A conversation with data visualization mentor and author, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic is the author of multiple books about visualizing data, including Storytelling With Data. She is also a huge contributor to the world of data visualization through her workshops, online teaching and the Storytelling With Data Community.

At what point in your career did you start focusing on the visual design aspects of your data communication work? What led you to that?

I don’t remember a time before I focused on the visual design of my graphs—I think this was always part of my process—though I wouldn’t have known to put it into those words at first. I started making graphs in the early 2000s, in my first job out of school as an analyst in banking. I saw the design of my graphs as a way to bring some creativity in the process (in contrast to the technical statistical models I was building)—I’d play with colors and other stylistic features. Initially, my focus was primarily on aesthetics: changing default settings in my tool so things would look nice. But as I noticed my work getting more attention, I realized there was something more to it. By spending more time on the visual design of my graphs, I could get people to spend more time looking at my graphs. That was pretty remarkable! 

It’s also crazy to think that those early experiences that laid the groundwork for Storytelling With Data took place 20 years ago! Fast-forward to today: my team and I spend our time helping our clients and individuals around the world make graphs that make sense and weave them into action-inspiring stories. Those reading can learn more about the various ways we accomplish this at storytellingwithdata.com.

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How much do you draw in your work? Has your comfort level with drawing changed over time?

I sketch a good deal. I actually can draw reasonably well when I spend time, but that’s not typically how I use drawing in my work. For me, sketching is a way to get ideas out of my head, to see them, and to problem solve or plan. The sketches I create as part of my process are mostly ugly and rough (not the picture-perfect post its or other drawings you see in the books or in my presentations—those have been cleaned up!).

Sometimes it feels like I think best when I have a blank piece of paper in front of me and a fine-tipped black pen in my hand (I’m super picky about my writing utensils!). My scribbles aren’t only images. I also sketch with words. Maybe “sketching” isn’t the perfect description in this instance, but I use a process that to me feels like what I do when I sketch an image to test approaches for a graph: quick and dirty but with words, concepts and ideas. This is a big part of my planning process, particularly when I am writing or preparing to write.

I’ve never felt uncomfortable putting pen to paper (quite the opposite, in fact!), though I will say for those who have grown accustomed to starting in their tools, this can feel slow and awkward at first. But there are such great benefits to integrating low-tech planning into the process of creating something—whether graph, slide, presentation, article, book, anything really! Thinking just seems to happen in a different way when you’re using your hands to create something. You can iterate quickly. You don’t form attachment. Directional feedback can be easier to get at this stage, too, because when things are rough people are less likely to focus on the design details that aren’t critical at that point. For anyone reading who’s interested in learning more about the benefits of low tech planning and seeing it illustrated through example, check out my Tableau Conference Presentation, low-tech super powers for data storytelling.

The number of dataviz tools available has grown immensely during your career. How has this changed (or not changed) the core messages of what you teach?

There is definitely a greater variety of tools than there were when I started teaching more than a decade ago, but this hasn’t changed the core lessons. A great deal of what we cover in our workshops and books and on the podcast and blog can be brought back to a single fundamental idea: do things in a way that will work for your audience. The technical details of how you accomplish this may look different across various tools, but the thought process of how to do it does not. That’s really what we aim to teach through everything we do—how to think critically about how to be successful communicating with data.

We do this through pretty simple lessons. I sometimes say that these things are fairly obvious when you step back to think about them—but until we do that, it’s easy to take missteps. A lot of that stems from how familiar we are with everything we want to communicate. Odds are, if you’ve made a graph, you know it well, you know exactly what you want to say with it, where you want people to look, and what you want them to see, understand, and do. But we have to take explicit steps in how we design that graph to make those same things as obvious to someone else. We can do this by choosing a graph that works for what we want to show (and for the audience who’s going to consume it), eliminating any clutter that might be impeding our data or message, focusing attention to where we want our audience to look, and telling them why we want them to look there. We can also go beyond designing a good graph and take steps to weave the data we want to communicate into an overarching narrative, building a story and experience through which we can lead our audience.

Back on the topic of tools, I’ve seen too many cases where a tool is sold as or otherwise seen as the magic solution that’s going to make all this stuff easy. That’s never going to be the case. Sure, some tools make some things easier, but there will always be tradeoffs. I’m a big fan of pick a tool or set of tools and get to know them well so they don’t become limiting factors when it comes to what you can do with them. More important than the tool is what you do with it, the thought process behind it, and how you bring it all together to make it work first and foremost for your audience (sense a theme here?).

What led you to start The Storytelling With Data Community? What have you gotten from it, and how do you see it growing in the future?

I have a fear—that people will read the book or go to a workshop and get inspired, but then get sucked back into their day-to-day work and that nothing really changes. That idea terrifies me. The online SWD community was started, in part, as a solution to this potential issue. It’s a way for us to continue to support people after a workshop. But more than that, it’s a way to connect and engage with people around the world who are interested in doing good work with data, practicing, sharing, and learning from one another.

Like anything, it takes practice to get good visualizing and communicating with data. One reason that practicing on the job can be intimidating or difficult at times is that the stakes are high. The community is also meant to be a safe space to try new things—a new tool, a new approach—and be supported by others through their feedback and ideas.

It’s been tremendous to see what started as an idea mapped out on pen and paper (yes, this project started with low tech planning, too—lots of it!) turn into a real thriving community: people everywhere are taking part in our monthly challenge, tackling exercises, and exchanging productive feedback. Through this, I’ve gotten to know so many people and been exposed to some really inspiring work and ideas. Jen: you’re one of these people! I came to know you through the community and then we realized we’re practically neighbors and met up for coffee. I’ve come to know people all over the world in similar fashion, which never would have happened otherwise. 

That said, I don’t want it all to sound rosy—it hasn’t come without challenges. This has been my first experience building a product and working with designers and developers. I’ve learned good lessons about the importance of getting everyone on the same page, launching and iterating, and testing things out in small ways before going through major design and development efforts. I’ve learned some of those lessons the hard way—it’s expensive and time consuming. We’re continuing to invest on both of those fronts because we believe the SWD community can help us with our goal of driving real change through helping people communicate more effectively with data.

In terms of the future, we are working on some things behind the scenes to make it easier for us as a team to manage, as well as continued member-facing functionality that will help it feel even more like a community. If you’re reading and aren’t yet a member, I invite you to join! It’s fast and free. If you’d like an overview of all of the resources you’ll find there, here’s a starter guide.

Thanks for inviting me to share my thoughts here, Jen, it’s been fun!

To learn more about Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, visit Storytelling With Data.