Map of Data Visualization Books
PolicyViz Newsletter #41
Hi all,
Information designer Evelina Judeikyte published this Map of DataViz Books back in 2021 and updated it in December 2022. It consists of 30 books she has read across two axes: Length of read (short vs. long) and instructional vs. inspirational (arguable whether that’s continuous or not). Books Evelina read in 2022 were shown with the hatched pattern and I was pleased to see my Better Data Visualizations book appear on the list (in the bottom-right corner). We’ll see if she publishes a new one at the end of 2023.
I’m not sure if I saw the original image in 2021, but the 2022 version has been in the back of my head for months.
Obviously, the two dimensions are Evelina’s opinions about the books and I don’t intend to criticize or argue with her representation of the space. I do believe books can be both instructional and inspirational, but that’s not why it’s been stuck in my head.
Instead, I’ve been thinking about how I might represent the new wave of data visualization books that go beyond—or maybe in just a different direction—than the instructional/inspirational continuum.
Take just a few books published in the last few months:
Functional Aesthetics for data visualization by Vidya Setlur and Bridget Cogley
Building Science Graphics by Jen Christiansen
Questions in DataViz by Neil Richards
Each of these books certainly has some instructional aspects to them—how to facilitate discussion in an organization (Setlur/Cogley), incorporate good design approaches in teams (Christiansen), or use outside inspirations to build data visualizations (Richards)—but they also move beyond the basics and emphasize teams and processes.
All of these books—and more that forthcoming—move beyond the standard instructional/inspirational continuum into something broader—ways of thinking, ways of critiquing, ways of working in teams, and ways of building visualizations or graphics. Is this the next wave in the field of data visualization? Are we ready to move beyond the step-by-step tutorial-type books and past the showcase-style books? Don’t get me wrong, both of those kinds of books will always be needed—see my own new Excel book or the new Making with Data book (see podcast below)—but perhaps data visualization is moving to a new phase in its evolution, at least with respect to books?
I don’t know what to call this new axis—and I’d like to see if there’s an alternative to the horizontal axis—but Evelina has certainly gotten me thinking.
What do you think? Any ideas for a different set of axes? Perhaps we can build a new scatterplot together.
Thanks,
Jon
I hope you’ve had a chance to grab a copy of my new book, Data Visualization in Excel: A Guide for Beginners, Intermediates, and Wonks. This is the only book on the market that provides a step-by-step guide to creating better, more effective, and “non-standard” graphs in Microsoft Excel.
Please consider leaving a rating or review on Amazon about the book! It helps more people find the book and make better data visualizations in Excel.
PolicyViz at Home 🏡
I thought fall was upon us here in Northern Virginia, but we’re back to 80-degree days. I got one last day in at the Nationals ballpark last week to soak in the cool air. I’m sure we’ll have those cool days and changing leaves any day now. I hope the weather is lovely wherever you are!
Data Physicalization with the ‘Making with Data’ author team
Creating data visualizations in the physical world is not a new phenomenon. Humans have been drawing on walls, tallying money and crops, and carving on stone tablets for thousands of years. Today, though the practice of data visualization is largely done in the digital world, there is an exciting area of working in the physical space--the real world, as it were--to create, share, and communicate data and information. That brings us to the exciting new book, Making with Data, that provides a snapshot of the diverse practices contemporary creators are using to produce objects, spaces, and experiences imbued with data. In this week's episode of the podcast, I chat with the editors of the book to get their take on this exciting field.
Things I’m Reading & Watching
Articles
Effects Of The Expanded Child Tax Credit On Household Spending: Estimates Based On U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey Data, NBER Working Paper, Schild et al.
Four very basic ways to think about policy in implementation science, Purtle et al.
Blog Posts, Twitter Threads, and Videos
How to Tackle Fraudulent Survey Responses by Rob Pitingolo, Data at Urban
Data Visualizations
North Korea Missiles, Stronger, faster, higher from Reuters
The Index of State Dynamism from Voila Studios
Rugby World Cup: Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the 20 teams from Le Monde
The Individual Income Tax, 2023, from the Congressional Research Service
Conferences
2023 Government & Public Sector R Conference (October 19-20, 2023)
Job Openings
TV, Movies, and Miscellaneous
The Money Pit, Netflix
One Piece, Netflix
Only Murders in the Building, Hulu
The Morning Show, Apple TV
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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