my next book: meet Daphne

Analyzing data and communicating with graphs was part of my daily life long before children were. However, since the latter entered the picture, a persistent thought has echoed in my mind:

Children learn to speak and read, acquiring verbal language at a fairly young age. Graphs are a form of visual language that I teach to adults, many of whom regret not learning it earlier. Why not introduce the engaging world of graphs and problem-solving with data to the agile minds of young learners?

I started experimenting with my own children. It was a small sample (N=3), but the early results were promising. This led me to expand my research, increasing the number of participants and including not only children, but also the adults in their lives (teachers, parents and others). The process was simple: read a story (one I’d been working on for a while) aloud to a child or children and answer a few questions.

I’m happy to report that the findings of my empirical study are positive. I’ll share two verbatim quotes that illustrate general sentiment:

And so it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the heroine of my fourth book, Daphne, the data-drawing dragon. Later this year, readers of all ages will be able to join Daphne on her travels to far-off places and learn how numbers can be used to solve problems and save the day in the magical and mathematical adventure, Daphne Draws Data.

Daphne is being brought to life visually by award-winning illustrator John Skewes (of Larry Gets Lost fame—there’s a fun backstory there that I’ll share another time). It’s been fascinating to get a front-row seat to the illustration process. I can’t wait to share the final product with you.

I hope you’ll excitedly anticipate the publication of Daphne Draws Data—sign up here for updates, early access, giveaways, and more!

#SWDchallenge: upskill with UpSets

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While our general advice in business communication is to keep your chart choices as simple and clear as possible, it’s always useful to stay aware of uncommon or specialized visualizations. You never know when you’ll have a particular need that is ideally addressed by an unusual chart type (or when you’ll have to explain how to read one to your colleagues).

One such graph innovation came up during a recent office hour (a benefit available to premium members of our SWD community)—the UpSet plot. This visual combines elements of bar charts, dot plots, and Venn diagrams to showcase relationships among items belonging to one or more of several related sets. 

Here’s an example from Jake Conway and Nils Gehlenborg, the authors of an UpSet package built for use in R, that shows the proportion of movies in a dataset that can be classified into one or more of nine distinct genres.

Focusing first on the dots themselves: that part of the UpSet plot defines, for each column, what specific intersection of possible genres is being counted in the vertical bar above it. 

  • In the first column, only Drama is lit up, so the vertical bar shows the 950 movies in the database that can ONLY be classified as dramas.

  • The fourth column, however, shows both Comedy and Drama lit, with those two marks connected by a solid black line. The bar above it, therefore, tells us that 171 movies in the dataset are classified as both Comedy and Drama. In set terminology, this is the intersection of Comedy and Drama, not the union.

  • If we keep moving rightward, eventually we find an intersection of three genres: Comedy, Drama, and Romance. Thirty-four movies fit that bill.

Imagine trying to visualize nine different genres and all the possible intersections of them in a Venn diagram, or an Euler diagram. It would be so geometrically complex that it may well be impossible. But here, we have a crisp, orderly, compact way of communicating that information.

The challenge

It’s a new year, so try a new graph! Using real-world or training data as you deem appropriate, create and share an UpSet plot of your own. In keeping with traditional SWD guidance, however, please also try to find some meaningful insight in your analysis and make that clear, with words and design choices, in your challenge submission.

As an esoteric chart type, the UpSet plot does not come standard in many business software applications, so learning how to create one is an additional aspect of this challenge.

  • The R package mentioned above can help you, as can the UpSetR Shiny app also from the same creator; other packages I’ve seen recommended include Complex UpSet and ggupset.

  • There are Python libraries for it as well (I can’t vouch for their relative plusses and minuses, but upsetplot probably does what it says on the label.)

  • With some effort, you can create one in Tableau as this video from Sean Miller demonstrates.

  • Excel will probably take even more handcrafting; I’d suggest creating three separate graphs (a connected dot plot for the switchboard-looking part, plus two bar charts), and carefully placing them together on one sheet, slide, or canvas.

  • Of course, you can always go the analog route and simply hand draw or illustrate part or all of your UpSet plot…it doesn’t matter how you make it, as long as the audience sees what you want them to see. (It’s true for professional magicians, and it’s true for data visualizers just the same.)

Submit your UpSet plot and any commentary here in the SWD community by 5pm PT on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. 

Related resources

let it sit

Subconscious rumination can be a potent thing. I’ve observed this before, but have had it reinforced personally lately in both small and not-so-small ways. When it comes to the former, in one instance, I felt fully stuck on something and wasn’t sure how to proceed. Later, in an unexpected moment, a great solution became clear. On another occasion, I thought I had landed on an approach, but was later struck by another that was superior across multiple fronts.

That’s the power of distance and time.

When we are always on the go-go-go: finishing one thing and directly sending it off, then moving immediately to the next, switching tasks constantly, checking one item off the list only to add three more—filling every moment of time—the space for this type of magic doesn’t exist. There’s no room for it. I have lived a good deal of my life and professional career squarely in this zone.

There’s benefit to this forward motion, of course. There’s the work you are completing and the productive feeling that comes with getting stuff done. But there are downsides as well.

When I’ve been in one of these go-go-go modes for a period of time, it often means I’m falling asleep at night as the things I need to tackle are swimming rapidly around in my head. I wake up thinking about my to do list before I even realize I’m doing so. When in the midst of this cycle, I find it very hard to extricate myself.

But sometimes life forces us out of cycles like this. Something BIG happens that puts the minutiae into perspective. I’ve had the stress of one of these events in my life recently. As a result, I am actually on leave as you read these words (which were written ahead of time). I’m incredibly thankful for the amazing individuals on the storytelling with data team who are keeping everything running in my absence. I plan to be back in the new year.

Related to this, I’d like to share two lessons:

First, recognize the benefit that comes with any big life event. While the good parts are more obvious with positive events, there are almost always constructive lessons and reminders that accompany the not-so-great ones, too.

Second—and this is one you can do at any time—is to create intentional space in your day or in your week. Reap the benefits of letting things percolate. Get physical and temporal distance from the problem at hand, the challenge you’ve encountered, or the project you’ve completed. On the physical front, you might move into another room to work or go for a walk or run. Let time pass. Undertake activities that leave some brainshare free for your mind to wander. This time of year—the holiday season—can be an excellent time to practice creating this kind of space.

Give things time to ruminate in your subconscious. A superior solution or approach may strike you.

#SWDchallenge: visualise holiday traditions

 
 

Personally, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the upcoming holiday season are the traditions. Naturally, these vary as the years pass by but I still recall, as a small child wide-eyed with excitement, entering my living room and seeing a tree filled with presents when just that previous evening it was bare. As time moved on, the traditions evolved as my wife and I enjoyed a variety of celebrations with family and even once spent Christmas and New Year in Australia while on our honeymoon. Now, the traditions are geared towards giving our two children the best possible experiences. This involves trips to London, finding opportunities to meet Santa and trying to ensure as much of the festive period is spent with family as possible. 

On our trips to London, one tradition that’s now become firmly established is to visit the department store, Fortnum and Masons. For those that aren’t aware, Fortnum and Masons is a wonderful (and traditional!) store established in 1707 that according to its website has “provided extraordinary hampers, delicious food, joy-giving gifts and unforgettable experiences” since.

In addition to the many spectacular items of food and drink they offer, during the holiday period they have a fantastic array of festive items, including that wonderful tree decoration, the bauble. Each year our children get to pick a bauble to add to our Christmas tree. As this tradition continues we’ve now built up quite a collection.

The Challenge

We are going to revisit a popular challenge of the past, and dedicate this month to the festive period: design a visualisation that reflects a particular personal seasonal tradition. This could be your favourite songs of this time of year, how you spend time with friends and family, which food and drink you are partial to, or any other enjoyable pastime.

Share your visualised traditions here by December 31st at 5 PM PT. If there is any specific feedback or input that you would find helpful, include that detail in your commentary. 

We are excited to see your creations, wish you a very merry holiday season, and hope you enjoy whichever traditions you follow during the festivities.

Related Resources

Resources are light for this month’s challenge so get creative and design something original and unique to you. If you are looking for inspiration, check out our previous festive-themed challenges.