andy kirk's talk at the information plus conference 2016

THE SETTINGSTHE SUBJECT

THE STUDENTSTHE SESSIONSTHE TEACHER

THE SETTINGS

COMMERCIAL TRAINING: 168 events, 3,459 delegates

November 2011 to June 2016

COMMERCIAL TRAINING: 77 public events (46%) DATA VISUALISATION AND INFOGRAPHIC DESIGN

Training Workshop

The agenda is constantly refined to accommodate the most contemporary thinking and references. The final itinerary may be slightly different, and the precise times may vary, but here is an indicative outline of the typical 1-day agenda.

9:30 INTRODUCTION & FUNDAMENTALS Welcome to today’s workshop What is data visualisation? Key principles of good visualisation design10:10 Exercise – Instinctive critical evaluations | Review10:50 THE DATA VISUALISATION DESIGN WORKFLOW 1. Formulating your brief Exercise – A question of context | Review11:10 BREAK11:25 2. Working with data Exercise – Data familiarisation | Review12:10 3. Establishing your editorial thinking Exercise – Editorial brainstorming | Review12:30 LUNCH13:30 4. Developing your design solution Data representation - data encoding and chart type gallery Exercise – Making data representation choices | Review14:20 Interactivity Exercise – Design forensics14:45 BREAK15:00 Annotation, colour, composition Exercise – Design forensics (cntd.)16:00 Exercise – Design forensics: Makeovers | Review16:45 Data visualisation capabilities: Tools, resources and the ‘7 hats’17:00 FINISH

People attending these workshop sessions come from all backgrounds, organisation types and domain areas. These events are intended for all audience types and levels. You might be an analyst, statistician, or researcher looking to enhance the creativity and impact of your communications. Perhaps you possess a creative flair, as a designer or developer, and you’re seeing to enhance your capabilities in relation to data-driven activities. Maybe you do not personally get involved in the analysis or communication of data but coordinate others who do. You might be a frequent consumer of visualisation and infographic work looking to increase the sophistication of how you read, interpret and evaluate the effectiveness of such designs.

The most critical attribute is curiosity: an instinct for discovering and sharing insights from data, and an interest in approaching your data visualisation and infographic work with a fresh perspective. You should have a willingness to contribute to discussions during exercise activities and do so in a respectful and constructive manner.

To view a selection of testimonials from previous workshop participants visit www.visualisingdata.com and click on Training.

The ‘Introduction to Data Visualisation and Infographic Design’ 1-day workshops aim to provide delegates with an accessible and comprehensive introduction to data visualisation and infographic design.

The focus for this training is the craft of this discipline, helping delegates to know what to think, when to think about and how to resolve all the analytical and design decisions involved in any data-driven challenge. There are four over-riding objectives for these workshops:

To challenge your existing thinking about creating and consuming visualisation works, refining the clarity of your convictions about good visualisation design.

To enlighten you about the range of analytical and design options, such as chart types, features of interactivity, annotation, colour applications, and composition.

To equip you with an efficient workflow giving you the confidence to make the best choices based on a foundation of design principles and practical guidelines.

To inspire you by broadening your visual vocabulary, by exposing you to latest techniques and contemporary resources, and by giving you a road map for developing your data visualisation capabilities.

Andy Kirk is a UK-based data visualisation specialist: A design consultant, training provider, lecturer, author, speaker, researcher, and editor of an award winning website.

Since becoming a freelancer in 2011, Andy has delivered over 160 public and private training events in 17 countries across five continents. Recent clients include Penn Medicine, Standard Chartered, Astra Zeneca, Hershey, and CERN.

Andy’s teaching activities extend to visiting lecturers positions at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in the US and at Imperial College in the UK, delivering data visualisation modules on two respective Masters programmes.

The workshop session is structured around a proven design methodology where we will build up, stage by stage, a detailed understanding of all the different aspects of decision-making that goes into all data visualisation or infographic design work.

Whilst the event is described as an ‘Introduction’, this does not mean it is pitched at a ‘basic’ level: data visualisation and infographic design teaching is really framed by the time available - and the breadth/depth achievable - rather than any meaningful distinction made between beginner, intermediate and advanced topics.

The content is delivered through a blend of teaching, discussion, and group practice. The practical exercises vary in nature from evaluating works, conceiving ideas, identifying best-fit solutions and exploring data. The most technical of the exercises will involve looking at data in Excel. There may be some sketching tasks but these are not a test of artistic capability, rather conceptual thinking.

These workshops are designed to be technology neutral, they are not focused on or based around any specific tool or programme. There will be a short section providing an overview of some of the most essential and common visualisation tools currently in the market but the emphasis is on the craft.

All materials will be issued digitally (dropbox/USB stick) containing all training content, exercise files and a range of useful references. Attendees are encouraged to bring laptops to use as a workspace for the session. The only software requirements are Excel, a browser and a pdf reader. No other technical prerequisites exist.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES

THE WORKSHOP

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

TYPICAL AGENDA

TRAINER PROFILE

2015 Winner ‘Best Dataviz Website’

1-day event

COMMERCIAL TRAINING: 91 private events (54%)

25% of the logos shown were clients in other capacity (design, consultancy) | The chart shows 75 unique clients across the 91 events.

COMMERCIAL TRAINING: Class sizes

November 2011 to June 2016. Class sizes are for all event types

TOO FEW FOR ME

TOO MANYFOR THEM46%

78 events

COMMERCIAL TRAINING: Classroom

ACADEMIC TEACHING: MICA (MPS) & Imperial (MSc)

MSc, since 2015/16Core module

Large class size (57)10 x 2hr lectures

Shared teaching role

Online MPS, since 2012/13Dedicated programmeSmall class size (5-15)

10 x 2hr lectures

ACADEMIC TEACHING: MICA (online) & Imperial (theatre)

THE SUBJECT

CONTENT TENSIONS: Dogmatic clarity vs. Human factorsDevelop reasoning beyond the common entry-points that (legitimately) shape early convictions

Data from an online survey conducted between 7th and 9th June 2016 and hosted via http://www.visualisingdata.com/2016/06/short-survey-data-visualisation-tool-skills with a total of 348 participants. This is NOT a survey of people attending/interested in data visualisation training.

CONTENT TENSIONS: Technical? Which tools? What level?

To make the best decisions you need to be familiar with all your options and aware of the things that will influence your choices

TEACHING FOCUS: Critical thinking

THINGS YOU COULD DO

THINGS YOU WILL DO

Design workflow

1. Formulating your brief

CRITICAL THINKING: Organised decision-makingGive everything a ‘home’: All matters of context


2. Working with data

CRITICAL THINKING: Organised decision-making Give everything a ‘home’: All matters of data



3. Establishing your editorial thinking

CRITICAL THINKING: Organised decision-making Give everything a ‘home’: All matters of editorial eloquence



3. Establishing your editorial thinking

4. Developing your design solution

CRITICAL THINKING: Organised decision-making Give everything a ‘home’: All matters of design

CONTENT TENSIONS: History and context?

CONTENT TENSIONS: Inspirational balance?

THE STUDENTS

FEMALE 52.2%

MALE 47.8%

DEMOGRAPHICS: Gender breakdown

Of the last 500 registered delegates for public workshops

CONSUMERS COORDINATORS

COMMISSIONERS

Visualisation literacy is more than just ‘making’

CREATORS

DEMOGRAPHICS: Roles

DEMOGRAPHICS: Challenging sensibilities

Frame their natural creative instincts around need to

appreciate role/rigour of data

DATA WRANGLER‘SCIENTIST’

OLDER

DESIGNERTECHNOLOGIST

YOUNGER

Encourage them to embrace more options, expand their

creative thinking


“PC”Why?

“MAC”Why not?

ACADEMICSays who? Says where?

STUDENTHow? HOW!?


Lecture 1: Fundamentals of data visualisation

Lecture 2: Visualisation design workflow

Lecture 3: Formulating your brief

Lecture 4: Working with data

Lecture 5: Editorial thinking

Lectures 1 – 5: Andy Kirk

Lecture 6: Conceiving the visualisation design

Lecture 7: Data encoding

Lecture 8: Constructing the visualisation solution

Lecture 9: Data-Driven Documents (D3.js)

Lecture 10: Case studies and current research

Lectures 6 – 10: Ass. Prof. Marc Streit


EARSQuiet people

MOUTHVocal people

DEMOGRAPHICS: Accommodating personalities

THE SESSIONS

TEACHING 45%

EXERCISE 21

DISCUSSION 14

BREAK20

TEACHING 35%

EXERCISE 28

DISCUSSION 17

BREAK20

1 DAY

2 DAY

2 DAY

1 DAY

WORKSHOP TEACHING: 1-day & 2-day events

WORKSHOP TEACHING: 1-day events

30 mins 25 mins


FOUNDATIONSDefinitionsDistinctionsKey principles

HIDDEN THINKINGFormulating briefWorking with dataEditorial thinking

DESIGN THINKINGData representationInteractivity, AnnotationColour, Composition

CAPABILITIESToolsResources

FOUNDATIONSDefinitionsDistinctionsKey principles

DESIGN THINKINGData representation, Interactivity, Annotation, Colour, Composition

CAPABILITIESTools

Resources

HIDDEN THINKINGFormulating briefWorking with dataEditorial thinking


FOUNDATIONSEvaluations

HIDDEN THINKINGContextual questionsData familiarisationEditorial brainstorming

DESIGN THINKINGChart vocabularyDesign forensicsDesign makeover

WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES: 1-day events

WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES: 1-day & 2-day eventsCRITICAL EVALUATIONS CHART VOCABULARY

FOUNDATIONSEvaluationsDecision forensics

DESIGN THINKINGChart vocabulary (extended)Design forensics (extended) Design makeover (extended)

HIDDEN THINKINGResponding to contextual scenariosData familiarisation x 3Editorial brainstorming x 2

WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES: 2-day events

WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES: Private events

WORKPLACE CHALLENGES/SURGERY

Lecture 1: Fundamentals of data visualisation

Lecture 2: Visualisation design workflow

Lecture 3: Formulating your brief

Lecture 4: Working with data

Lecture 5: Editorial thinking

Lectures 1 – 10 across 10 weeks, Live classes Sunday evenings

Lecture 6: Data representation

Lecture 7: Interactivity

Lecture 8: Annotation

Lecture 9: Colour & Composition

Lecture 10: Assignment presentations & Review

ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT: Credited and non-credited

SHORT, FOCUSED ASSIGNMENTSMODULE-LENGTH ASSIGNMENTS

IN-CLASS EXERCISESSPOT CHALLENGES

RESPONDING TO CONTEXTUAL SCENARIOS

ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT: Credited and non-credited

THE TEACHER

TIME

CONV

ICTIO

N

Understandable desire for simplicity, reliance on reductive principles

Realisation of the limitation of some rules, awareness of gaps

Recover from uncertainty through

learning & appreciation of nuances

As the field evolves, complacency grows, become too rigid

Challenge, learn & embrace new

ideas

Recognise increasing confidence & knowledge

1

3

4

6

7

2

5Theory becomes practice,

talent becomes second nature

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: Refining convictionsDeveloping more sophisticated convictions takes time

I wanted to learn toolsI didn’t want to be here

Had too much work to doNot enough about networks

The room was too coldDidn’t like my teamDidn’t like his font

The coffee tasted like sausage

TEACHING SKILLS: I don’t value evaluation forms…Unstructured, informal feedback through discussions more valuable