Drawing Out ‘Data Sketches’
Nearly-final cover art from Data Sketches by Shirley Wu and Nadieh Bremer.
Nadieh Bremer and Shirley Wu wield data to explore their curiosity and pique ours
By Claire Santoro and Mary Aviles
Did you hear the news? Nadieh Bremer and Shirley Wu, creators of the 12-part dataviz collaboration Data Sketches are publishing a book! While we wait to get our hands on a copy, we thought we’d catch up with them about their unique collaboration to share beautiful and exciting stories. What’s it like to develop a book? How are they feeling about Data Sketches four years later? And, most importantly, what advice can they share with the rest of us who like to sketch with data?
In homage to their side-by-side visualization approach, Mary Aviles and I collaborated on this interview. We took turns drawing out ten insights from our conversation below. (And, we played around with Data Sketches-inspired custom drop caps for some fun of our own.)
eveloping a portfolio can provide discipline, clarity, and purpose.
Data Sketches sprouted from a shared desire to first create and have fun. In 2016, when they conceived of the idea, Shirley had recently launched her freelance career and Nadieh was beginning to realize that she wanted to fulfill her need for creativity through data visualization differently than her corporate work enabled. At first, they just started “shipping” — developing individual projects and posting to a small Twitter following. Shirley was also giving talks, and Nadieh was sharing tutorials. It wasn’t until they’d completed four projects and received an unexpected influx of enthusiasm that they announced the collection.
A tweet of appreciation from Lin-Manuel Miranda (!!) about Shirley’s Hamilton viz.
A few months into developing these portfolio pieces, Nadieh gained the confidence to freelance in response to the demand generated by the work. It became clear that there was enough interest that such a shift was possible. And, not only was the market viable, but both Shirley and Nadieh confirmed to themselves through their Data Sketches projects that this was the type of visualization they loved.
I had no idea I was waiting for that opportunity, but when it came around, it was exactly what I needed. — Nadieh
We knew that we wanted to do these projects for our portfolio, but I don’t think we really thought about the impact it would have from a business perspective. — Shirley
onfidence evolves from consequence-free experimentation.
A major benefit of approaching this collaboration as an experiment meant that neither Shirley nor Nadieh began with expectations. Each time they completed a project, they found themselves striving for something bigger and more complex for the next one. They sampled new technologies and tried “weird things,” like mapping movies to flowers. This “anything goes” mindset meant that some trials would work and some would fail, without consequence. But through this trial and error, both gained expertise and technical confidence.
Data Sketches has been like a sandbox where we could try out new things that we couldn’t in client projects. It’s been like a crash course in helping me feel like I know what I’m doing.— Shirley
A work-in-progress image of Shirley’s “Film Flowers” project legend.
riting a book is a marathon, not a sprint.
“You don’t know what you’re getting into.” That was a common piece of advice that Shirley and Nadieh received from other authors. Now, as they prepare to launch their book, they share a unique appreciation for that pearl of wisdom. For example, somewhat contrary to their creative approach to their individual projects, the pair headed into the publication process with a clear design concept. They planned specific elements like gutter notes and treatments for technical words and lessons in their write-ups. They envisioned a completely unique experience for the book from the digital project counterparts — something that turned out to be an expensive lesson.
Unexpectedly, they completely rejected the first design prototype, resulting in a time-consuming search for a new design company and an entirely new design process. The lesson they learned was that they could have begun to develop the design earlier, after they’d developed a couple of project write-ups. In doing so, they could have adjusted their write-ups to better match the design, instead of relying on sketches that didn’t match their expectations when fully visualized. And, they could have saved themselves a bit of the time crunch they currently face as they work through weekends reviewing proofs!
As first-time authors, we realized how little we knew about laying out books. The book has been a very different creative endeavor from what we usually do. What’s surprising is that I call what we do information design, but it’s a completely different kind of information design than the graphic design agency provides. What they do is very much about the kind of text and the information hierarchy. — Shirley
While the book has been what the authors consider an arduous journey at times, Data Sketches has educated them both on the publishing process. They’ve developed subject matter expertise in production, permissions, and marketing. The next time they publish (!), it will be with a realistic set of expectations and a better understanding of their time investment.
daptation can be motivating.
The Data Sketches process exemplifies the tension visualizers sometimes experience between rigidity and adaptation. At the collaboration’s outset, Nadieh and Shirley chose a list of themes that alternated between general and personal topics. They were intentional about relevance and current events. And, they adhered to that plan for the first nine topics or so. Then, they pivoted to focus instead on topics of deep personal interest. For example, they’d originally planned a final piece about “fun.” But along the way, Shirley came up with an idea for women in computing that didn’t fit the topic. Nadieh also had an idea for a project about women, resulting in two women-oriented pieces — and a shift to their final theme of “fearlessness,” which both authors prefer.
This pivot was a necessary response to the strain both Shirley and Nadieh felt as a side-effect of the long-term project. After several months, a creative block began to build as each author personally pressured themselves to outdo their last piece. In an effort to overcome this barrier, they revisited their original topic list and decided to scrap it in favor of more meaningful subject matter. Once they reset their own expectations and revisited their initial motivation to do this work for themselves first, they were able to find renewed energy.
At around eight months I hit that wall. I was getting more attention on my work than I’ve ever gotten before. It really got into my head like, ‘Whatever I do needs to be on that scale.’ I had gotten the sense that I had to go bigger and bigger, which was the wrong way to think about it. — Shirley
A screenshot of the final Data Sketches collaboration, Fearless, which comprises Nadieh’s “Cardcaptor Sakura” and Shirley’s “One Amongst Many.”
onstraints can inspire creativity.
Committing to create a series of 12 visualizations requires 12 — at least! — sparks of creativity. (Some ideas don’t pan out.) Maintaining this sense of creativity and inspiration was a challenge during their long collaboration, but reining in expectations and setting constraints helped.
One way that Nadieh and Shirley set constraints was by choosing a topic for each sketch that was broad enough for each to take their own creative approach, but narrow enough that the boundaries were clear. In reflecting back, both Nadieh and Shirley admit that they probably should have established even more constraints to avoid the stress that came with increasing public attention and their own expectations. They described starting the collaboration by making relatively small, experimental pieces, but, as public interest grew, becoming increasingly tempted to make big, complex, and eye-catching visualizations. To keep the work load manageable, they had to be intentional about finding ways to rein in their expectations and focus their efforts.
I think we should have had a constraint from the beginning that you need to be able to create your visualization within 20 hours, 40 hours. Then, even at the start, you would have to think about not making it too big. Having constraints can sometimes give you creative flexibility.— Nadieh
“Marble Butterflies” by Nadieh, which she created in just under 20 hours.
successful collaboration partner complements your own working style.
What makes a good collaboration partner? Shirley answered this question by sharing an anecdote about their book:
The epilogue of our book is very aptly named ‘The Starting and the Finishing.’ The title came from an interview with Tamara Munzer, our series editor — we were describing the roles that both of us play in the project, and I was saying that I’m very much a dreamer. I spend too much time dreaming about the future and not enough time thinking about the present. Nadieh is the one who says in response to my ideas, ‘That’s great, Shirley, but we have to finish this; we have to do this other thing first.’ As Tamara pointed out, it’s a great combination — one of us is the starting, and one is the finishing. — Shirley
A postcard from Shirley’s friend and studiomate that has become her career navigation mantra.
Nadieh agreed with the importance of finding a collaboration partner who complements your own abilities and working style. She described how much she’s learned about coding from Shirley (and Shirley, in turn, admitted she’s learned a lot about process discipline from Nadieh). Nadieh used the metaphor of a funnel to describe the effect that Shirley has on her willingness to try new things, explaining that she tends to feel the weight of work that needs to be completed now, leaving her with “only a small opening for new stuff.”
Shirley’s the one that makes that funnel bigger for me, so that I actually do new things. — Nadieh
Despite Shirley’s self-proclaimed role as the dreamer, Data Sketches was only launched because Shirley saw how much attention to detail and effort Nadieh put into her projects and knew that she had the discipline the duo would need to see the project to the finish line. Indeed, their partnership worked beautifully through 24 Data Sketches and book development, and is still rock-solid today. The Starting and the Finishing — both are essential for a mutually beneficial collaboration.
ocumenting your process can encourage reflection and self-evaluation.
Although the process documentation that accompanies their Data Sketches is what Nadieh and Shirley get the most positive feedback on, those write-ups were actually an after-thought. Looking back, Nadieh and Shirley were surprised to realize how helpful documenting their approach has been, not just for their audience but also for themselves.
Both authors emphasized the value of reflecting on your own work. Shirley admits that some of her early Data Sketches weren’t particularly well thought-out. After having to go through the process of reflecting on and writing about those design non-decisions, she’s realized that she has subconsciously begun taking a more thoughtful approach to visualization.
Nadieh has seen a similar benefit in reflection and self-evaluation. Because of Data Sketches, she is now in the habit of taking in-progress screenshots of her work. For Data Sketches, those screenshots formed the foundation of her process write-ups. Now, she uses screenshots as a way to critique her own work and think about what’s working and what’s not. By scrolling back through the images, she’s able to identify elements of previous versions that she likes and wants to build on or revisit unexplored ideas from past projects.
Even though I don’t enjoy documenting or writing about my process, I think it has made me much more thoughtful and reflective in the process of creation. — Shirley
In-progress versions of “Olympic Feathers” by Nadieh.
nowing what you want to know helps determine who to ask.
For both Nadieh and Shirley, feedback is important — but equally important is being selective about who they ask. While working on a project, the two would share interim drafts with each other almost daily; once their visualizations were farther along, they would share their work with a small group of dataviz enthusiasts. Nadieh noted that, for her, this group was usually limited to four or five people. Shirley explained that asking for a small number of trusted opinions helps her avoid “scope creep,” or the temptation to implement too many new ideas.
At the same time, both Nadieh and Shirley emphasized the importance of occasionally reaching out to a broader audience. For Nadieh’s “Figures in the Sky” visualization, she wanted it to be accessible to a wide range of people, so she sought feedback from someone outside of dataviz. Who did she ask? Her dad. (Aww!) As for Shirley, she has recently begun experimenting with live-streaming personal projects on Twitch as a way to capture real-time feedback on personal projects. If her viewers can’t follow what she’s trying to do, then she knows it’s too complicated.
Don’t they say that five people is enough to identify 80% of what’s wrong? I think I read that somewhere. — Nadieh
“Figures in the Sky” by Nadieh.
he best collaboration partners stick around even after the collaboration ends.
When talking to Nadieh and Shirley, the admiration they share for each other, on both personal and professional levels, is clear. Indeed, the two noted that what started as a project-based collaboration has since grown into more of an all-purpose personal and professional support system. They share dataviz ideas and feedback with each other on Slack daily, and on their weekly call, which is ostensibly about their Data Sketches collaboration, sometimes they don’t even talk about data. They just talk about life.
To get to know them a bit better, and because design style is something perhaps best judged by others, we asked Nadieh and Shirley to describe each other’s style. After 24 Data Sketches and countless rounds of brainstorming and critique, how do they see each other’s work? With mutual respect and appreciation, clearly.
When I think about Shirley’s style, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘out-of-the-box creative. She has such an open mind about what could convey data. It’s like, is this data visualization, or is this a nice print that you can put on a wall? — Nadieh
Send Me Love for SFMOMA, by Shirley.
One of the first things that grabbed my attention from Nadieh’s projects, even before we started Data Sketches, is her use of color. It’s very vibrant and very beautiful. — Shirley
“The Magic is Everywhere” by Nadieh.
xperience can help you define your preferences and shape your own path.
Now that they have 24 Data Sketches and a book between them, what do Nadieh and Shirley dream of working on next? After years of experimenting with Data Sketches, Nadieh now recognizes that her favorite projects involve complex datasets that can tell many different stories, and that she prefers the control that comes with making static visualizations. Shirley, on the other hand, has learned that she loves telling human-centered stories in artistic ways. While they aren’t ready to announce any new projects beyond the book, both are always watching for new opportunities to appear on the horizon.
My dream project would be a marketing-based, static, big visualization for a company whose data I really want to dive into, like NASA or Disney. Or data art. Like something that would come into a museum.— Nadieh
The very last Data Sketch project that I did (“One Amongst Many”) was my first attempt at a physical dataviz installation. I’m interested in exploring more of that — the intersection of digital and physical, and how to take my work into the physical world. — Shirley
A physical data installation that Shirley developed in collaboration with illustrator/muralist Alice Lee called “Flower Power,” utilizing the same dataset of women Nobel Laureates as her “Legends” project.
This article first appeared in Nightingale, The Journal of the Data Visualization Society.