We share the knowledge

We offer training that can last from one hour to one day and executive coaching that can last three days. We are also available for talks and conferences.

Informed by practice and theory, we love to share how we do information design and data visualization. We make sure that you leave with knowledge that will change the way you see and present your data.

Training

You make and read graphs and charts on a daily basis, but do you know the principles and best practices that can make them clearer and more helpful? Do you have the tools to recognize a dishonest graphic and avoid creating one?

With the increasing abundance of data and their importance in decision making, visualising them has become a necessity. Everyone therefore had to improvise as a specialist, often without other than technical training on a particular software.

This training fills this gap by presenting good practices of data visualization that lead to graphs that are honest, clear, helpful and efficient. This training presents general principles applicable to all data visualization tools.

The material is based on what science teaches us about the surprising skills of the eyes and human brain to identify patterns, variations, outliers and trends at a glance. The training material is filled with real world examples taken from management settings or public and media communications with graphs. Among others, we will see:

 

  • Why we avoid pie charts.
  • What type of graph can solve almost half your data visualization problems.
  • How a graph can do part of your analysis for you.
  • How the topic, message and audience can influence the design of your graphs.

 

At the end of the training, participants will be able to create better analysis and communication tools.

Details

  • Target audience: Managers who have data to analyse and communicate.
  • Format: Multimedia presentation including interactions with the audience.
  • Duration: 1 hour to one day.
  • Equipment: A meeting room, a projector with a large screen, pens for the audience.

 

The training can include an analysis of graphs created or used by members of the audience, in which case the examples have to be shared with us at least two weeks before the training.

Talks and conferences

With our real-world experience of information design and data visualization, along with our continuing study of the topic, we can bring to your audience a practical and fresh perspective on their visualization challenges.

We aim to inspire them, to show them the potential of good information design and to send them on a journey that will make them more productive and more thrilled about using their data.

Speaker

Francis Gagnon

Francis Gagnon, founder of Voilà:, delivers training sessions and conferences on data visualization since 2012. He has given around fifty of them in French and English in Montreal, New York, Washington, Toronto and Ottawa. He is a training coach at Factry since 2017, a facilitator at the McGill School Of Continuing Studies since 2019 and trained managers at the Institut de leadership en gestion from 2013 to 2017. He is available for one-hour to one-day training sessions in your organization.

Francis brings in his training sessions his practical experience as an information designer as well as his theoretical knowledge acquired through his readings and participation in specialized conferences.

Some comments from participants:

“He was great! Very enthusiastic and great at explaining the topic”

“He is a very good presenter, explains the message well and was able to keep me engaged for the entire duration! Excellent!”

“I was very engaged the whole time and understood the content easily”

“Very knowledgeable and lots of enthusiasm”