Visual Design with Data

About this workshop

Stunning spreadsheets and interactive charts are critical when presenting data-driven analysis. But all too often, those spreadsheets and charts are poorly formatted, confusing to read, and tough to understand. This workshop seeks to solve those problems, transforming you into a data-design ninja when working with Excel or Google Sheets.

This workshop is divided into three parts:

• The first walks through data design fundamentals, and how to create stunning + persuasive spreadsheets in Excel or Google Sheets using a few simple formatting principles.
• You’ll then put this knowledge to practice with hands-on examples. First, you'll learn to build beautiful simple graphs and sparklines with your data. Then, you’ll learn how to create interactive charts that change based on adjustments to calculated cells.
• In the final part of the workshop, we’ll review a few tools + techniques (e.g. sparklines, small multiples, narrative, and various SaaS platforms) that enable easier display + digestion of larger amounts of information.

This workshop is ideal for:

• Anyone who works with spreadsheets daily or weekly
• Anyone interested in applying design principles to sets of data
• Anyone responsible for driving standards around data + communication in their organization

Takeaways

• Learn how to reformat any “ugly” or “boring” spreadsheet into one that’s beautiful, digestible, and intuitive
• Explore how to integrate interactive charts into any “flat” spreadsheet or calculated data table
• Understand how to leverage other tools to accelerate the creation of beautiful, intuitive data analyses

Prereqs & Preparation

• Basic familiarity with Excel and Google Sheets
• Laptop and Google Sheets account (for in-class exercises)