My "things I know making graphics" list

32 quips from a career in design

Welcome to Chartography.net — insights and delights from the world of data storytelling. Announcements and log-rolling follow this week’s edition.

I taught two workshops about data graphics this year. Each presented at least 15 hours of original content.

A big finale, complete with slides and fanfare extolling the value of charts, was planned for the last session. It was a fully-formed contraption, beautifully over-theorized.

My students never saw it.

We didn’t make it to the finale because we got distracted by me rattling off a bunch of one-liners. Each was related to the practice of making data graphics. These quips are rooted in craft—a sense of knowhow, wisdom, and resourcefulness. They are what I’ve learned from doing the work, and what I still actively think about while doing the work.

Here they are for your evaluation and enrichment, neatly chunked into five groups.

SAID ALOUD

Ask “what’s the goal?” constantly.

What gets a mark? What’s the noun? Who’s the hero?

What does that hero do? What’s the verb? What is the interesting action?

What comparison do we want the audience to make in their head?

What’s the right visual metaphor?

What’s the destination format?

ATTITUDE

It is still your responsibility even when it is not your fault.

Accessible design is where you start, not something slapped on later.

Few can tell you how to fix the problem.

Don’t let the required effort stop you from seeing all the options.

You have to guide them to provide needed inputs to your process.

Work gets better when others are involved.

In-person is worth it.

Even a fool can tell you when it’s not working.

TOOLS

Data makes things slow and expensive. Embrace with caution.

Technology can always be hacked.

All charting software and libraries run on the same metaphors.

All charting software and libraries are insufficient, but in unique ways.

Approach with maximum enthusiasm by prepping data beforehand. Mise en place!

Alternate between analog and digital.

DESIGN STRATEGY

Start building once you see it in your mind’s eye.

Iteration is the path to excellence.

Solve static first. Beware interactive contraptions.

Create layers of meaning with one fast automatic comparison on top.

Chunk everything into 3-5 groups.

Position, then color.

Color follows function.

Define designs by the jobs they can and cannot perform.

SAID TO MYSELF

Question whether and how we are creating value.

People crave contrast.

Context is our superpower.

Differentiation is our currency.

Those are my one-liners, learned the hard way. Show me yours!

Next time: I have ambitions to publish a final 2024 edition recapping some of the high points of Chartography from the past year. We are now over 4,000 people strong. Wow! And thank you for all the paid subscriptions—each one allows me to be that much more ambitious with this publication.

Plus, your advice needed: In 2025, I want to revive some sort of short-film/reel exploration of my historic data graphic collection. Please send me any social media accounts whose format I should reference while imagining my little show.

Onward!—RJ

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Announcements etc.

I am shipping our celebrated Information Graphic Visionaries books very quickly for holiday orders. Gift and get them SOON at a holiday discount directly at:

Virtual office hours are a hit. We have a few sessions left in 2024, sign-up to chat data graphics with me:

Pallets of INFO WE TRUST REMASTERED have arrived to the United States. Unfortunately, they are stuck in port. If the books aren’t available for distribution very soon then I will hold all Kickstarter and early editions until after the holidays. Good news is that this means early editions (shipped ASAP and before March 2025 publication) will continue to be available for a bit longer. Get them here:

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About

RJ Andrews helps organizations solve high-stakes problems by using visual metaphors and information graphics: charts, diagrams, and maps. His passion is studying the history of information graphics to discover design insights. See more at infoWeTrust.com.

RJ’s next book, Info We Trust, is currently available for pre-order. He published Information Graphic Visionaries, a book series celebrating three spectacular data visualization creators in 2022 with new writing, complete visual catalogs, and discoveries never seen by the public.