I try and keep up to date with what’s happening in the data visualisation scene. I’ve collected my top 5 blogs that I try and keep up to date with because their outstanding content.
Perceptual Edge (Stephen Few)
http://www.perceptualedge.com/blog/
Stephen Few’s blog is absolutely fantastic. Whenever I’m unsure about something data vis related I always check to see if he has written anything about it. Although there are so many creative and talented creators and writers out there, Few’s focus on theory, priciples and general rules for visualising data, is extremely useful and inspiring (more Edward Tufte, less David McCandless). His contributions to the field of data visualisation is remarkable, and I can also highly recommend his data visualisation books.
The Pudding
If you haven’t already, you should definitely check out The Pudding’s work. The Pudding is a phenomenal digital publication which delivers excellent visual stories about quirky but interesting sides of society. Their article on the inferior size of pockets on women’s jeans is a good example of something that everyone has noticed, but no-one has really researched, explored and visualised before. And it’s got a somewhat sociological and political undertone without being too pushy.
Amelia Wattenberger
Amelia works at The Pudding (see above), and her website is a great source of inspiration. She has tonnes of interactive examples of her work and ideas, and great guide to D3.js. The amount of effort that’s put into each article to make it interactive, educational and engaing is truly amazing.
The Functional Art (Alberto Cairo)
http://www.thefunctionalart.com/
I recently discovered this blog after getting Cairo’s newest book (How Charts Lie), and I absolutely believe it belongs on this list. His writing is very engaging and he definitely has some tongue in cheek. Anyway, he offers great insights to data journalism, storytelling and the power of data visualisation on his website.
FlowingData (Nathan Yau)
It’s always a pleasure reading Nathan Yau’s thoughts on design. His blog contains everything from reflections on trendy or otherwise relevant visualisations to guides, tutorials and visual design. Some of the content is for paid memberships only, I’d say it’s definitely worth the dollars if you’re serious about data visualisation.
Other sources of inspiration and insights that I use
- Mike Bostock: Creator of D3.js and ObservableHQ.
- The Upshot: The New York Times’s data blog
- Visual Complexity: By Manuel Lima
- Nightingale: By the Data Visualisation Society
- Visualising data: By Andy Kirk