The “On…” series is a collection of short blog posts relating to data visualization, economics, presentation skills, or data communication. In each, I discuss an issue, concept, or idea that I have not fully developed, a work in progress, or…
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Last year, an exciting request found its way to me and members of the Urban Institute’s communications team. Shena Ashley, vice president for the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy (CNP), had been invited to deliver the opening keynote at…
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Last year, I was invited to speak to the Social Security Technical Panel, a group of experts who convene every four years to review the assumptions of the Social Security Trustees, a six-member board charged with overseeing the Social Security…
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My forthcoming book, Better Data Visualizations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks, is now available on Amazon and other booksellers! The book will be released later this year and my hope is that it becomes the go-to resource for…
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I haven’t made any COVID-related visualizations this year–for the obvious reason that I’m not a health expert–but I did see a visualization recently that I thought could be improved, so I reached out to the authors and created a new…
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These video chats have moved over to the Urban Institute website as “Data@Urban Digital Discussions.” Additional events are being scheduled, so please see the Urban website for more details and call-in information. In light of our COVID-inspired self-quarantines, I am…
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Is it a map, a choropleth map, a cartogram, or a proportional symbol map? You may have an image for each in your head, but do we all use the same naming conventions? What about a network diagram, a network…
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Great research—whether it comes from academia, nonprofit organizations, or business thought leaders—needs a plan to make an impact. A good communications strategy can ensure that the biggest audience, and ultimately the right audience, engages with the findings and applies them. The Urban Institute’s communications…
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I really, really like this “radial map” (my name) the Guardian published in 2012 and then updated in 2015. The visualization shows seven different types of gay rights in all 50 US states plus Washington, DC. Each ring represents a…
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TLDR. PowerPoint doesn’t make bad slides and it doesn’t give bad presentations—people do. Here, I refute the arguments in a recent “death by PowerPoint”-type blog post. Though seemingly rooted in academic research, upon further inspection it becomes clear the author…
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