous blog post I talked about qualitative data […]
What is Data Design?
Do you want to become a confident data designer? The first step is probably understanding what data design even means. I shared the following definition when writing my blog post about how to become a data designer. But in this post, I plan to dig deeper. What is data design? Data design is a blend […]
Web Reports are Easier to Design than PDFs
Why are so many organizations still stuck in a PDF rut? I’ve been blogging since around 2008. For context, I started on WordPress well before I had my own business, years before I started drawing comics, and even before I really started getting into data visualization design. My first blog posts were about technology, data […]