DataViz Video Critiques
Hi all,
I’ve finally started getting back to recording video critiques of data visualizations on my YouTube channel. The channel has been really quiet for the last few months, basically just a place for podcast episodes.
Being a critic is a tricky game. On the one hand, it’s easy to get into the game of knocking people’s work down for nothing other than clicks and views. On the other, criticism can help us (including the critic) learn how to create better visualizations.
I like this quote from the great movie Ratatouille about how to think of what it means to be a critic, which I included in this longer post on dataviz critique in February of last year.
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.
-Anton Ego, Ratatouille
But I’m trying to be more careful in my critiques, blending the positive with the negative (the “compliment sandwich”, if you will). Each video comes with the following disclaimer:
This and all data visualization critiques are intended to help viewers improve how they visualize their data. The creator(s) of this visualization may have constraints on time or tools or workflow that I am not aware of. The purpose of this critique is to try to offer constructive ideas about the effective presentation of data.
I’ll probably get it wrong some of the time, but my hope is that these critiques will help others create better visualizations. If you have comments on a visualization I critique—even on my critique—please do share it in the comment section to the video. And if you have a visualization you’d like me to review, please let me know. My hope is to record and post at least one critique a week.
Thanks,
Jon
Podcast: Data for Good: Uniting Georgia’s Changemakers with Tommy Pearce from Neighborhood Nexus
On this week’s episode of the podcast, we dive into the transformative work of Neighborhood Nexus, led by Tommy Pierce. This civic data intermediary is making waves in Georgia by harnessing the power of data to create a lasting social impact. Here are the highlights of our discussion on how Neighborhood Nexus is revolutionizing the nonprofit sector through data-driven strategies:
Things I’m Reading & Watching
Books
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan
Articles
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Dollars: Visual Aids Promote Investor Decisions by Scholl, Craig, and Chin
How Learners Sketch Data Stories by Bhargava, Williams, and D’Ignazio
TV, Movies, Music, and Miscellaneous
The Crown, Netflix
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Max
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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