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Is Data Visualization the Next Design Challenge?
Data is everywhere, and design is the key to leveraging it
I am a data nerd. I grew up, professionally speaking, designing studies, collecting data, and trying to get people to make use of the analysis and results. Then one day I realized that no one was going to pay attention to my amazing, glorious, wonderful data if my reports and presentations were poorly designed. So I married a graphic designer, and together we snarked at bad restaurant signage and had heated discussions about nuances in shades of purple. I became a design nerd, too.
When data and design successfully bridge, we can change the world.
Data nerds need designers
These days, I teach data nerds how to become better designers and designers how to become better data nerds. I design great graphs. And I study how data are presented. Here are the patterns that I see over and over again:
- At worst, I see data nerds who have never worked with a designer, and the resulting heap of data is so off-putting that only the most committed will ever read through it to pull out meaningful insights.
- In a better situation, I see beautifully designed reports with gorgeous, flowing page layouts and eye-catching color schemes — with all…
