Chart Spark: Harness your creativity in data communication to stand out and innovate

by Alli Torban

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

What is creativity and why should you care?Section CAREChapter 1: Expand your mental boundaries with the 'Bad Gifts' promptChapter 2: Cultivate your inspiration with the 'X-RAY' promptChapter 3: Build your habits with the 'Recess List' promptSection COAXChapter 4: Blast past project paralysis with the 'Idea Isosceles' promptChapter 5: Immediately see through a new lens with the 'Break-the-Box' promptChapter 6: Find stories like an editor with the 'CTR' promptSection COMMUNICATEChapter 7: Find an appropriate balance with the '4Q' promptChapter 8: Explain it with a visual metaphor with the 'Haystack' promptChapter 9: Mix different mediums and experiences with the 'Tango' What should you do next?Also 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!

155 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2023

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this - and I’m delighted.
I thought this might be something along the lines of Andy Kriebel’s Visual Vocabulary, full of chart samples and ideas.
Instead, it taught me how to think more creatively about what I want my data viz to do. Using a number of prompts, it helped my widen my thoughts about how to get the point across.
One prompt is even focused on helping me really understand what exactly I like best about some of my favorite visualizations - a practice I can apply to all those other great books full of samples and ideas.
Thanks, Alli, for a great book!

[Rushika Pandya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book and now gradually implementing some of the things I learned for my personal projects. I truly loved the way the book is structured - the “Reading Plan” keeps you motivated to read through your perhaps busy schedule, the “summary” sections serve as a quick reference for each chapter when you revisit concepts and “What to do next” keeps the inspiration going! The book is simple and practical - a treasure of prompts for expanding your creativity in dataviz!

[Joel Malissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alli is awesome. Loved the example showing why bar charts are bad for demographic data. My only wish is that it was longer with more examples of Alli's best visualizations. Thanks for signing my book!