Robert Kosara: How to Show Ordinary Data in Extraordinary Ways

Abstract:
Data can be represented in many different ways. We often tend to err on the side of simplicity and utilitarianism, ignoring the vast space of possible encodings and, yes, embellishments. Thinking outside the box can help your audience understand what you're trying to convey, and help you make a clearer and stronger point. In this talk, I will survey a range of recent visualizations and charts that show the gamut of what is possible. I will also talk about the need for a clearer understanding of how visual encodings work, to avoid some of the common mistakes people make when they go overboard with complex charts. All of this will help us show data, no matter how ordinary, in extraordinary ways.

Bio:
Robert Kosara is Data Visualization Developer at Observable, where he helps build a new way of collaborating around data. Before that, he was a researcher at Tableau Software and prior to that, a professor at UNC Charlotte. His research spans many areas of visualization, including collaboration and communication, storytelling, visual perception, and specific techniques such as ISOTYPE, connected scatterplots, and pie charts. He can easily be found on Twitter and his personal website, eagereyes.org.