How we rebranded an information design firm
How do you build a brand — which is meant to differentiate and associate — for a firm in a field that is still relative new and unknown by its potential clients? This was the tension at the heart of the rebranding. Should we incarnate the field, at the risk of being generic among our […]
From Voilà to Voilà:
Today is a big day at the end of a big year for Voilà:. After six years of operation, it was time to grow from a one-person outfit to a proper company. We are now making this official online. I always wanted to do more and do it better than I could by myself. I […]
The genius of Hans Rosling, frame by frame
Hans Rosling, a Swedish professor of global health, was known for his TED Talks that revealed him to the public eye. He famously used moving bubbles on a chart to show development trends that surprised his audience. He passed away three years ago, after having inspired people in multiple fields, including data visualization. He is […]
Dataviz Book Review: Show Your Work, by Austin Kleon
Welcome to two of my 2020 resolutions: reading (and finishing) books and writing about the experience. A slow and distracted reader, I often neglect as much as I abandon books. As a perfect example, our first instalment will be Show Your Work, by Austin Kleon (“a writer who draws”). This book probably requires three hours […]
Voilà: 2019 Party in 5 photos
What do you do when a company has moved into new offices, tripled its staff (!) and is turning six years old? You throw a party and you make speeches. We wanted our community to know where we stand now and what we have to offer. But mostly, we wanted to say thank you to […]
What happened when I used an inclusion rider at a data conference
This is the blog post that I wish I would have found when I got invited to speak at a data conference and decided to send them an inclusion rider for women and minorities. I hope this is how you found it. (Also, obviously, I’m virtue signalling and if that bothers you, you can stop […]
A golden ratio for line charts with truncated y-axis
While we hold that bar charts should start at zero, there is no such expectation for line charts. But you’ll always find someone on social media to denounce a “dishonest” line chart that enhances the variations by truncating the y-axis. There is usually ample pushback, but it often leads to the question: Where should it […]
Redesigning an important graph about a carbon tax
Data visualisation is a language for humans. Computers and machines are fine with raw data. On the other hand, humans are often interested in data simply because it is visualized. Many will understand the underlying phenomenon — a trend, an outlier, a missed target — when they see it in a graph. Humans speak data […]
Eyeo 2018: Conferencing in the age of the Internet
Holding my plate, I spotted a participant eating alone. “Thanks for saving me a seat”, I said as I sat with him. As we engaged in a lively conversation about online groceries, what’s recyclable and, of course, our jobs and the conference, four people sat next to us looking either at their phone or their […]
The upward climb of Max Verstappen in Monaco
It doesn’t matter if you kick a ball, ride a horse, dance with skates or race down a hill: all sports tell the same stories. The underdog. The comeback. The dynasty. The near-miss. The feuds. The rivalry. To get interested in any sport, get to know its stories. One such story is the young prodigy. […]
