Stefanie Posavec will be hosting workshops at UX London 2023. Ahead of her ‘Dataviz Sketching Sessions’ we had a chat with Stefanie.
Here’s what we asked, and what she told us:
What are the three main benefits you see from using off-screen data visualisation techniques?
1. It cultivates a ‘blue sky’ mindset where all options are possible instead of being bound by the constraints of your software.
2. It forces you to physically spend time with your data thinking about what data points need to be turned into form.
3. It helps you tap into your ‘tacit’, intuitive design knowledge, where you can sketch and come up with ideas in a looser way and see where it takes you, as opposed to first needing to make explicit, granular design decisions within code or software.
How do you get over the ‘I can’t draw’ barrier with colleagues and team members?
I show them my ugly, messy preliminary sketches as a reminder that initial data concept sketching is about getting the idea down, not perfection!
What are your go-to sources for design inspiration and innovation?
Data visualisations from The New York Times, Nightingale (the online journal of the Data Visualisation Society), visiting art galleries, exhibitions, and bookshops.
And finally, what are you currently listening to, reading or watching?
Listening: the white noise app Noisli as it’s the only way I can focus when writing or brainstorming new concepts.
Reading: Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken
Watching: Succession (not a very original answer, I know!)
You can join in Stefanie’s sketching sessions at UX London 2023, on 22–23 June, at Tobacco Dock, London.
