Lillian Haley, Ph.D., MSW, ChFC® is the president and owner of Haley Evaluation & Research Services (HERS). She’s a Depict Data Studio student and when she shared her before/after makeover during our graduation ceremony, I knew I wanted to showcase her work. Keep up the great work, Lillian! – Ann
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I discovered Ann’s data visualization work at the 2016 American Evaluation Association (AEA)’s annual conference held in Atlanta, Georgia.
I was making the transition from academia to commercial research and was struggling mightily with telling a visual story. When your training is entirely writing journal articles in APA style, it can be challenging to transition to producing beautiful, easily consumable content.
I remember Ann and Stephanie Evergreen presenting and sharing their data visualization checklist. They poked fun at common reporting shortcomings in a relatable, engaging manner.
What they shared just made sense. They were speaking about content that applied to my job. I was sold!
I needed to be better at data visuals and storytelling. I tried unsuccessfully to get approval from my employer to cover professional development expenses for data visualization training.
So, I sufficed with Ann’s free Soar Beyond the Dusty Shelf Report course and blog posts.
Fast forward four years later, I found myself launching my research firm, Haley Evaluation & Research Services (HERS). Now, I had total control over my professional development.
Ann’s Dashboard Design was one of the first courses I wanted to sign up for. I stalked the website waiting for registration to open. I registered for the Dashboard Design course along with Simple Spreadsheets, Great Graphs: Design Principles, and Great Graphs: Excel How-To’s.
Developing a Capabilities Statement
Enrolling in courses at Depict Data Studio is one of the best professional developments I have ever made. I used what I learned to give my company’s capabilities statement a makeover.
What is a capabilities statement? Great question!
A capability statement is a concise, one-page document of your business competencies. Think of it as your business’ resume. Its purpose is to provide specific information that will convince potential customers to do business with you. When written well, it will differentiate your business from the competition!
Before taking Dashboard Design, my template was based upon an example provided on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website.
I reasoned I’d like to do business with the government, so I might as well follow their lead. Unfortunately, what I produced was text-heavy and lacking any visuals, minus a logo or color scheme that would help my business be an appealing option. Would you trust this company to write your report or design your dashboard?
Revamping the Capability Statement with Skills Learned in Depict Courses
After eight months with Ann, I was able to turn my blah capabilities statement into something I am happy to share! It is painfully apparent I grew in my knowledge about leveraging:
- White Space
- Decluttering
- Branding
- Font size
- Bolding
- Color
- Icons
I could go on and on about the many design and data visualization lessons I’ve learned from Ann.
Instead, I’ll end by saying that books and blogs are excellent resources. I have several books and subscribed to many blogs. However, they do not compare to live and on-demand instruction of Depict Data Studio.
Just look at my After one-pager!
Connect with Lillian Haley
Website: https://www.haleyresearch.com/
E. Calhoun
2 Comments
WOW! That is so impressive and amazing.
What a transformation, Lillian! Yes, the updated version was definitely one I would gravitate to read. It was easy on the eyes and just more inviting vs. your original.
Thank you so very much for sharing your story, and reiterating the importance of professional development. I wish you all the best in your business! Keep telling those visually appealing stories!