Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
@obumbratta.com
So glad to hear this. I have many many links that should now be unbroken.
Big news: The archive of my old weblog, The Functional Art, is back online: www.thefunctionalart.com
The blog won't be updated anymore, though. In the next 2-3 weeks I'll share some news about resuming the newsletter of my upcoming big project: openvisualizationacademy.org
#dataViz #dataVis 📊
The blog won't be updated anymore, though. In the next 2-3 weeks I'll share some news about resuming the newsletter of my upcoming big project: openvisualizationacademy.org
#dataViz #dataVis 📊
August 6, 2025 at 6:04 AM
So glad to hear this. I have many many links that should now be unbroken.
Since you folks seem to like lengthy threads, let's look at visualizing distributions. I'll visualize one data set 16 ways and give some other examples of each chart type. #dataViz
July 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Since you folks seem to like lengthy threads, let's look at visualizing distributions. I'll visualize one data set 16 ways and give some other examples of each chart type. #dataViz
Reposted by Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
Speaking of labyrinthine contortions, though, here's a little thread of some of my favourite viz over the years.
But, not counting the hydra-like debts that spout up from time to time, I basically got my wish. Thanks everybody, I literally could not have done it without you all.
June 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Speaking of labyrinthine contortions, though, here's a little thread of some of my favourite viz over the years.
Reposted by Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
Woah!! My old animation made it into Joey's mega-thread on animation in visualization. I was shocked to see this!
This thread is incredible. It's hard to overstate how informative and impressive the thread is. It's really helpful!
This thread is incredible. It's hard to overstate how informative and impressive the thread is. It's really helpful!
Or how the read Hotstreak's in Film visuals
insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/care...
insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/care...
June 16, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Woah!! My old animation made it into Joey's mega-thread on animation in visualization. I was shocked to see this!
This thread is incredible. It's hard to overstate how informative and impressive the thread is. It's really helpful!
This thread is incredible. It's hard to overstate how informative and impressive the thread is. It's really helpful!
Super excited for this.
Last week I had the pleasure of finally releasing the #SveltePlot alpha version during my talk at the #SvelteSummit in Barcelona. It's a new visualization framework for @svelte.dev that I've been working on for the past 18 months, so it's about time for a 🧵
May 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Super excited for this.
I like how this chart makeover uses the same chart type and even the same layout but by focusing on colours and labelling it significantly improves the ease with which it can be interpreted
⏯️New video!⏯️ Watch me redesign a chart so that it "does its job" (10 mins) youtu.be/QnqpuGeKIxw
BTW, live online workshop kicks off on June 2 with early-bird prices ending May 9! Info/registration: www.practicalreporting.com/june-2025-on...
BTW, live online workshop kicks off on June 2 with early-bird prices ending May 9! Info/registration: www.practicalreporting.com/june-2025-on...
Chart redesign! Watch me make this chart better at "doing its job"!
YouTube video by Practical Reporting Inc.
youtu.be
April 18, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I like how this chart makeover uses the same chart type and even the same layout but by focusing on colours and labelling it significantly improves the ease with which it can be interpreted
I worked on this project with the tremendous team at Voilà. I really care about the user experience in all my projects so I'm quite chuffed we we an honouree for "best user experience" from the Webby Awards.
I knew of the Webbys back when I was just dreaming of being a designer. "Best of the web"
It's mind-blowing at a personal level to see one of Voilà:'s projects become a honoree for "best user experience". 🏅
So proud of the team 👏☺️
It's mind-blowing at a personal level to see one of Voilà:'s projects become a honoree for "best user experience". 🏅
So proud of the team 👏☺️
April 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
I worked on this project with the tremendous team at Voilà. I really care about the user experience in all my projects so I'm quite chuffed we we an honouree for "best user experience" from the Webby Awards.
Reposted by Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
Dotplots
With good defaulta it beats the obvious alternatives, scales better than people think (like 10000+ data points) and isn't as sensitive to binwidth or bandwidth estimators
Density? Nope dotplot
Histogram? Nope dotplot
Violin? Nope dotplot
With good defaulta it beats the obvious alternatives, scales better than people think (like 10000+ data points) and isn't as sensitive to binwidth or bandwidth estimators
Density? Nope dotplot
Histogram? Nope dotplot
Violin? Nope dotplot
what's in your view the best data-visualization technique/type of plot/chart? in terms of concisely conveying information effectively and aiding substantive understanding. obviously depends hugely the use case, etc. but if you had to pick one in a vacuum?
April 18, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Dotplots
With good defaulta it beats the obvious alternatives, scales better than people think (like 10000+ data points) and isn't as sensitive to binwidth or bandwidth estimators
Density? Nope dotplot
Histogram? Nope dotplot
Violin? Nope dotplot
With good defaulta it beats the obvious alternatives, scales better than people think (like 10000+ data points) and isn't as sensitive to binwidth or bandwidth estimators
Density? Nope dotplot
Histogram? Nope dotplot
Violin? Nope dotplot
Reposted by Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
I love these Ovechkin shot placement maps from @evolving-hockey.com & @theathletic.bsky.social
Unfortunately, I can’t find the gift link button: www.nytimes.com/athletic/623...
📊#dataviz
Unfortunately, I can’t find the gift link button: www.nytimes.com/athletic/623...
📊#dataviz
April 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
I love these Ovechkin shot placement maps from @evolving-hockey.com & @theathletic.bsky.social
Unfortunately, I can’t find the gift link button: www.nytimes.com/athletic/623...
📊#dataviz
Unfortunately, I can’t find the gift link button: www.nytimes.com/athletic/623...
📊#dataviz
I return to @johnnelsonmaps.bsky.social 's Silly Geographic Precision table whenever I see the coordinates in a file I'm trying to make smaller. Latest file was mapping atoms. uxblog.idvsolutions.com/2013/11/sill...
April 3, 2025 at 8:49 PM
I return to @johnnelsonmaps.bsky.social 's Silly Geographic Precision table whenever I see the coordinates in a file I'm trying to make smaller. Latest file was mapping atoms. uxblog.idvsolutions.com/2013/11/sill...
Reposted by Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
Nifty design: You can take advantage of left-to-right reading to tell a story with your labels.
Here, FT could have put "They represent the working class" on the right axis next to other labels, but this layout causes you to focus on it *first*, and then pay attention to its decline.
Here, FT could have put "They represent the working class" on the right axis next to other labels, but this layout causes you to focus on it *first*, and then pay attention to its decline.
November 20, 2024 at 5:09 PM
Nifty design: You can take advantage of left-to-right reading to tell a story with your labels.
Here, FT could have put "They represent the working class" on the right axis next to other labels, but this layout causes you to focus on it *first*, and then pay attention to its decline.
Here, FT could have put "They represent the working class" on the right axis next to other labels, but this layout causes you to focus on it *first*, and then pay attention to its decline.
It is fine to start your line chart axes at something other than zero, especially when small variations are important.
You can give hints that your axis doesn’t start at zero by placing additional space below the data, removing the baseline, and/or adding a broken axis symbol 📊 #VizTips
You can give hints that your axis doesn’t start at zero by placing additional space below the data, removing the baseline, and/or adding a broken axis symbol 📊 #VizTips
February 28, 2025 at 6:10 PM
It is fine to start your line chart axes at something other than zero, especially when small variations are important.
You can give hints that your axis doesn’t start at zero by placing additional space below the data, removing the baseline, and/or adding a broken axis symbol 📊 #VizTips
You can give hints that your axis doesn’t start at zero by placing additional space below the data, removing the baseline, and/or adding a broken axis symbol 📊 #VizTips
It's always interesting to see all the steps that go into creating something that looks "simple" and remains intuitive.
For the German election we wanted to use a cartogram of German election districts but didn't find anything good, so we created our own. Here's a little nerd thread how the final algorithm worked 🤓 🧵 #gis #cartogram #election #datavis #cartography
February 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM
It's always interesting to see all the steps that go into creating something that looks "simple" and remains intuitive.
Wealthsimple's newsletter this month actually has an excellent section on chart crimes.
tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com/archive/33-%...
Some great examples and explanation in there, which doesn't always happen when newsletter or blog content strays into our area of expertise.
tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com/archive/33-%...
Some great examples and explanation in there, which doesn't always happen when newsletter or blog content strays into our area of expertise.
🕵️ We solved a crime
February 24, 2025 [Sign Up](https://clicks.wealthsimple.com/f/a/pYu3aDGzFeEAVG3x1ctprg~~/AAQRxRA~/bZVr_3IZNghAqDvhtoqNxoEODIuXU7-gOEbi5nJpLAk22QEnLFpPB2zuo_zDQ
tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com
February 24, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Wealthsimple's newsletter this month actually has an excellent section on chart crimes.
tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com/archive/33-%...
Some great examples and explanation in there, which doesn't always happen when newsletter or blog content strays into our area of expertise.
tldr-archive.wealthsimple.com/archive/33-%...
Some great examples and explanation in there, which doesn't always happen when newsletter or blog content strays into our area of expertise.
Describing this as a "technique to avoid misleading the viewer" feels like AI is misleading the reader.
"It's a feature not a bug".
"It's a feature not a bug".
February 21, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Describing this as a "technique to avoid misleading the viewer" feels like AI is misleading the reader.
"It's a feature not a bug".
"It's a feature not a bug".
Reposted by Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
These were both great! (And lots of other links to read, too.)
This bit resonated with me: “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I can read box plots just fine and so can the audiences for my charts.”
Experts often don’t realize how much work it took to *become* an expert.
This bit resonated with me: “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I can read box plots just fine and so can the audiences for my charts.”
Experts often don’t realize how much work it took to *become* an expert.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀?
In 2021, I wrote an article about why I stopped using box plots, which became Nightingale's (the journal of the Data Visualization Society) second-most-read article of all time 🤯
This is what happened next: nightingaledvs.com/i-stopped-us...
In 2021, I wrote an article about why I stopped using box plots, which became Nightingale's (the journal of the Data Visualization Society) second-most-read article of all time 🤯
This is what happened next: nightingaledvs.com/i-stopped-us...
I Stopped Using Box Plots: The Aftermath - Nightingale
Explore the aftermath of moving away from box plots in data visualization. Discover alternative chart types and a critique of box plot usage.
nightingaledvs.com
February 20, 2025 at 9:36 PM
These were both great! (And lots of other links to read, too.)
This bit resonated with me: “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I can read box plots just fine and so can the audiences for my charts.”
Experts often don’t realize how much work it took to *become* an expert.
This bit resonated with me: “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I can read box plots just fine and so can the audiences for my charts.”
Experts often don’t realize how much work it took to *become* an expert.
Some talented folks on this Judging Panel and then there is this one dude who looks a lot like me... and has the same name as me... uh oh, that might actually be me.
📊 Meet our panel of 80+ judges for the 2024 #IIBAwards! Our judges represent #dataviz experts from different domains, countries, and languages. Meet the judges: https://buff.ly/4b2u3Al
February 20, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Some talented folks on this Judging Panel and then there is this one dude who looks a lot like me... and has the same name as me... uh oh, that might actually be me.
For the R users out there
This is so cool! I figured out a way to recreate it with R www.andrewheiss.com/blog/2025/02...
How to use a histogram as a legend in {ggplot2} | Andrew Heiss
Land isn’t unemployed—people are. Here’s how to use R, {ggplot2}, {sf}, and {patchwork} to create a histogram legend in a choropleth map to better see the distribution of values.
www.andrewheiss.com
February 19, 2025 at 8:40 PM
For the R users out there
Nicholas's process walk throughs are unbelievably good... the tedium in excellence is awe inspiring.
New project: I recreated Moses Harris’ prismatic and compound color wheels from The Natural System of Colours published in the eighteenth century and expanded them to dark versions.
Explore: www.c82.net/natural-colors
How they were made: www.c82.net/blog/?id=97
Explore: www.c82.net/natural-colors
How they were made: www.c82.net/blog/?id=97
February 19, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Nicholas's process walk throughs are unbelievably good... the tedium in excellence is awe inspiring.
Reposted by Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
Happy New Year! Kick it off by enjoying my rant about beautiful but unintuitive hotel shower faucets and what they might teach us about charts that prioritize beauty over usefulness.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-kind...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-kind...
I kind of hate beautiful hotel shower faucets
Trigger warning: This post isn’t (directly) dataviz-related. Not to flex or anything, but I’m somewhat of a connoisseur of hotel shower faucets.
www.linkedin.com
January 2, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Happy New Year! Kick it off by enjoying my rant about beautiful but unintuitive hotel shower faucets and what they might teach us about charts that prioritize beauty over usefulness.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-kind...
www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-kind...
Reposted by Joey Cherdarchuk - Obumbratta
Do we have any working theory on why so many companies suck at this?
Their job is to communicate an email update. The original actively buries it. Joey's redesign is perfect, but also accessible to mere humans. And yet.
Anyway, brillant work Joey, as always. #redesign
Their job is to communicate an email update. The original actively buries it. Joey's redesign is perfect, but also accessible to mere humans. And yet.
Anyway, brillant work Joey, as always. #redesign
Each month I receive this email from TransUnion and each month I have to struggle to determine if everything is okay.
Intentional information design can make it better. #unsolicitedRedesign
Intentional information design can make it better. #unsolicitedRedesign
February 18, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Do we have any working theory on why so many companies suck at this?
Their job is to communicate an email update. The original actively buries it. Joey's redesign is perfect, but also accessible to mere humans. And yet.
Anyway, brillant work Joey, as always. #redesign
Their job is to communicate an email update. The original actively buries it. Joey's redesign is perfect, but also accessible to mere humans. And yet.
Anyway, brillant work Joey, as always. #redesign
You can explore *and search* the US budget in this interactive visual I made with the phenomenal @amberthomas.bsky.social
usafacts.org/government-s...
usafacts.org/government-s...
US government finance statistics, charts, and trends | USAFacts
Get data-driven insights into how governmental revenue and spending affect American lives and programs. Get insight into Congressional and judicial decisions, programs like Medicare, Social Security, ...
usafacts.org
February 18, 2025 at 6:46 AM
You can explore *and search* the US budget in this interactive visual I made with the phenomenal @amberthomas.bsky.social
usafacts.org/government-s...
usafacts.org/government-s...
Each month I receive this email from TransUnion and each month I have to struggle to determine if everything is okay.
Intentional information design can make it better. #unsolicitedRedesign
Intentional information design can make it better. #unsolicitedRedesign
February 18, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Each month I receive this email from TransUnion and each month I have to struggle to determine if everything is okay.
Intentional information design can make it better. #unsolicitedRedesign
Intentional information design can make it better. #unsolicitedRedesign
The Skrillex track is crazy
Amazing video on the music samples behind iconic tracks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpaoCUEhZJM&t=1885s
via Kottke https://kottke.org/24/11/the-most-iconic-electronic-music-sample-of-every-year-1990-2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpaoCUEhZJM&t=1885s
via Kottke https://kottke.org/24/11/the-most-iconic-electronic-music-sample-of-every-year-1990-2023
December 3, 2024 at 7:58 PM
The Skrillex track is crazy