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Welcome to the first issue of the 'Visualising Data Newsletter' chronicling the most insightful and delightful data viz content every month, straight to your inbox.

In each monthly issue I will collect, curate, then send you a selection of links to some of the best, most interesting, most zeitgeist-y, or thought-provoking data visualisation-related content I've encountered during the previous month. This first piece is going out in February and so relates to new content I saw published in January and a few older things I might have come across that month too. I will also tag onto the end some of my own recent postings or relevant announcements.

To minimise the weight of my task in producing each issue and your task, as reader, in browsing them, I've imposed an arbitrary limit of 50 items, which will help act as quality filter. To minimise the weight of the emails themselves I'm not including imagery against all items listed, most of which will be presented as text descriptions with links. I will image-preview 10 pieces: four featured items chosen under Visuals, three under Learning, two under News, and one under Sundries.

Each item included is presented with the piece's title, the platform or publisher, and then a description, often taken from the introduction text published by each author. The links are accessed via the 'Go' buttons or, just in case some peoples' email systems block buttons, also behind the platform/publisher label. Note that some links will direct you towards sites that are behind paywalls for which some readers may not have direct access.

I expect it will take a few monthly rounds for me to settle into this new curating rhythm and alternative method of publishing. I will need to judge the right breadth and profile of content to include and I'm sure I'll nudge the styling of the posts to ensure they look the best they can across all email and web platforms.

I hope you will find it to be a useful monthly resource and I thank you, once again, for your interest and support in subscribing. There are a lot of newsletters these days competing for your attention, I really appreciate you choosing to give this yours.

See you same time, same place, in March.

Andy K

Visuals

The freshest data visualisation (or related) design pieces and collections.

5. Favourite maps of 2023 | Cartoblography​

Ken Field's collection - always a vital read - listing some of this favourite maps from 2023.

6. Atlas of Intangibles | Priti Pandurangan​

A charming data experience designed to "highlight the rich, interconnected web of sensory information that lies beneath our everyday encounters". Showcasing sensory data collected by Priti around the city of London using data walks.

7. Hey you guys | Coffeetableviz​

Adam Green's viz explores the subsequent acting adventures of the child stars of the 1985 cult classic “The Goonies”.

8. Since When Does Vogue Hate Text? | Jess Carr​

The 2023 Pudding Cup joint winner, this superb curiosity-driven investigation "to unearth the lost art of textual exuberance" looks at where all the "flashy text in mismatched type, size, weight, and colour" has gone from the covers of Vogue magazine.

9. Republican presidential nomination and delegates, explained | CNN​

Amy O'Kruk, Data and Graphics Editor for CNN Digital, visualises how the Republican presidential nomination works, excellently explaining what delegates are and how (and when!) they help candidates win the nomination.

10. Animating Earth’s Aerosols | Maps.com​

An exquisite animation by Rich Spencer and Charlie Lott using NASA data to show "how dust and other aerosols interact with Earth's dynamic atmosphere"

11. Road directedness across 48 cities | @milan_janosov on Twitter​

"This graph shows the directedness of 48 global cities based on its road network" inspired, as Milan explains, by one of his all-time favorite visualizations originally by Geoff Boeing.

12. Data + Movies Viz Gallery | Tableau​

"Explore movie vizzes from around the world: See interactive data visualization created using an expansive cinematic dataset powered by IMDb."

13. Our favorite Science conceptual illustrations of 2023 | Science​

"This past year, much like society, the design team was focused on #AI, art directing several visuals capturing this ever-changing landscape. Here is a look at those illustrations, along with others that the team is particularly proud of from 2023."

14. The Battle for Low Orbit Satellite Supremacy [Translated] | CommonWealth Magazine​

"We visualize 9000+ satellites in space and analyze Taiwan's current situation in this satellite race." [Published in Chinese Traditional]

15. "Eggs" make history as top-ranked Google search on cost in 2023 | Axios​

"In a year of high prices across the board, eggs stand out as the item most searched by Americans asking, “Why is ___ so expensive?”

16. China’s Severed Air Links Drain $130 Billion From Global Tourism | Bloomberg​

"It's been a year since China reopened its border, but Chinese travellers are not flying overseas like before. By checking 18 million scheduled flights for 4Q in 2019 and 2023, we identified and visualized the absence of China in the sky."

17. Down Underground: London Underground Depth Diagrams | Daniel Silva​

"Millions of people descend into the oldest metro service in the world, travelling from A to B thanks to wonders of engineering and design. Everyone knows they are going underground, but just how deep? These simple diagrams deliver just that – all Underground services illustrating the height of all stations and platforms, below and above ground."

18. A Book Quilt | Luisa Vasquez​

"This quilt was created using the data from all the books I read in 2023. It measures roughly 11 x 16 inches and was assembled on my sewing machine and quilted by hand."

19. How Houthi Attacks Have Upended Global Shipping | New York Times​

Exceptional mapping showing how "Hundreds of ships are avoiding the Suez Canal and sailing an extra 4,000 miles around Africa, burning fuel, inflating costs and adding 10 days of travel or more in each direction."

20. What exactly a wind turbine does [Translated] | Zeit Online​

"How many revolutions does it take to charge an electric car with green electricity or to power a household? Test it yourself with our interactive wind turbine." [Published in German]

21. Bird populations are declining. Some are in your neighbourhood. | Washington Post​

Beautiful illustrations and maps from Harry Stevens explore this worrying trend.

22. Tracking Freezing Temperatures in the U.S. | New York Times​

More stunning maps from the NYT graphics team showing "freezing temperatures are forecast across many areas of the contiguous United States over the next week, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

Learning

Relevant articles, interviews, or videos to help further your development in data viz.

26. Amanda Cox Keynote | OpenVis Conf​

A classic from the archives, which floated back on to my radar recently: Amanda Cox's keynote address at the 2017 OpenVis Conf about visualising uncertainty. (Check out all the other great videos while you're there)

27. Analysis and Anarchy (Or: there’s gold in them thar charts!) | Chartography​

In this issue of RJ Andrews' newsletter, he reflects on recognising that he does not cultivate any kind of analytic practice concerning his inspiration.

28. A Brief and Inspiring History of Data Visualization in Korea | Nightingale​

Really interesting piece by Jiwon Kim

29. 9 ways to transform text and images into interactive visualizations | Flourish​

Simona Tselova describes how "from cards and quizzes to photo sliders and timelines" you can use Flourish to turn any qualitative data into "stunning pieces of content".

30. AI Spreadsheet and Scraping Tools | Journalist's Toolbox​

Large collection of resources to assist with spreadsheeting and data scraping.

31. Divisive Dataviz: How Political Data Journalism Divides Our Democracy | Nightingale​

Compelling article by Eli Holder "Democracy in the United States is under threat. Are we, humble data visualization designers, to blame for this? Not exactly… But we’re not as innocent as you might think."

32. Data visualization: a subjective lens on reality | Clever Franke on Medium​

Elena Etter analyses the elements that influence the production and consumption of data visualisation focusing on the subjectivity which underpins so much of our decision making.

33. How to read this chart | Washington Post​

Philip Bump's excellent newsletter dissects the chart-making process behind one of the Post's election insights visualisations.

34. Information Design Unbound: The process | Sheila Pontis​

"Writing a book is not always an easy journey – at least this has been my experience with all my books. Here are some of the learnings from my last book...", the excellent 'Information Design Unbound' co-authored with Michael Babwahsingh.

35. A conversation with a Data Visualizer Who’s Also a Painter | Stamen​

Transcript from an interview between Eric Rodenbeck and Stamen colleague Alex Parlato.

36. Behind the scenes: How Brian Romer approaches data visualizations | Storybench​

Storybench speaks with Brian Romer, now a freelancer but who previously worked on data and design projects at Reuters, about exploring how design works with AI, making infographics and visualising money laundering, mass shootings and global cyber attacks.

37. Don’t Let Anxiety Get in the Way of Your Creative Process | Nightingale​

Fernando Hannaka discusses how "persistence is fundamental to achieving desired results" when facing creative challenges.

38. PhotoViz, Nicholas Felton | Vimeo​

From April 2016, a recorded guest lecture from Nicholas Felton about his work on the book 'PhotoViz', exploring the intersection of photography and data visualisation "a place where optical techniques reveal complex phenomena and data viz starts to resemble a photographic process".

News

Latest developments, announcements, or announcements affecting the data viz world.

41. Join Our 2024 Cohort | The Pudding​

The Pudding announce news of their 2024 Cohort, which offers a 10-week paid summer fellowship for aspiring visual storytellers.

42. Introducing Data Navigator | Frank Elavsky​

"I'm happy to announce my latest project, Data Navigator! Making interactive data visualizations work with assistive technologies that navigate content is complex and difficult work. Data Navigator aims to make this easier."

43. Mappemondes | Amazon​

Newly discovered book "Mappemondes: Un voyage dans le temps pour raconter le monde contemporain" authored by LeMonde graphic journalists Xemartin Laborde, Delphine Papin, and Francesca Fattori (published Nov 2023).

Sundries

Additional references to pieces covering broader data, tech, or design matters.

45. Where have all the websites gone? | From Jason​

Exploring an answer to that question, Jason covers the notion that "we miss curation" which is certainly something I'm trying to accomplish with this newsletter.

46. The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again | Rolling Stone​

Anil Dash writes how "The new year offers many of the promises of an online moment we haven’t seen in a quarter-century"

47. Much of what made social media feel special to journalists is gone. What now? | Source​

As many of us are (perhaps overly-nostalgically) considering, this piece reflects on "the [social media] spaces we’ve lost, why we miss them, and what we can do to take power back from platforms".

48. Is Every Picture Worth 1000 Words? | iA​

"The phrase a picture is worth 1,000 words is a well-worn cliche in visual storytelling. Is it true? Where does it come from? And why do we still use words? A critique of the pure stock image."

49. Helvetica is more than a font, it’s a state of mind | Stamen​

"At Stamen we still love it, even if for some of us it’s so post-ironic ironic that our love of Helvetica becomes sincere again. It has been our brand for over two decades, and our passion for Helvetica shows no sign of waning."

50. Failed Product Designs: A Laptop with Seven Screens | Core77​

"A British company called Expanscape developed this monstrosity, known as the Aurora 7"

Latest from me...

Some recent posts and announcements about my professional services and activities.

Thanks for reading!

I’m ANDY KIRK, an independent data visualisation expert based in the UK. My vision is to deliver data viz excellence, everywhere. I offer data visualisation professional services to clients worldwide in my capacity as a design consultant, a prolific and experienced trainer, as an adjunct lecturer on the MSc Business Analytics programme at UCL, as a three-times published author, as a researcher, and sought-after speaker. I'm editor of visualisingdata.com and host of the Explore Explain video and podcast series. If you have a desire to elevate your data viz capabilities, whether at the start of your journey or further along, get in touch.

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