What Does 2020 Have in Store for Data Visualization?

A year ago, the Data Visualization Society was just an idea, and Nightingale was just the name of a celebrated data viz pioneer. Today, the DVS is a growing community with over 10,000 members, and Nightingale has published over 130 articles about data visualization.

Our articles have run the gamut: from visual data analyses to historical deep dives to educational resources for data viz practitioners and career advice. Each one sheds light on some aspect of the field or some application of data visualization, and each one reminds us how much there is to learn.

Looking back, data visualization in 2019 looked a little bit different from years past. Elijah Meeks broke down some of the trends in data viz from the past year in his piece, “2019 Was the Year Data Visualization Hit the Mainstream.” He writes: “Data visualization is becoming less of a tech company rarity and more a part of everyone’s everyday life.” 2019 laid bare the data that has become central to the very fabric of our world, and as a result, it has challenged us to reconsider how we read and create data visualizations.

As we reflect on the last year, we are endlessly appreciative of the writers who have shared their thoughts and ideas on Nightingale, of the editors who have lent their time and skill to building a thoughtful and engaging publication, and to the readers who think critically and deeply about the many facets and applications of data visualization in our world. We are so excited to continue this work in 2020, which promises to be a transformative and exciting decade in data viz.

Also in the last few weeks, our editor-in-chief Jason Forrest wrote about finding a passion for historical data viz and how writing helped him find equilibrium again.

Maria Ilie wrote about how data visualization allows us to see the effects of climate change, in particular, the year-by-year recession of glaciers in Glacier National Park.

Evelyn Munster wrote about how data visualizations are essentially the double encoding of a complex system and why it’s therefore important for data designers to understand the decoding process.

Bo Plantiga visualized the movement of music genres to analyze what constitutes popular music in the Netherlands.

Jason Forrest revisited the amazing life of Marie Neurath, whose immense legacy in data visualization is often overlooked.

Kelsey Couzzo wrote about why a disabled engineer might be your next great hire. For her, the challenges associated with her disability have allowed her to develop her problem-solving skills and an engineer’s mind-set.