Ben Collins, benlcollins.com

In 2018, my goal is to continue growing the online training arm of my business, by enrolling more students and launching 4 – 6 new online video courses, including courses on Google Data Studio (the new dataviz tool from Google), Google Apps Script and SQL. From a personal point of view, I want to further my technical knowledge, especially of Apps Script and data science topics, through regular weekly coding, case studies and writing in-depth tutorials on my website.

Jorge Camoes, excelcharts.com

Go a bit deeper into statistics and datavis integration. I’m having fun learning JMP, so I’m not sure if I’ll stick with or use it as a gateway into R.  Explore the design of structured visualizations (small multiples, panel charts, etc) and free-form visualizations (dashboards, infographics). Blog more, be a more active member of some communities, create more free and premium content, add examples to Andy Kirk’s Chartmaker Directory. And, the most challenging of all, leave my comfort zone and accept more invitations for public speaking.

Alberto Cairo, thefunctionalart.com

Write my next book.

Andy Cotgreave, gravyanecdote.com

My resolution is to seek out things that knit the world of data together. I want to read more, and more widely. I’m really enthused about finding inspiration from all walks of life, and thinking how they relate to the world of data. It could be the neuroscience of magic, storytelling in board games, or the psychology of decision making. I’ll be sharing these ideas in my Sweet Spot column on LinkedIn. And if all goes to plan, there might even be a more exciting announcement!

Ann K. Emery, depictdatastudio.com

Keep doing what I’m doing–a dual focus on speaking and design and a dual focus on analysis and visualization–and ignore the noise. Continue beefing up my ebook and turn it into a book book. Plan the curriculum for a series of online courses so that I’m ready to rock them in 2019!

Stephanie Evergreen, stephanieevergreen.com

My resolution this year is to reduce the environmental impact of my life on the road. I’m so good at this at home but once I’m on the road, it’s all water bottles and disposable crap. I’ve committed to traveling with a reusable water bottle and purchasing carbon offsets for my miles in the air. I’ll be looking for other ideas throughout the year too.

Andy Kirk, visualisingdata.com

The first goal for 2018 is I want to find a way to carve out more time to reflect, to learn, to read and to generally improve in a more organised and efficient way rather than trying to squeeze out random and often chaotic opportunities as I chase my to-do list and schedule of working commitments. I have so many books, articles and papers to read that I’ve only really skirted over. As 2018 will be the year when I return to book writing with the commencing of composing the second edition of my book, this should give me the opportunity I need. I also have a number of personal/passion projects that I hope to undertake that will enable me to flex different capabilities and, most likely, push me out of my normal comfort zone. That’s a good thing, especially for the low risk context of one’s own work, rather than a client’s. I have had a permanent resolution each year for the past decade that states how this year will be the year I learn x, y or z tool. I still have that very much in mind but I only have so many hours in the day and I suspect it will a major strand of development that will be necessary to nudge forward into 2019 – more likely to be achievable after my post book-writing period. Commercially, I will be very content to have more of the same type and quantity of opportunities to run training events and engage on design/consultancy projects. As a freelancer, one should never be complacent and certainly shouldn’t wish for less work but a continuation of 2017 will represent a nice balance to ensure continued growth without the cost of burnout.

Elissa Schloesser, myvisualvoice.com

Develop my voice. Take time to document and share my perspective. Make writing on my blog (www.myvisualsidekick.org) a priority.

Jon Schwabish, policyviz.com

As we get into 2018, there are a few things in the dataviz world that I want to think a bit more deeply about: How do we create effective dataviz for social media? What are some other issues with maps and geographic data to explore further? How can we better communicate uncertainty? How do we use data and data visualization to grab people’s attention and interest in complex, but inherently important, policy issues? I’m also looking forward to further developing some Excel tools to help people and organizations create stylized graphs more quickly and easily. And, of course, talking to more cool people for my podcast.

What’s your data-related resolution for 2018? Is there a particular book(s) you want to read? A skill you want to hone? A conference you want to explore for the first time? Let us know in the comments!

The post Data Visualization Resolutions for 2018 appeared first on Depict Data Studio.

1. Commit to Easier-to-Read Layouts

The end of clustered bar charts is near. I’m on a personal mission to banish these cluttered, impossible-to-grasp-at-a-glance graphs from your deliverables.

This year, resolve to swap your clustered bar chart for a small multiples bar chart, slope graph, or dot plot.

2. Try a New Graph Type

Try a new format, just for fun, then hide it away for a few weeks and forget about its shiny new novelty before sharing it with viewers. Tree maps, social network maps, Sankey diagrams, and more! Shiny! New! Fun amazing toys! How pretty! Give each of these chart types an honest try during your lunch break. But please don’t use them just because they’re cool. Use them when they’re the clearest chart for your viewers.

3. Share Disaggregated Findings in Addition to Aggregated Findings

Small multiples layouts involve multiple small charts, like one chart per company, school, city, or department that you’re reporting on.

Repeat with me: “It doesn’t matter if it takes a little longer to produce a small multiples layout. This is the information my viewers want and need–the details about their specific program, not the means and medians from all the groups lumped together–so my extra effort will pay off tenfold.”

4. Stop Looking for the Perfect Data Visualization Book

Stop looking for the perfect visualization book that will answer all of my questions and transform me into a visualization guru overnight. The field is young. A good number of visualization professionals have written books, and dozens of partnerships for new books are in the works. In the meantime, turn your attention to blogs and tweets.

Here are my highly-recommended blogs for non-programmers who want to get more from common software tools like Excel:

• My blog
• Stephanie Evergreen’s blog
• Cole Nussbaumer’s blog
• Jon Schwabish’s blog

And here are my highly-recommended Twitter accounts:

• @NYTgraphics
• @PostGraphics
• @WSJgraphics

5. Stop Looking for the Perfect Data Visualization Software Program

One day soon, we’ll stop arguing about which software program is best, and we’ll agree that our brains are the best visualization tools of all time.

One day, in a galaxy far, far away, the software salespeople will also stop pretending that their tool is best. Until then, resolve to speak up when you hear their crazy claims.

6. Don’t Trust Your Software Program’s Default Settings

On a related note… As novices, the first few times we use a software program, we’re tempted to trust the program. We might think, “I don’t really understand how this 3D/bevel/shaded chart is effectively communicating my message, but the software company must be full of experts, so I’ll just go with it.” It’s no secret that you’ll need to adjust almost every one of Excel’s default settings to produce something clear and comprehensible. Keep questioning Tableau, R, SPSS, and others, too.

7. Take Your Data Analysis and Data Management Skills to the Next Level

First comes planning… then comes identifying, modifying, or creating data collection tools and instruments… then data collection… then data cleaning…. then analysis… and, finally, data visualization–all while weighing stakeholder information needs, and building a data culture, and anticipating the best communications mode(s) for sharing the completed visualizations.

Do yourself a favor by building your foundational data management and analysis skills this year. Check out my pivot table webinars and spreadsheet tips, or take a course from one of my trusted fellow Excel gurus.

8. Embrace Ranges, Guesses, and Uncertainty in Your Dataset

Only have access to the minimum and maximum values in a dataset? Try a span chart. Want to graph the standard deviation? Add light shading above and below your values. Are you predicting what might happen down the road? Display the estimated range of values with light shading.

9. Don’t Forget to Visualize Your Qualitative Data

Create a chart, diagram, illustration, photograph, or cartoon to display patterns in qualitative data.

Experiment with strategies for displaying data from documents, interview transcripts, and focus group conversations, and you’ll be the next visualization rockstar. This is one of the most underdeveloped areas in the entire field of visualization.

I recently shared ideas for displaying qualitative data.

What do you think of the Washington Post’s simple color-coding for eyewitness statements? I’m a fan.

Visualizing the eyewitness statements: Did Michael Brown charge? http://t.co/dXrtGOcdUr via @postgraphics pic.twitter.com/45R2etOH1L
— Post Graphics (@PostGraphics) November 30, 2014

10. Give Virtual High-Fives to Data Visualization Designers You Admire

Like what you see? Tell the designer. Write them an email, comment on their blog post, send them a tweet, borrow Hedwig the owl. Your kind messages inspire new blog posts, conference presentations, and more, which keeps the field healthy and thriving.

Don’t like what you see? Shhh. Best to keep your thoughts to yourself. It’s bad karma and nobody wants to be friends with Debbie Downer.

11. Use Something Besides the Computer to Display Data

Some of my most valuable breakthroughs with organizations have come from drawing graphs on whiteboards during meetings.

Perhaps you’ve seen Hans Rosling’s 52-second explanation of population trends using stones.

You’re probably familiar with my affinity for sketching graphs on paper.

12. Create an Animated GIF or Video

Of course you’ve watched Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes video.

But have you seen the remake GIFs from Dark Horse Analytics? My personal favorite is their Clear Off The Table remake:

How about these changes-over-time GIFs from the L.A. Times Graphics Team?!? Swoon. 

I’m also a big fan of this semi-animated, semi-interactive model of breast cancer causation. Well done, University of California researchers and designers. Here’s to hoping that we’ll see many more GIFs and videos in data visualization’s future.

Join the Conversation

Now it’s time to share your feedback: What are some other ways that you can improve your data visualization skills?

The post A Dozen Ways to Improve Your Data Visualization Skills appeared first on Depict Data Studio.