A Sign of the Times: #DataReveal Minisode

#DataFemme is off on a new season so when’s better than now to resume featuring the works of the best and brightest in the data science community? Below are projects from two of my favorite data-viz gurus. Be sure to click the links below each feature to view the whole project and peruse through other projects within their Tableau Public galleries.

A Journey Through Time

Dzifa Amexo is a talented data visualist with whom I bonded over increasing diversity in the data science space and a common love for food pictures on Twitter. Her viz highlighted here will take you through the selection history of Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” award. My cat Simba was particularly excited to see that he does in fact have a chance to win, seeing as non-humans have been chosen twice before!

Name: Dzifa Amexo

Twitter: @datadzif

Describe your project in 1 sentence/your elevator pitch: Time Magazine Person of the Year: The Analysis Edition

What motivated you to do this project?: It was honestly a pretty random idea that I had at 2 am! I enjoy vizzing about topics that the average person knows about and that interest me also so this was a perfect fit. Diversity is also really important to me and this topic touched on that.

What is the main takeaway you want viewers of your project to have? : To understand who has and continues to influence our world and see what trends there are.

What was the most challenging part of crafting this code?: Not code related but deciding which features I wanted to highlight and creating a layout that didn't seem too cluttered.

What is your favorite package within your language of choice?: Tableau Software :)

What do you hope to use your data science skills for in the future?: Making an impact on the world! I hope that some of my vizzes allow people to form an understanding on a topic they may have not known about before and ultimately start a conversation that could lead to action.

Shop, Crop and Data Drop

Lindsay Betzendahl is a Tableau master and one of my most looked-up to vizzers. This carefully-crafted dashboard is e-commerce focused, but if you haven’t checked out her monthly #ProjectHealthViz publications do it now! There’s a new health-related topic each month and YOU are invited to participate. Also for those moms out there, keep an eye on her other project, #MomsWhoViz.

Name: Lindsay Betzendahl

Twitter: ZenDollData

Describe your project in 1 sentence/your elevator pitch: An elegant modern dashboard used to educate students on how to use layout and interactivity to improve on visual design and data analysis.

What motivated you to do this project?: I teach a data visualization course for an online MBA program at Temple University. The in-class viz-along assignment was to teach students an "advanced dashboard". In the business world (not the data art or design world) this means a dashboard that is user-friendly, has seamless interactivity, and is pleasing to the eye while providing actionable insights. I think I accomplished all of that!

What is the main takeaway you want viewers of your project to have? : That business dashboards can be both beautiful and insightful. You can have bar charts in a well-designed viz. There isn't a need for curved lines or fancy charts. It's all in the layout and the ease of use. Simple use of text and separation lines can really help divide the space and keep analytical points focused.

What was the most challenging part of crafting this code?: I wouldn't consider Tableau "code" so the biggest challenge was really incorporating elements that I could teach students without making it too difficult. This meant every part of the viz had to be worthwhile and useful in the real world. I am teaching them how to create certain charts (dual axis bar charts, jittering, set actions, parameter actions, navigation buttons, etc.). All things that can help someone take their viz to "ho hum" to "who ma'am!".

What is your favorite package within your language of choice?: Well I just use Tableau, so I can't speak to much else. To be honest, I'm so in love with Tableau that I haven't considered learning anything else!

What do you hope to use your data science skills for in the future?: My biggest passion is working with healthcare data, which means that I use my skills to support organizations maximize their data through visualization. I also just love to teach others data viz best practices which I do in various roles. For me, it's all about bringing people into the field and building up others.