Almost as often as I see a pie chart with a hundred tiny slivers, I see line graphs using two y-axes. And it is just as bad. Graphs like this appear in every industry, everywhere I consult all around the globe. Using two y-axes is not a great idea…
One of the smartest branding moves is to keep yourself top-of-mind with clients when you aren’t in the throes of discussing contract details. The new year is a perfect opportunity to remind your clients that you are both fun AND serious about data. I send a holiday card to my…
Since none of us can escape election coverage, no doubt you’ve seen voter and poll data displayed on some unusual maps. 538 is showing electoral votes as a hex map (made up of hexagons) and the Wall Street Journal did the same as a tile map (made up…
Update: After a successful Kickstarter campaign where we raised over 1,000% of our goal, the cards are in production and you can now order a deck, an infographic, and our templates from our permanent website. Thanks for your support, lovely people. Chart Chooser cards are simple and easy…
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,…
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:…
The Data Visualization Academy is only open for enrollment twice a year. Come get select access to my best data visualization tutorials and advice. 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…
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…
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…
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…
