Broaden your horizon on what is possible beyond the basic set of charts. Learn how to stop thinking about the limitations of tools and design visuals that will effectively convey the insights of your data while also being unique and appealing to the eye. This workshop will stretch your visualization muscle. It will also help you get more confident and open to try and be creative within the tools that you are using.

Data visualization is everywhere these days. Online magazines, applications and admin interfaces have truly embraced them and you can't walk around in an office anymore with seeing at least a couple of charts and graphs on somebody's screen. And that's a good thing, as visual beings we are so much better at understanding and seeing patterns and trends if the data is visualized. However, with so many tools available to quickly visualize your data, it becomes easy to "get stuck" in thinking about chart types, always just going for that bar or line chart, without truly thinking about effectiveness.

What you'll learn:

• What are the steps in the data visualization process,
• How to come up with ideas and concepts to visualize,
• Your horizon will broaden on the types of charts that are out there in the wild,
• How to apply a more creative approach to making memorable yet functional and user-friendly data visualizations,
• How to think of approaches to go beyond the default even within the environment of a tool,
• How to design with code and connect your design decisions with meaningful data early on.

What prerequisites skills do you need?

Some basic understanding of creating data visualisations. Nadieh won't teach some app-specific skill (e.g. Tableau, CartoDB, or d3.js). Rather, we'll focus on how to make data visualization look more appealing and engaging.

What hardware/software do you need?

A laptop is not necessary to follow the workshop but can be useful at times.

Time & Location

This full-day workshop will be hosted at the SF State University — Downtown Campus and will take place after two days of Smashing Conference. The workshop will be running from 9:00am to 5:00pm on Thursday, April 6th.

Save $100 when signing up for the conference and a workshop!