The companion book to the Chart Spark course COMING SOON! Sign up for the waitlist!
Do you want to be more creative in your data communication? Looking for specific creativity advice tailored for those in the data field?
Chart Spark is the transformative guide you’ve been waiting for. As an acclaimed information designer and host of the popular podcast Data Viz Today, Alli Torban understands the struggles faced by data professionals who don’t identify as “creative types.” She shares her journey from data analyst to creative information designer and distills years of experience and interviews with successful data visualization designers into this concise, actionable book.
Who’s It For? If you work with data or data visualization and want to communicate with more impact, this book is for you. It’s not another “inspiration book” filled with glossy infographics; instead, it’s a practical guide designed to change your perspective on creativity and integrate it into your work. Each chapter includes actionable prompts designed to trigger your creativity, rather than just admire the finished product of others.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction: What is creativity and why should you care?
- Section I: CARE
- Chapter 1: Expand your mental boundaries with the ‘Bad Gifts’ prompt
- Chapter 2: Cultivate your inspiration with the ‘X-RAY’ prompt
- Chapter 3: Build your habits with the ‘Recess List’ prompt
- Section II: COAX
- Chapter 4: Blast through project paralysis with the ‘Idea Isosceles’ prompt
- Chapter 5: Immediately see through a new lens with the ‘Break-the-Box’ prompt
- Chapter 6: Find stories like an editor with the ‘CTR’ prompt
- Section III: COMMUNICATE
- Chapter 7: Find an appropriate balance with the ‘4Q’ prompt
- Chapter 8: Explain it with a visual metaphor with the ‘Haystack’ prompt
- Chapter 9: Mix different mediums and experiences with the ‘Tango’ prompt
- Conclusion: What should you do next?
Also included: a complimentary digital Spark Journal packed with all the book’s actionable prompts, enabling you to dive right into your creative process. Harness your creativity and transform your data communication with Chart Spark!
Praise for Chart Spark:
“A perfect starting point for dataviz practitioners who might be intimidated by the creative process. This friendly book shows that creativity is a practice, not an innate talent!”
—Stefanie Posavec, designer, artist, and co-author of Dear Data
“Alli’s not here to mint new Picassos, but to help the reader stretch and grow. If you follow her guidance and prompts, it will change the way you think about creativity.”
—Steve Wexler, Co-Author of The Big Book of Dashboards
“In Chart Spark, Alli celebrates the ways creativity happens off a computer with prompts and brainstorming structures that can help anyone plot a path towards more meaningful data visualizations.”
—Amanda Makulec, Executive Director of the Data Visualization Society
“This book is neatly constructed into logical chapters that help everyone, regardless of background, grasp the basics and then elevate their creativity step-by-step.”
—Andy Kirk, Independent Data Visualisation Expert
