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 …
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 …
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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 …
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 …
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Schools kill creativity, graduate schools bury it.
Every now and again I rewatch one of my favorite TED talks, and one of the most popular TED talks of all time. And like every favorite thing that you watch over and over again, the talk keeps …
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Story Finding Worksheet
So this question came up from a participant during my data storytelling workshop. The question was something like, "How do you train others on your team to find, and then tell, stories?" During …
Creative Self-Assessment
If I could go back in time to my university days, I would certainly take some different electives. Like so many of you, I spent my time in college learning how to be a social scientist. Which …
Finding meaning in our work
I fell into the world of data visualization in 2008, when an executive at the non-profit I was working for at the time decided to send a few of the younger staff members to a local talk by Edward …
Events
On this page I'll be listing all upcoming live events, along with the relevant registration or RSVP pages. June 2024 6/25 & 6/27 - Workshop: Everyday Visual Reports [Register] The next …