Blog
Strong Titles Are The Biggest Bang for Your Buck
If you do nothing else to improve a weak visualization, you’ll still seriously improve its interpretability by giving it an awesome title. Generally we use weak titles that don’t really tell us the point of the visualization: I think this is because we make our graphs in Excel, which pops in the two-word “Chart Title” […]
Your Data Visualization Secret Weapon
You want to know the trick to fixing most scary data visualizations? The answer to horrifying stuff like this? What does one do when the graph gives you the shivers? http://viz.wtf/post/142740495532/spaghetti-sans-meatball The answer is always going to be: Small Multiples. Break the graph down into multiple tiny graphs, all on the same scale, arranged […]
Now Open: Evergreen Data Visualization Academy
Four years ago today, I took the leap from salaried employee to independent consultant. Since then, I’ve worked with scores of organizations to help them use their data as a tool to change culture and become a communication powerhouse. Today, on the anniversary of my independence day, I’m launching a new way to integrate my […]
Make It A Game
I spend a lot of time talking about really serious data with incredibly focused people. I love them and I love my job. But sometimes I need to balance that out with some Lucky Charms. So while eating my bowlful of magically delicious sugar bombs the other day and looking at the back of the cereal […]
Exporting Graphs from Excel
I love when readers send me questions that I can turn into blog posts. The question: We often make our graphs in Excel and pop them in to reports or slides, but the transfer usually causes the formatting to get all wonky. How can we get print-quality graphics out of Excel? Answer #1: Build it […]
Timelines, 4 Ways
The least helpful timelines I’ve ever seen are these: where time is basically bulleted, as if each of these intervals is equidistant and as if a bunch of text is the best way to communicate something inherently not based in narrative. You are basically saying, this journey is going to be really confusing because I’m […]
What I Do: Before and After Business Slides
I help people design the best visual supports for streamlined conversations and decision-making. That’s just what New Client needed. He called to say “I need to look great at this meeting.” And by the time he got to that meeting, he looked great *and* he presented his qualitative and quantitative data effectively. To the point where […]
My New Favorite Graph Type: Overlapping Bars
Why have I fallen in love with this graph type? I think its because its such a great way to visualize the comparison between two things, when one is inherently a part of the other. In recent client projects, I’ve used these to show actual v. budgeted amounts. Or individual v. aggregate scores. Or those […]
Marketing Yourself as a Public Speaker
After years of making my way as a public speaker, 40 podcast episodes interviewing other public speakers, and a groundswell of people asking me how to grow their public speaking business, how about we chat for a few about what marketing strategies work and what don’t? What Works Before you go trying to shake your […]
Book Club with Alberto, Andy, and Jorge
So far this year we’ve seen a ton of great books on data visualization published! What an awesome time! I got together with Alberto Cairo, Jorge Camoes, and Andy Kirk to talk about our books and the writing process in general. Not sure which of the latest dataviz books to purchase? This group interview highlights […]
