Ever since we started Data Sketches in 2016, we've dreamed of creating a beautiful coffee table book with large, indulgent images of our projects, side-by-side with our very technical process write-ups.
After years of hard work, we've created a book we're incredibly proud of and we can't wait to share it with you!
The story behind the magic is sometimes the most magical. Data Sketches is a landmark event in data visualization. Finally, Shirley Wu and Nadieh Bremer reveal how they brought it to life.
Go with two of the world’s best interactive makers deep behind-the-scenes. See how it works—and all the drafts it took to get there. Learn from many comparisons: between Wu and Bremer and across the trajectory of their twenty-four stories. After immersing yourself in Data Sketches you will emerge inspired.
What a rare treat it is for Shirley and Nadieh to share their process so openly! We see not only the technical work—prototyping with real data, riffing from examples—but the circuitous emotional journey from rough concept to polished final product. Shirley and Nadieh are honest, entertaining, and insightful in their retrospectives. For anyone interested in visualization, their stories are a powerful lesson of how designs can be shaped to communicate effectively and with intent. And their openness and humility make the practice less intimidating, inviting newcomers to get started.
The Data Sketches collaboration is a glorious tour de force: two people spur each other along a remarkable spiral of visualization creativity, and let the rest of us come along for the ride! Nadieh and Shirley share their sketches and code, experiments and explorations, reflections and realizations, eurekas and backtracks, and infectious enthusiasm. They each bring a unique vector, voice, and style to the 12 project topics; what unites them is deep technical chops and a superlative eye for design.
Data Sketches is a collaboration between Nadieh Bremer and Shirley Wu, where we chose twelve different topics and each created a data visualization for a total of 24 projects. Â We then documented the whole process from data collection, to sketch and ideation, to code.
Nadieh Bremer is a graduated astronomer, turned data scientist, turned freelancing data visualization designer. She's worked for companies such as Google, UNESCO, Scientific American, and the New York Times. As 2017’s “Best Individual” in the Information is Beautiful Awards, she focuses on uniquely-crafted data visualizations that are both effective and visually appealing for print and online.
Shirley Wu is an award-winning creative focused on data-driven art and visualizations. She has worked with clients such as Google, The Guardian, SFMOMA, and NBC Universal to develop custom, highly interactive data visualizations. She combines her love for art, math, and code into colorful, compelling narratives that push the boundaries of the web.
