Welcome to the New PolicyViz!

Welcome to the newly redesigned PolicyViz website! Over the past few months, I’ve been reworking the site to offer you a better experience. As always, I want to help you learn how to more effectively present your content through visualizing your data and delivering presentations. This redesign should make it easier for you to find all the resources you’ve been using plus hopefully discover (or rediscover) some other helpful or interesting stuff that may have gotten a bit buried in the past.

Let me walk you through some of the bigger content and structural changes:

1. The Blog and PolicyViz Podcast each now have their own, separate homes. In the blog, I will continue to write about data visualization and presentation best practices. I’ve also removed the Remakes page from the previous version of the site and instead will start posting short remakes to the blog. The Podcast tab includes all of the podcast episodes so you can easily search and listen to each of the 60+ episodes I’ve launched to date. In both sections, I’ve created a new Categories and Tags structure to help better organize the content in a more natural and intuitive way.
2. I’ve moved HelpMeViz over to this site and placed it as a top-line tab. It will have a similar look and the same functionality as the original site, but get a little more attention here on PolicyViz. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting new requests for help, so please weigh in on those requests and to submit your own. Let’s continue to build the dataviz community together!
3. I’ve added an entire section of the site dedicated to materials from my Better Presentations book, which replaces and expands on the Resources section from the previous version of the site. The Better Presentations section includes a carefully curated and comprehensive list of data visualization, presentation, and design blogs, books, tools, and resources you can use to create and deliver better data visualizations and presentations.
4. I’ve moved the PolicyViz Shop to this site. In addition to the Graphic Continuum and PowerPoint Cheat Sheets, the Shop also offers the poster version of the Continuum (with cheaper shipping than in the past) and the new Graphic Continuum flash card set.
5. I’ve started a newsletter! You can sign up at any of the blog pages. (Don’t worry, I don’t anticipate sending out too many newsletters.)
6. I’ve added a new Services page that details the types of work, services, and workshops I offer. You already know I love helping people learn about and refine their data communications skills here on the site, but now I am better explaining the ways you can hire me to work with you: live, local, and custom.
7. I’ve updated the the About page with details about my research, data visualization projects, speaking events, and contact information.

On the technical side:

1. I’m still using WordPress, but I’m now using the Camille theme, which offers better layout options, larger text, and better responsiveness to different screen sizes. I also added the PageBuilder plugin to my admin tools to allow me more customization on the backend.
2. I’m using the WooCommerce plug-in to run the PolicyViz Shop. Previously, the Graphic Continuum poster was produced at Mimeo, and I used Big Cartel to sell other products, but WooCommerce enables me to bring everything under one roof. I’ll ship everything from my home in Northern Virginia.

I launched the PolicyViz site back in 2012 when I was still working at the Congressional Budget Office. At that time, I was primarily interested in writing blog posts about data visualization. Since that time, my interests have grown and expanded: I’ve added the Graphic Continuum, a podcast, and my Better Presentations book has now been published, so it felt time to overhaul the site.

Redesigning the PolicyViz website was no small undertaking and there is no way I could have done this on my own. I’m extremely thankful for Amy Chase from Digital Sidekick, who helped me focus on my goals for the site and improve the way I deliver my content. She kept me on point and on schedule over the past several months. I’m also grateful to Jeff Magill from Unhinged Web for doing the web development, migrating content, adding new content, and building out the different pieces of the site. A variety of friends and family also greatly supported these efforts and chipped in by helping to collect images, links, and other materials. There’s no way the new site would look as good–or deliver content as well–without their help.

As always, my mission is to help you and your organization create and deliver content that will help change minds and affect change. Whether it be through the blog, the podcast, HelpMeViz, resource lists, or the workshops and other services I offer, I hope these materials are helpful to you as you strive to improve the way you deliver your content to your audience.

So please use the PolicyViz site to improve the way you communicate your data by exploring the blog posts and tutorials, listening to the podcast, and contributing to HelpMeViz. Please let me know what you think of the new site by contacting me in the comment sections, on the new contact page, or connecting on Twitter or LinkedIn.