Embedded Files
Beautiful Data
I've been told that I have a logic-driven brain.
This is not exclusive to thinking in numbers—in fact, over the years, I've had a love/hate, messy, on-again-off-again relationship with math. Rather, I think about the world in terms of cause and effect, diagrams, incentives, decisions, responses, interactions, measurements, spatial orientation and patterns. The economist mindset requires an unusual approach to critical thinking that may at times seen alien to those outside the discipline.
This framework of understanding—coupled with the scientific method—allows us to examine and dissect the world in an unusual way that I have come to appreciate.
But don't be scared! It does not take a genius IQ to absorb well-presented information. In fact, the endgame of visualizing data should be that readers are able to draw conclusions and answer their own questions based on the deliverable.
So, from simple charts and graphs, to flow diagrams, to cartography and mapmaking, to blueprints and more, these are just some of the many examples of interesting ways that I have conveyed or captured information.
How to Model Income and Expenses
Starting on the left, follow the flow of income as it passes through various categories of expenses.
Notice that certain categories have been given special colors to set them apart from the light-blue default.
What can traffic patterns tell us on two different days in January?
A Thursday in January at 6:00pm Eastern Time
As a second major snowstorm in a week approaches the Mid-Atlantic States, national traffic data shows the storm approaching.
The rural parts of West Virginia and Kentucky—normally traffic-free—have highway speeds that have slowed to a crawl. Columbus, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Nashville all have commuters stuck in the snow as they make their way home. Indianapolis has no such problem, as it lies north of the storm's path.
Meanwhile, the outbound side of Washington, DC's freeways are slow with usual rush hour traffic, but rural areas on the eastern seaboard are green: the calm before the storm.
The evening before Joe Biden's 2020 Inauguration
Once every four years, the bustling city of Washington, DC morphs into a stage for one of the most dramatic, yet consistent, peaceful transfers of power in the world.
In advance of January 20, 2020, more than 25,000 troops from dozens of states and thousands of police officers from the National Capital Region swarmed in to protect the city in anticipation of this remarkable event.
The full extent of the security perimeter around Capitol Hill, the National Mall, Penn Quarter, Downtown, Foggy Bottom, and the sprawling complex of federal office buildings can be seen in the street closures in effect over the course of that week.
Fitness Tracker
I wanted to understand how my exercise habits were changing with the seasons, and whether my choice to start tracking cardio workouts with Strava was having an impact on my choices. For example:
Do I run and bike faster when I use an app, knowing that I will not have to recall the route later?
Do I exercise more frequently in warmer months?
Do I run or bike faster in warmer months?
Do I go longer distances in warmer months?
So I created a tracker for myself. It will grow over time. See what you can learn by observing the graphs.
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