This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. Before I was an information designer I was just a data guy. I learned to design because I got tired of seeing good evaluation work quickly fade into obscurity because it was poorly reported. Now my days are spent helping evaluators in large […]
Modern Reporting – Why you should design before you write.
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. Seriously, and I don’t mean after you’ve written several drafts. I really mean before you write. In today’s post. Most creativity happens inside the box. Why waiting till the end to design your report is a bad idea. Why designing first is a […]
How to User Test a Report, Toolkit, or Dashboard (a.k.a. usability testing)
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. How do you know if a report, toolkit, or data dashboard works? If you’re like most organizations, you probably copyedit your reports and have multiple people read them through. But how often do you actually put your reports into your users’ hands? Today’s […]
How to fall into evaluation – a cartoon post.
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. So what does it mean to “fall into evaluation?” That’s today’s cartoon post inspiration from Ann Price via Twitter. @clysy Hey Chris, have you created a cartoon for the often used phrase, “I just kind of fell into evaluation?” — Ann Price (she, […]
UX Evaluation and Creative Reporting Webinars [Free Replays]
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. In early December I was given the opportunity to join The Youth Research and Evaluation eXchange (YouthREX) for a couple of Zoom webinars. And, if you’re interested, the replays for both are now live and free to watch. Both webinars are currently available […]
Inform, Engage, Inspire, with data visualization.
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. Are you the kind of person who likes to nitpick other people’s charts? I’m really not. I wasn’t there when they decided to use that chart. I don’t know what factored into their decision. As far as their intended audience, I don’t know […]
Who cares? And why engaging reports are not always important or even necessary.
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. So just the other day here in North Carolina, it was in the 70s. Short sleeve weather for sure. Then the rains came and the temperature dropped into the 30s over the course of hours. Enough for the rain to turn into snow, […]
What you do is important.
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. I had a really hard year back in 2017. It was filled with the loss of close family which left a lingering mark on both my personal and professional lives. The couple years that followed saw my business falling apart and then a […]
Never Released 2020 Holiday Cartoons
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. I drew most of these cartoons in 2020 (one in 2019) but I’m not sure I ever shared. I certainly never created a blog post. Honestly, last year around this time, I think I was just a little bit burnt out. And it […]
How to convert Canva reports into Microsoft Word.
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com. As my diydatadesign workshoppers know, Canva is one of my favorite visual reporting tools. It just makes the process of creating high quality visual reports much faster and easier. But there are still times when you’re working with a team that moving outside […]