I wrote a post with my presentation/paper highlights from the fabulous IEEE VIS 2025 conference I attended two weeks ago in Vienna. This list is based exclusively on presentations I was able to attend. There are many more great papers! Let me know if there's anything you really like.

Presentation/Paper Highlights from IEEE VIS 2025

Presentations of papers that caught my eye last week in Vienna

arxiv.org

I’ve compiled a list of papers in my newsletter to get up to speed with the latest research on generative AI for data visualization. I hope you'll find it useful! filwd.substack.com/p/a-reading-...

A Reading List on GenAI for Data Visualization

Enjoy the reading!

filwd.substack.com

I had a great chat with Richard Brath on the use of AI tools to visualize text data. Have you ever seen his experiments? Really fascinating! You can watch our chat on my Substack: filwd.substack.com/p/visualizin.... Make sure to check his fabulous blog posts too! richardbrath.wordpress.com.

Visualizing Text Data Using AI w/ Richard Brath

Exploring Richard's experiments on visualizing data with Claude AI

filwd.substack.com

The slides for my free webinar on "Misleading Data Visualization" are ready! Join me this Monday, May 12, at 12 p.m. ET, to learn my framework for detecting misleading visualizations. (Find directions on how to enroll in the thread.)

Question: What process do you follow to add icons to your data visualizations, diagrams, tables, or infographics to convey a concept? I think icons can be very powerful to quickly orient people to the right information, but also incredibly hard to get right. What strategies and tools do you use?

New experiment to see if ChatGPT can spot data interpretation errors in charts. I tried with four classic misleaders. It got two out of four right. See the details in my newsletter post. What do you think? What else should I try?

Can LLMs Detect Reasoning Errors with Charts?

Yes and no.

open.substack.com

We are organizing a Vis+AI meetup at Northeastern University on April 3rd. Join us if you are in the area! P.s. We are trying to see if we can also stream the event online. www.eventbrite.com/e/visai-meet...

What tool do you use to polish a visualization exported from a data visualization tool like Tableau, ggplot, etc. (say using SVG)? Is Illustrator the best solution, or is it something else?

I started using Grok for the first time yesterday. Wow!!! Has anyone tried it? It feels like a completely different kind of dialogue. It's hard to put my finger on what it is exactly, but I am really impressed.

I need your help: do you have examples of visualizations with before and after clutter reduction interventions? I remember seeing a few ones (some animated), but I can't recall where I saw them. Can you send me examples if you have any? Thanks!!! 🙏

Are you a "data fiber artist" (representing data through knitting, crocheting, embroidery, sewing, weaving, etc.)? Please help my PhD student Sydney collect information about this fascinating practice for her thesis with this survey: skpurdue.github.io/DataFiberArts/. Please repost! Thx!

Being invited to be part of an "important" committee.

Yoav Goldberg@yoavgo.bsky.social · 2y ago

replacing a laptop and losing the login names and password to all the university systems

This plot is masterful. FT has become the best in news graphics, hands down.

Patrick Stotz@patrickstotz.bsky.social · 2y ago

Remarkable chart by @data.ft.com Many readers won't fully understand boxplots. At a quick glance, they don't add much information here. But then, look at the lower end of the 2024 whisker (or 2015 for the previous El Niño)! Also: I just love the aesthetic 🤩 #dataviz www.ft.com/content/fd91...

Idea for a new focus app: you can unblock websites/apps only after conversing with a chatbot. If you manage to have a persuasive enough argument, you are granted access.

“… many of us become scientists to carve our own path, not become ruled by external demands.” Exactly👌

Alex Kale@kalealex.bsky.social · 2y ago

Trying to regulate the way science is done has always seemed wrongheaded to me for two reasons: (arrogance) reformers seem to think they know better how to do research than anyone else; (authoritarianism) many of us become scientists to carve our own path, not become ruled by external demands.

Misinformation or misinterpretation? 10 contrasting assertions:

Misinformation Vs. Misinterpretation

In 10 contrasting assertions

buff.ly

Has anyone ever documented and tracked the evolution of a whole research project l, from ideation to publication and beyond? It would be cool to do it more systematically and really see how projects unfold over time. I am thinking of implementing this idea starting next year.

I wrote an initial post describing my growing discomfort with an excessive focus on publications in academia. Curious to hear your thoughts! https://buff.ly/4g47VXP

What If Papers Are Holding Us Back?

A popular LinkedIn post and my sense of discomfort with the state of academia.

buff.ly

Second post on the use of titles in data visualization: https://buff.ly/3VizWmg. I propose a simple taxonomy to categorize different types of titles. It has already helped me and my students a lot. There is way more to do, but it's a good start. Happy to hear your feedback: any changes/additions?

Data Visualization Titles: A Taxonomy

An initial taxonomy on the type of titles you can use

buff.ly

How do you feel about the contrast between the certainty of the title and the uncertainty of the data (coming from a (single) simulation)? I have been thinking about titles and the ethics of uncertainty quite a bit lately. I am curious to hear what others think. 🤔

Our World in Data@ourworldindata.org · 2y ago

The global COVID-19 vaccination effort is estimated to have saved around 20 million lives — in just its first year.

This is so well done and relevant! We don't talk so much about mobile vis, surprisingly.

Voilà: Francis Gagnon@chezvoila.com · 2y ago

Thread on charts for mobile phones 🤳 📊 I'm sharing a few tips from a recent project where we adapted our own charts, initially designed for a US letter sized report. This is the cover page of the PDF report (the title was our suggestion 🖋️). 1/🧵

I agree with Steve here. It's stark in its simplicity. It's so freaking easy. I made a mistake, sorry.

Steve Haroz@steveharoz.com · 2y ago

This is so simple but so important. If you make an error, fix it! #SciComment

Are we going to party again like 2010s? 🕺

Alberto Cairo@albertocairo.com · 2y ago

Another must-follow in #dataViz

I started a new series on using titles in visualization in my newsletter. The first post is on the empirical evidence. I review two papers that shed light on how titles shape interpretation and memory. filwd.substack.com/p/titles-in-...

Titles in Data Visualization: Empirical Evidence

Two studies that shed a light on the key role of titles in visualization

filwd.substack.com

Being on X and Bluesky at the same time is an interesting (dissonant) experience. The cultural divide is, sadly, so stark.

Ok … let’s talk about this again. My position is this: sorry, there’s no rule. You have to judge case by case. Use your brain! 🧠

Voilà: Francis Gagnon@chezvoila.com · 2y ago

I just recalled that I have another claim to #dataviz fame. 📊 The y-axis of line charts doesn't have to start at zero. But then, where should they start? I suggested using the golden ratio, and it took off at the time. 📈 Some media and software used it. chezvoila.com/blog/yaxis/

Really cool work from John. Check it out!

John Alexis Guerra Gomez@johnguerra.bsky.social · 2y ago

I created an interactive co-authorship network #dataviz of @ieeevis.bsky.social researchers 👉🏼 observablehq.com/@john-guerra... 👈🏼 This visualization explores the connections between researchers who have co-authored papers at IEEE VIS 1990-2023 Built with reactivewidgets.org and @observablehq.com

Ok … let’s snark a little and see what happens. How many more “the temperature is going up” chart variations do we still need? Sorry, I had to say it.

Bluesky feels a lot like class reunion right now.

This is a good thread.

Evan Peck@peck.phd · 2y ago

Trying something new: A 🧵 on a topic I find many students struggle with: "why do their 📊 look more professional than my 📊?" It's *lots* of tiny decisions that aren't the defaults in many libraries, so let's break down 1 simple graph by @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social 🔗 www.ft.com/content/73a1...