Here’s a procedure I use all the time to help me select color combinations for my reporting. It makes use of this great, free, online program that takes all the scientific color theory stuff and translates it for those of us without a MFA. First, I head to my client’s…
I’ve been pretty vocal about the need for greater use of images in our evaluation communications. And while I can get most people to vow to halt the use of clip art, finding high-quality images can be a total pain. What’s at our fingertips (i.e., available on Google Images) is…
Seth Godin recently published a blog post on the atomic method of creating slides. He put into words what many of us have felt about the overuse of bullet points. But more than talk about it, he detailed a method for actually moving from a typically bullet-pointed slidedeck to…
If research gives just the facts, evaluation is distinct in that it often has an extra layer of interpretation and communication. We don’t just tell people 63.8% of students passed the class, we say “so what?” and interpret whether that 63.8% is good, worse, or whatnot.
I was recently workshopping with a group of evaluators who had bravely submitted their work examples for group critique. In one instance, they had admitted that what I thought were text-heavy slides was actually a full written report. That’s right – they’d used PowerPoint for written report layout. Mind. Blown.
So I made this lovely checklist of graphic design best practices as a product of my dissertation (Standing Rule: If you want to know the details of my dissertation, you’ll have to buy me a drink). It included input from a panel of graphic designers including Peter Brakeman,…
On the plane, heading back from the American Evaluation Association’s annual conference in Anaheim. Long plane rides such a great opportunity for reflection. What’s on my mind? The overwhelming success of the Data Visualization and Reporting Topical Interest Group. We had so much support in getting this group launched…
This morning I defended my dissertation (successfully). Last week a part of my literature review was published in New Directions for Evaluation. Link to the whole issue here. Later this week I’m headed to  talk to the Indiana Evaluation Association about graphic design in evaluation reporting. In the…
Zach Gemignani, of Juice Analytics fame, gave the keynote at the AEA/CDC Summer Institute yesterday. I had followed their 30 Days to Context Connection list earlier last year, so I was super excited to witness the fun in person. His keynote speech focused on the 10…
A graphic designer, I am not. A laborer of long words and awkward sentences structures, I am. That’s why I became super fascinated by the world of report layout and formatting. Maybe the geekiest hobby, I hear you. But so important! I’ve detailed the importance of good communication elsewhere on…
