Data Viz Today

What are the ingredients of a successful personal project? How do you even know what topic to make your personal project about? What constraints make for a successful personal project? In this episode, data visualization designers Nadieh Bremer and Shirley Wu share insights they learned from completing a year-long collaboration that ended with a new book called Data Sketches!

Do you feel lost when you’re creating a chart? Are you feeling around in the dark with every new project? Confidence comes with practice, but you can also take a few smart steps, in the beginning, to create an effective chart. I’ve interviewed top designers for years on my podcast while creating and experimenting on my own, and I’ve found that these steps reap great rewards. Try them out, and you’ll feel more confident in your data visualization skills regardless of the situation or your toolset. If you need help making your data visualizations a reality, I’d be happy to help! I have space in my consulting schedule opening up; I specialize in creating static charts, maps & infographics that are engaging and effective. Drop me a line! https://www.allitorban.com/resources/1

The last episode of the year! In this episode, I have a little data viz tennis match with fellow podcaster Lea Pica. We found the most inspiring visualizations in four categories: climate change, COVID-19, racial injustice, and the US presidential election. Lea and I bounce back and forth describing our favorite in each category and the mastery on display for each. What was your favorite data viz this year? Shownotes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/60

Have you ever created a successful graphic that really hit the mark and you felt like you were just spot on? Do you know how you can consistently replicate that feeling? If not, I have an idea of what you might be missing... Art direction! In this episode, we'll learn when you need art direction and when you don't, and how to use art direction to make sure you and your client work efficiently together to create graphics that hit the mark.

Have you ever felt frustrated when you're trying to express important data to someone? Do the bars and pies just seem to fall flat? Try turning the data into an experience! In this episode, I try to bottle up Miriam Quick and Stefanie Posavec’s creative genius that they poured into their new book so that we can create data experiences in our work, too.   Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/58

I recently went on a journey to improve my design skills, and looking back, I learned a lot about how to build a skill and one big lesson about being a creator...   Show notes: https://dataviztoday.com/shownotes/57

Chart legends are so key (ha!) to make your chart understandable, but you need to give it some thought and care.   The goals of a good legend: informative and concise   It shouldn’t be a puzzle.   So how can we enhance the default legend to be more informative and concise without becoming a puzzle?   Let’s jump into 3 ways to enhance your legend! Show notes

What are the invisible tools (i.e. processes or methods) that I use to help me create visualization more efficiently? I pinpointed 3 roadblocks that I encounter frequently, and in this episode, I share the invisible tools that I use to catapult over them and keep moving. Let’s go!

Are you interested in freelancing or consulting in data visualization? Being your own boss as a full-time freelancer has its own set of unique challenges, and of course, many benefits!   But from the outside looking in, it’s hard to know where to even start...   How do you find clients? How do you know what to offer?   How do you reach out and pitch to potential clients? How do you communicate the value that you bring and know what to charge?   How do you make sure you end up getting paid?!   There’s so much! But don’t worry, Dr. Stephanie Evergreen joins me today, and I asked her all the questions. Let's go!

In this episode, Shirley Wu shares the specific things that she looks for in potential collaborators, the steps she took to execute her innovative People of the Pandemic game, and how she overcame her moments of self-doubt under the mounting complexity of creating a game from scratch… Show notes