This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. I published my first video on November 4, 2012… …and the rest was history! YouTubing, blogging, and speaking at conferences just for fun quickly transformed into a fulfilling, creative business that’s taken me all over the world and enabled me to work with […]
How to Write about Research Methods Like a Human (and Not a Textbook)
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. Did you devote years of your life trying to sound “smart” and “professional,” like a textbook? I did. I taught myself how to write in third-person language. I called myself “The researcher…” instead of plain ol’ “I…” I replaced my everyday words with […]
Stop Using Tiny, Grainy Photos in PowerPoint!!!
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. It’s not 1995. Last week, I was leading a post-conference workshop with CQI professionals in California. You can learn more about their annual conferences here. An attendee asked about best practices for adding photographs to our PowerPoint presentations. Before Let’s pretend that you’re […]
Do You Need a Single Map, or Several Maps?
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. Here’s a counterintuitive dataviz principle: Sometimes, it’s easier to understand several small graphs than a single graph. I was recently working with an organization to visualize which states were using their software programs. States might use: Software A Software B Or, both software […]
How to Make a Not-So-Scary Starter Dashboard in Excel
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. Dashboards aren’t scary! In this video, let’s make a starter dashboard in Microsoft Excel. You’ll learn how to make four quick visuals: Sparklines Data bars Symbol fonts Color scales I use these visuals over and over in my real-life consulting projects. Watch the […]
When a Course is More Than a Course: 3 Ways “Great Graphs in Excel” Was Beyond Graphs
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. Last year, I finally enrolled in the Great Graphs in Excel course. After 2 years of thinking about it. And thinking I’m retired and I don’t really make graphs anymore. But I knew I had 10 years of mentoring data I wanted to […]
Visualizing 24 School Divisions’ Submissions with a Dashboard in Microsoft Excel
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. This guest post comes from Amadu Sidi Bah, who’s graduated from our Simple Spreadsheets, Great Graphs, Report Redesign, and Dashboard Design courses. Great work, Amadu! — Ann K. Emery All too often, written submissions from stakeholders come in dense, long reports. That’s what […]
Designing Templates to Improve Workflow and Efficiency
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. I work as a program analyst for a government agency, and it is my job to find ways to improve the efficiency of day-to-day program operations. An important part of my job is identifying and creating the appropriate communication products for each program, […]
How to Hack Excel — and Add Totals to the Tops of Stacked Column Charts
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. “But you can’t do that in [Excel / Tableau / Numbers / Google Sheets / insert your own…]!” Well, maybe you could. When you work with data, you usually use the same tools over and over. You become familiar with them. You know […]
Humanity in Data Visualization: Designing a One-Pager for My Grandma’s Caregivers
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at depictdatastudio.com. I registered for the Simple Spreadsheets course because I was a beginner with using Excel and I knew I was utilizing only a fraction of its capabilities. I also had the good fortune of attending some of Ann’s in-person presentations about data visualization […]