Cole Nussbaumer: Death to pie charts!​ ...and other lessons in storytelling with data

It’s surprisingly easy to make a confusing graph. No one sets out with that purpose, but it happens frequently—across all industries and by all sorts of well-­intending people. One way to position yourself for success in data visualization and communicating with data is to never simply ​show data, ​but rather to tell a story with data. ​Being able to tell stories with data is a critical skill in our world of ever increasing data and desire for data­-driven decision making. An effective data story can mean the difference between success and failure when it comes to communicating the findings of your study, raising money for your non­profit, presenting to your board, or simply getting your point across to your audience. Cole Nussbaumer tells stories with data. She teaches others how to do it, too. Come see a condensed overview of the lessons Cole covers in her popular storytelling with data workshops for organizations like Adobe, Genentech, Mastercard, Target, the World Bank, and Google. You’ll leave the session inspired and armed with some practical lessons that will set you up for success for telling your stories with data. In this talk, Andy will explore the breadth and depth of thinking in data visualization. He will take a horizontal look at the many different skill sets, attributes and disciplines that make up the craft of visualization designer, focusing on the distinct scientific and artistic sensibilities. Taking a vertical view, Andy will then dive in to the depths and nuances of one particular perspective of data-driven design thinking. Presented on 2015 March 30 as part of the Data Visualization Speaker Series at the University of San Francisco. More info: http://vgl.cs.usfca.edu/events/