Tableau evangelist + data communicator. Newsletter: http://tabsoft.co/sweetspot Book: http://bigbookofdashboards.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acotgreave/https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mvde737zmt22What's your favourite "law" or "rule" of UX/design? For me, it's been Fitt's Law, ever since Jensen Harris (Microsoft UX legend) describe how it was used to design the Office Ribbon. Here's an excellent write up about it by Jakob Nielsen www.uxtigers.com/post/fitts-law https://www.uxtigers.com/post/fitts-law12 Sep 2026 15:06 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvde737zmt22https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mvag3lbl7e24What do you think of forward-looking statements shown at the start of tech keynotes? Don't they all essentially say, "This slide means we can show you anything we want with no promise of delivery. Thanks for paying to be here."11 Sep 2026 11:01 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvag3lbl7e24https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3muossndoxt2dDo we we pay enough attention to academic research's impact on our work? I don't, to my shame. Our goal in the next Chart Chat is to solve that. We're going to each share a paper from the data communication field, with our thoughts on what it teaches those in the workplace dtdbook.com/CCAndyRef https://dtdbook.com/CCAndyRef04 Sep 2026 11:01 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3muossndoxt2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mujruf3pzc25AI and data visulisation: how and when should we be embracing it? Come join a conversation with Elijah Meeks on e9 of "The AI Analyst?" on Thu Sep 3, 4pm BST: dtdbook.com/AIAnalystMeeks https://dtdbook.com/AIAnalystMeeks02 Sep 2026 11:01 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mujruf3pzc25https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mu3l22uksg2lWho has opinions on AI and data? Elijah Meeks does: provocative, insightful, and original. He's joining me on The AI Analyst next week (3 Sep, 4pm BST). Come join the conversation. Let me know what questions you have. 👉 dtdbook.com/AIAnalystMeeks https://dtdbook.com/AIAnalystMeeks27 Aug 2026 19:22 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu3l22uksg2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mrzlbykhvg24Does anyone actually read long walls of text? In just about every AI Analytics demo I see, a prompt returns a chart and a wall of text. When I'm exploring data, I find that I rarely read the text. When I do, I skim it.01 Aug 2026 13:30 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrzlbykhvg24https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mrwmk5fk5627How do you visualise excess deaths? That was a question last asked in detail in the UK during Covid. And yet, here we are, in the midst of exceptional heatwaves and what these charts (and this report) show is that the UK is not adapting to the changing climate. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/interim-heat-mortality-monitoring-report-england-may-and-june-2026/interim-heat-mortality-monitoring-report-england-may-and-june-202631 Jul 2026 09:15 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrwmk5fk5627https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mqtlws7m3l2rMy favourite vibe-coded app so far is my tribute to BBC Radio 4's Add To Playlist. What were the ups and downs of using Claude to write it? Find out in Chart Chat 72: Show And Tell. Live on July 23, 11am ET. Register here: dtdbook.com/CCAndyRef17 Jul 2026 11:01 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqtlws7m3l2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mq3e25xesx2iBooks for the data analyst #3: "Nobody's Girl" by Virginia Roberts Guiffre. Yes, it's not about data. It's here because we all should bear witness to the suffering she and all the other victims endured. It's a tough read. More recommendations here: dtdbook.com/3booksJul202607 Jul 2026 19:36 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq3e25xesx2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mprc6hu2z72gBooks for the data analyst #2: "Magnifica Humanitas" by The Pope. Youv'e probably read others' takes on this (which I guess they generated by putting it in ChatGPT). Read it instead! At 47k words, it's not too long. It's well worth your time. More recommendations here: dtdbook.com/3booksJul202603 Jul 2026 19:36 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mprc6hu2z72ghttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mpit4hzwkp2yBooks for the data analyst #1: "All That We See Or Seem" by Ken Liu. The plot is clunky, but the sci-fi is great. AI is everywhere. Surveillance is everywhere. I loved it becase it's set in a near future that feels very real. More books on Substack: dtdbook.com/3booksJul202630 Jun 2026 10:45 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpit4hzwkp2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3miechik6j42zClaude's PowerPoint add-in makes Copilot look awful. https://open.substack.com/pub/howtospeakdata/p/claudes-killed-copilot-in-powerpoint?r=1cgjp&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true31 Mar 2026 13:40 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3miechik6j42zhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mgrvmdxqfu2uWhat were your favourite Olympics charts? We'll share ours in Chart Chat this week. Animations, medal counts, bump charts and more: all dissected by a bunch of experts (me, Amanda, Steve and Jeff!). 👇Live on Thu 12, 11am ET👇 dtdbook.com/CCAndyRef https://dtdbook.com/CCAndyRef11 Mar 2026 12:37 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgrvmdxqfu2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mfecpk3ujm27How do you *prepare* to present data? ⚙️Morphs, labels, Logitech Spotlight: they're the tools. 👁️👁️The purpose? To make your eyes look where I want you to look at any given moment. I'll share more tips in Chart Chat 68 with Steve, Jeff and Amanda on Wed Feb 25th, 11am EST. dtdbook.com/CCAndyRef https://dtdbook.com/CCAndyRef21 Feb 2026 09:29 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfecpk3ujm27https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mesph3uwgj2iCould Kingpin, Spiderman's nemesis, be the greatest data leader of all time? Allow me to make my case: youtu.be/RaFiip1TsZM #dataanalysis #movies https://youtu.be/RaFiip1TsZM14 Feb 2026 09:29 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mesph3uwgj2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3meqc2f4cj52h🤯Am reading "Around The World in 80 Games" by @marcusdusautoy.bsky.social. In it, he described the "triangle game" (good for actors, interesting maths). In the past, I'd be left to imagine how that looked. But now, with just one prompt, I can build it. It's astonishing. (cc @ebertini.bsky.social)13 Feb 2026 10:23 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3meqc2f4cj52hhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3meqa54ti622n🤯Am reading "Around The World in 80 Games" by @marcusdusautoy.bsky.social. In it, he described the "triangle game" (good for actors, interesting maths). In the past, I'd be left to imagine how that looked. But now, with just one prompt, I can build it. It's astonishing. (cc @ebertini.bsky.social)13 Feb 2026 09:49 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3meqa54ti622nhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3menz4fyglx23Misinformation comes at us in waves, big and small. It might be "just" a truncated y-axis, but it is an indication of the contempt the Trump administration has for us. Lesson: 1️⃣Don't truncate y-axes with bars 2️⃣Don't be selective with your data #datagraphics #data12 Feb 2026 12:38 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3menz4fyglx23https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3me4hkpik3k2sVisited the Robert Crumb show at Zwirner Gallery in London today. Fascinating.05 Feb 2026 13:09 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3me4hkpik3k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mdslybcurs2rTask Complete: 3100 press ups ("push ups" to you all in America) in January. This was really hard. If you have anything to spare and are able to donate, please visit my fundraising page dtdbook.com/100cruk #cancerresearch01 Feb 2026 15:01 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdslybcurs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mdlmjwegtc23Dot-density pie chart or bar chart? Jake Steinberg from the Minnesota Tribune created a great chart that focuses on the gist ("Far too many ICE/CBP officers") of the data. A bar chart would allow for easier decoding of the values, but that's not always the point. #ICE #Minnesota29 Jan 2026 20:23 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdlmjwegtc23https://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mdj2h2dhpw2rOpinion | How Much Can One Man Make From Being President? Superb data storytelling, choosing emotion over accuracy. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/01/20/opinion/editorials/trump-wealth-crypto-graft.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GFA.gc6H.9Jgvy-xAjMFq&smid=url-share28 Jan 2026 19:54 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdj2h2dhpw2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mdgmdae3i32nA guide to bringing Europe's seas back to life https://europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/a-guide-to-bringing-europes-seas-back-to-life27 Jan 2026 20:36 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdgmdae3i32nhttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3mddssmqdo42iExquisite data storytelling in Tron Legacy and Tron. A genuinely great dashboard in the first, and, um, Pac-Man in the second. #datastorytelling #datagraphics https://acotgreave.substack.com/p/tron-legacys-kick-ass-dashboard-part26 Jan 2026 17:54 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3mddssmqdo42ihttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3m3pwi4kvsr2oA world of worm #abstractart #fineline #micronpen21 Oct 2025 18:10 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3pwi4kvsr2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3m3f2hgydyn2iWorm 3. This one is kinda gross. I like it. #fineline #abstractart #micronpens17 Oct 2025 10:22 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3f2hgydyn2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/acotgreave.bsky.social/post/3m36d7qleds2hWorm 2. I really didn't know if I should stop or keep going with this one. I might add to it later and see if I like it better. Any thoughts? Good like this, or keep adding? #abstractart #fineline14 Oct 2025 18:10 +0000at://did:plc:ptdfcd664t6eczydwdt5mwfc/app.bsky.feed.post/3m36d7qleds2h