I am an independent Data Visualization Designer.

I design learning experiences through static data visualizations.

Why communicate through data visualization

Data visualization is one of the few mediums that reveals the big picture while also allowing us to zoom in to gain new insights through comparability and trends.

There are two ways I work with data:

Viz the world

“Massive Change is not about the world of design; it’s about the design of the world” – Bruce Mau

I view data visualization in the same way. We see many reports and dashboards that aid our understanding about a topic. But, I believe data visualization can soar beyond this by integrating into our everyday life through novel solutions.

For example, I incorporated data visualization into the design of a restaurant menu to help customers more easily “digest” a complex list of offerings. Another example is when I created a unique solution to communicate amendments made to the US Bankruptcy Code through a series of cards.

Data documentaries

There is a lot of potential to explore the human condition and the nuances of how we live through data. Similar to film documentaries, data documentaries capture what is happening, except it condenses time. By visualizing the invisible at a glance, we can form deeper connections with ourselves and each other.

For example, I collected and visualized three months’ worth of data on my daily muscle aches to better understand my overall health. I learned that my mental state is deeply connected to my physical state, and it inspired others to collect data on themselves as well. Data documentaries do a great job at showing abstract concepts. When I was working at Kantar, I wanted to capture the warmth and positivity I felt from the people there. I documented the number of laughs I heard through the day for several weeks. This visualization speaks about how laughter fosters joy and relationships.

What I am currently working on

I make Instagram carousels exploring data visualization practices and test out various ideas. I am currently participating in the daily creative challenge called the 100daychallenge that runs from April to July. This year, I am studying books designed by Pentagram (a renowned design consultancy) to better understand book layout.

janezhgw

I make  YouTube videos showing various projects I make as I experiment with data visualization.

Jane Zhang

Jane Zhang
I played Bang! at least 100 times and it is the game that is complex to teach others to play. When I teach others, it takes about 2-3 games for them to be familiar with the game and maybe at game 4 or 5 they can start to developing their own tactics to win. As part of my Viz the World stream of work, I try to incorporate data visualization into board game instructions to aid experienced players teaching new players. The game manual is great at teaching new players and explaining the rules in detail. But, it's not the best at helping players teach other players. The visual aid I made is meant to fit into the game box stacked and it is a prototype of how I imagine the final outcome to look like. As a side note, I see no value in creating visual aids like these for simpler games that take 2-3 mins to learn. These visual aids shine when mixed with complex gameplay with intricate rules. I see potential for this to be helpful in games like Magic, Catan, and perhaps it can extend beyond to video games like Street Fighter. There's a lot that data visualization can do in teaching people how to think about games and how to win. ------------ Viz the World work I've done: Food menu + dataviz: https://bit.ly/2XKWIFO Product catalogue + dataviz: https://bit.ly/2AMrOnE Music from YouTube Audio Library: Where To? by Birocratic Say Good Night by Joakim Karud ------------ I am a Data Visualization Designer from Toronto, Canada. On this channel, I am experimenting with various ideas for dataviz. Check out my work on my website. Website: janezhang.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/janezhgw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janezhgw/ Sign up for my newsletter: https://janezhgw.ck.page/21e6580dcd
Data Visualization + Boardgames: Teaching Others How to Play Bang!
YouTube Video UChd42dGN6_1eCRhs5mIrOaQ_J_hQzwfcBPw
I was invited to speak at DataVizLive London in May 2020. The conference organizer reached out to me after hearing about my article of the same name published in Nightingale (https://medium.com/nightingale/how-self-employed-data-visualization-designers-make-a-living-23dc00ea5264). In this article, I talk to 4 designers to understand how they are building their careers and how they make their income from dataviz. In this video, I expand on my article and add more insights and talk about things I've implemented since I wrote the article. I recorded this video separately after the talk to upload for the general public to view. Thumbnail art by Joceline Kuswanto: https://dribbble.com/jocelinek ------------ 1:02 The designers I spoke to 3:18 Why they started their own venture 9:50 Their 2019 income distribution 12:33 What is the value of a data visualization designer? 18:37 Exposing how you think, not just what you do 19:35 What I started doing after talking to everyone ------------ I am a Data Visualization Designer from Toronto, Canada. On this channel, I am experimenting with various ideas for dataviz. Check out my work on my website. Website: janezhang.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/janezhgw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janezhgw/ Sign up for my newsletter: https://janezhgw.ck.page/21e6580dcd
How Self-Employed Data Visualization Designers Make a Living
YouTube Video UChd42dGN6_1eCRhs5mIrOaQ_lJfZqfQkviE
I designed a two page data visualization style guide for Slack. I made this as a personal project to better learn how to create these guides. It was SO hard to decide what to show in these two pages. I didn't even get to go into types of data like categorical versus ordinal or things like chart types (pie charts, scatter plots, line charts, etc.). I thought that maybe Slack could use some general guiding principles on how to visualize data and maybe a couple of examples of best practices. These examples apply to their presentations more than dashboards or blog posts. If this was a real client project, I would try to figure out the biggest need and get very specific in how to address them. Overall, a fun challenge. Might do more of these in the future. ------------ I am a Data Visualization Designer from Toronto, Canada. I make bespoke visualizations for our everyday life. On this channel, I am experimenting with various ideas for dataviz. Website: janezhang.ca Twitter: https://twitter.com/janezhgw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janezhgw/
How to Develop a Data Visualization Style Guide (Part 4): Style Guide for Slack
YouTube Video UChd42dGN6_1eCRhs5mIrOaQ_eXHyBobTKPo
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I’ve had many insights about life, work, data visualization, design, and creativity ever since I became an independent designer. I have been documenting them as much as I can. I write for Medium publications, write on my blog, and discuss on various Slack channels. I decided that I wanted to put all of my thoughts into something less formal while keeping it consistent. A newsletter seemed like the ideal way to do this. It’s not a newsletter meant for clients, it’s meant for people who want to learn more about what it’s like to be an independent data visualization designer.