Nadieh Bremer, an award-winning data visualization designer and data artist with a background in astronomy, creates custom visualizations for clients like Google and The New York Times. She co-authored Data Sketches and is known for transforming complex data into engaging visual stories.

Introduction

Part I | Staying Close to Ordinary Charts

1. Give a Chart Something Unique | "The topic or subject of the data can be great inspiration to elevate a straightforward chart"

2. Consider Uncommon Chart Types | "Nontraditional charts can be more expressive and communicate certain data insights more effectively"

I. MINI CHAPTER | Broaden Your Horizon of Visual Forms

3. Combine Charts | "Fusing chart types together can create distinctive and compelling visuals"

II. MINI CHAPTER | Use Circular Shapes

Part II | Getting Creative

4. Amplified Encoding | "Present the same variable in diverse ways to achieve something more visually captivating"

III. MINI CHAPTER | Projecting Your Data onto Other Visuals

5. Sketch Designs First | "Use plain pen and paper to sketch rough concepts to develop more expressive ideas"

6. Don't Think in Chart Types | "Think less in "chart types" and more about what information, patterns, and stories to reveal when going for more creative visuals"

Part III | Aiming for Visual Diversity

7. Show All the Data | "Show the most granular level of detail in the data set to present intriguing context"

8. Show Aggregate Values with Granular Data | "If you need to show aggregated insights, reveal them using more granular data and clever design tricks"

9. Add More Variables | "Enhance your visuals by thoughtfully adding additional variables to provide greater depth and interest to the main story"

IV. MINI CHAPTER | Refining Your Use of Color

10. Big Datasets, Big Possibilities | "Bigger datasets lend themselves more easily to creative data visualization"

V. MINI CHAPTER | Creative Legends

Part IV | Diving into Data Art

11. Find Inspiration from Your Interests | "Pull artistic inspiration-as well as techniques and tools-from other creative areas of your life to give your data visuals some flair"

12. Add Randomness into the Mix | "Randomness broadens your visual possibilities and will reveal unexpected, refreshing outcomes"

V. MINI CHAPTER | Sketching Your Data Art Ideas

13. Let the Subject of the Data Guide Your Design | "In data art, the overarching theme or topic of the data holds more design significance than the precise figures"

Outro

Think Outside the Chart

Acknowledgements

Index