Sep 17, 2021
Dataviz Roundup 02: The Immensely Talented #Datafam Edition
A weekly review of the good, the bad, and the ugly data visualizations I’ve stumbled upon.
This week’s vizzes were all created this month by Tableau users (the #Datafam) and posted to Tableau Public.
#1. Wild at Heart — David Lynch’s Dirty Dancing by Judit Bekker
I always find Judit’s work inspiring, but I especially love this viz (click the link to explore the interactive version). Aesthetically, it’s whimsical and gorgeous, and it speaks to my love of film noir and David Lynch. From a technical standpoint, to get this magical design to happen in Tableau you’ve got to know the tool very well and be ready to do some serious mathematical somersaults. Other than creating the background in Illustrator (which makes sense — this lovely font would not have been possible otherwise), this was done completely in Tableau! Judit explains her passion for David Lynch and process for creating this viz here. The post is definitely worth a read.
#2. How much of your life has the U.S. been at war? by Michael Dunphy
My favorite data visualizations are often visually simple at first glance, but when you look a little more closely, they’re quite elegant. Michael Dunphy’s powerful viz How much of your life has the U.S. been at war? is a great example of this elegant simplicity. He’s used only one chart type, a donut chart, and no color other than black and white. His tooltips are clean and informative, and the subtle design elements like the drop shadow effect inside the border (accomplished with Figma, I am guessing) separate this viz from a collection of donut charts in a box.
Lest we forget the purpose of data visualization, Michael’s viz accomplishes its most important aim— showcasing the data itself — very quickly. Within seconds, I noticed that if a person was born in 2001 or later, the U.S. has been at war their entire life. It’s impactful.
Check out Michael’s Tableau Public profile and follow him on Twitter to see more of his work. He’s a frequent #MakeoverMonday participant and has created some really excellent vizzes.
#3. Dashboard Catalogue by Kasia Gasiewska-Holc
My favorite vizzes are rarely business dashboards, but Kasia’s Dashboard Catalogue solves a very common problem encountered by analysts who work for companies across industries. End users will ask, “Where’s that one dashboard I saw that one time with the bar chart? You know the one.” This Dashboard Catalogue allows them to peruse all available dashboards and open the one they want right from this dashboard. Genius! Make sure you visit the link to explore the viz interactively.
Like Michael’s viz, the design is clean, elegant, and — in this case —super functional! I’m inspired by Kasia’s work to create a data dictionary dashboard at work. (I’ll share a version that does not contain proprietary information when I make it.)
You can follow Kasia on Tableau Public and Twitter, too. Definitely check out her clever and fun Dwight Schrute’s Computer. It’s one of my favorite vizzes ever. No joke.
That’s all for this week, folks! Have a fabulous weekend!
