Breaking the Rules With Small Multiple Pie Charts

Data humanism, pizza, and baby photos through the lens of a data viz designer

I wrote a draft of this article in early March. The world has changed a lot over the past two months, but one thing I know for certain: I need more data visualization that makes me smile and brings me joy right now. So here I am, in the midst of more writing and speaking about responsible data visualization, refocusing on something with a bit more whimsy.

Every month, most new parents I know take a photo of their little one on a blanket or with a stuffed animal to visualize growth over time. There’s a whole cottage industry of companies that make blankets with 0–12 month marks printed on the fabric and a detached marker that you move to indicate in which month the photo is taken. I’m guessing few parents think of these photos as a data visualization project, but that’s where my mind immediately jumps.

I’m not the only one to think about how to use visualization as a parent though. There are many other examples of visualizing data from those early weeks and months that go beyond size or age, like this knitted blanket of baby sleep.