Lisa Charlotte Muth
@lisacmuth.bsky.social
Creating & writing about data vis for @datawrapper.de
This week, we at @datawrapper.de launched two new chart types: waterfall charts and dual-axis charts. “Dual-axis charts?” I see you thinking. “What? Didn’t you write an article on why they are bad?” I did. Then, @jburnmurdoch.ft.com changed my mind. Here's how: www.datawrapper.de/blog/why-i-c...
Why I changed my mind on dual-axis charts | Datawrapper Blog
Dual-axis charts can be… okay?
datawrapper.de
I spent the last month obsessed with finding colors that can't be displayed on a conventional screen. This is what I found. moultano.wordpress.com/2026/06/19/w...
Where to Find the Colors Your Screen Can’t Show You
An atlas of the vibrance of the real world
moultano.wordpress.com
I've built a solargraph simulator using solar irradiation data. Pick a place on Earth, animate the solargraph, draw just one point per hour for analemma view, or switch to panorama mode that projects the solargraph into a virtual sky you can navigate. eagereyes.org/app/solargraph
Are you creating great explanatory #dataviz (e.g. in a news or business context) and want to teach others how to become great at data vis, too? Let’s talk!
One of the best parts of my job is coming up with examples for the nice new features that my coworkers at Datawrapper build. I loved playing around with those arrows! 📊
Datawrapper@datawrapper.de · 2mo ago🎉 You can now draw arrows in Datawrapper locator maps! Choose between line arrows (to show routes) and flow arrows (to show magnitude too), and style them however you like. Learn more here: www.datawrapper.de/blog/arrows-...
🎉 We've updated our population cartogram with the latest (2023) data from @ourworldindata.org! A lot has changed since the 2018 one, which used 2016 data. Create your own at app.datawrapper.de/create/map > Choropleth map, then search for "population squares."
The 100 Data Viz Project(100.datavizproject.com/data-type/vi...), which I discovered last week while reading @lisacmuth.bsky.social 's blog. It was particularly insightful as a beginner, as it helps you start prototyping ideas in terms of shapes and visual properties. #dataviz
#6 | 1 dataset. 100 visualizations.
Stacked bar chart with rounded corners. A strength of this visualization is the integration of numbers and years, which makes a legend superfluous.
100.datavizproject.com
🟡🟠🔴 Just stumbled upon a great gradient/color palette generator by @obumbratta.com: obumbratta.com/colour It's inspired by Gregor Aisch's Color Palette Helper (gka.github.io/palettes/#/9...) and brings it to the next level with a color plot, contrast ratios, and different color spaces. 📊
My first (short, German) talk in years (!) is happening tomorrow at Information Commons in Berlin (information-commons.org). I'll speak about what got me excited about data vis and what we do at Datawrapper. Here are my slides:
The first phase of digitizing my collection has come to an end. I am very grateful to my students, they did a wonderful job! The result: three massive Hungarian statistical atlases that are unavailable anywhere else, and dozens of data graphics that have never been digitized before. To be continued!
In 2015, Derek Watkins built a chart for The New York Times that I liked so much that two years later, I wrote a whole article about it: www.datawrapper.de/blog/readers... Today, I rebuilt it in Datawrapper with updated data: www.datawrapper.de/_/vnJXh/ That was fun. I should rebuild more charts.
Interesting data! But I feel like the chart would benefit from being transposed, so that it's easier to compare the non-swimmers with each other:
Ansgar Wolsing@ansgarw.bsky.social · 4mo agoIn Germany, the swimming ability of children is correlated with their parents' income. Half of the children aged 6 to 10 living in lower-income households cannot swim (49%). In higher-income households, only 12% of children are non-swimmers. #30DayChartChallenge | Day 15 - Correlation #dataviz 📊
My first humble Weekly Chart this year:
Datawrapper@datawrapper.de · 4mo agoHow do the 2026 AI investments compare with the cost for aiding Ukraine, ending world hunger, or even a country’s GDP? This week, our head of communications Lisa sets billions of USD in perspective: www.datawrapper.de/blog/ai-inve...
Wow! It's a great honor to receive this Information is Beautiful Award. Thanks to @datawrapper.de for letting me inspire people. And thanks to everyone else who's contributing to the lovely #dataviz community! Find all #IIBAwards winners here: www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/news/680-ann...
📊 There are *so* many chart types out there. Which one should you use for what kind of data and goal? I tried to answer the question in a new blog post (and poster!): www.datawrapper.de/blog/chart-t...
I just added lots of new content to my website! lisacharlottemuth.com → #dataviz projects & articles I've worked on at @datawrapper.de in the past years → a new "Events" page with information about the Data Vis Meetup, the Data Vis Book Club, and the Unwrapped conference → an updated About me page
🌈 Jan's tool looks amazing to find a #dataviz palette! A similar tool is the Python Color Palette Finder by @yan-holtz.bsky.social: python-graph-gallery.com/color-palett... What I like about Jan's tool is that I can browse palettes *by chart type* – so smart. (This, and the German name.)
Jan Simson@simson.io · 2y agoLooking for the right color palette for your next data visualization? Then check out this little helper app I built, where you can quickly browse through 2.4k different color palettes: simson.io/regenbogen/ 🌈 Source code at: github.com/jansim/regen...
Yay, another small multiple chart type in Datawrapper! It's been lots of fun to play around with it so far:
Datawrapper@datawrapper.de · last yr.🎉🎉 🎉 You can now create small multiple column charts in Datawrapper – for both time series and categorical data! Highlight individual columns, display values on all of them, add annotations, overlays, range highlights, and more: https://blog.datawrapper.de/small-multiple-column-charts/
A favorite recent project: Peakscapes. I love the layered looks you get in the #mountains, and I always want to be able to name everything in view. These designs provide a cleaner, more idealized view of the landscape than a photo can. Are they #maps? Or geographic art? I'm not sure.
It was fun putting this together! Have a look and let me know what you think:
Datawrapper@datawrapper.de · 2y agoFargo, Severance, Black Mirror, Atlanta, Master of None, Euphoria – they all left their fans waiting for three years or more between seasons. In fact, we're waiting longer than ever for TV shows to return, as @lisacmuth.bsky.social shows in her Weekly Chart: blog.datawrapper.de/waittime-for...
Curious how different news sites visualize U.S. election results? Here are 25+ links — let me know in the comments which ones I missed! U.S. news sites =============== → The New York Times: www.nytimes.com/interactive/... → The Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com/elections/re...
🎉 New blog post! Choosing colors for a #dataviz on race, ethnicity or continents can be tricky. I collected lots of examples and wrote down 6 guidelines to help ensure all your readers feel respected by your color choices: blog.datawrapper.de/colors-for-r...
I'm really looking forward to Rose's findings here! Might be interesting for others who like #dataviz 📊, too:
Datawrapper@datawrapper.de · 2y agoWhat’s happening in the world of visual and data journalism? What formats, techniques, and topics are having a moment and which ones have proven their staying power? Join Data Vis Dispatch editor Rose to find out, this Thursday: blog.datawrapper.de/rose-mintzer...
I'm excited to be on the list of speakers for the upcoming Datawrapper conference. I'll get to talk about what data journalists love most: hacking tools until you find crazy, but useful workarounds. #dataviz 📊
Datawrapper@datawrapper.de · 2y agoNew Unwrapped speaker! @patrickstotz.bsky.social, co-lead of the data & visualization department at the German newsroom Der Spiegel, will share their 7 most satisfying Datawrapper workarounds. Learn more about Patrick and sign up for his talk here: blog.datawrapper.de/der-spiegel-...
📊 I'm much looking forward to this talk at the Unwrapped conference (www.datawrapper.de/unwrapped):
Datawrapper@datawrapper.de · 2y agoNew Unwrapped speaker (the 2nd one today!): @juruwolfe.bsky.social will talk about bringing Datawrapper to a newsroom, first at FiveThirtyEight and now at Reuters. Learn more about her and the Datawrapper chart she's most proud of:
This week's Effect+Affect: What can dinner parties teach us about dataviz 📊? Thanks to ensemble perception, your brain is weirdly good at parallel processing faces, grass, and zillions of lines on charts. effaff.com/read-the-room-ensemble-effect/
Read the room
What can dinner parties teach us about dataviz? Thanks to ensemble perception, your brain is weirdly good at parallel processing faces, grass, and zillions of lines on charts.
effaff.com
📣📊 The next data vis book club is happening Friday, March 15th at 7pm UTC during our Unwrapped conference! We'll be discussing "The Art of Insight" by @albertocairo.bsky.social. Find all the information for this special session here: blog.datawrapper.de/art-of-insig...
Read “The Art of Insight” by Alberto Cairo with us! - Datawrapper Blog
“...visualization designers who build meaning as a tribute to themselves or as an aid to others.”
blog.datawrapper.de
If you want to find and follow people posting great 📊 data viz content, I can recommend following everyone Andy's following.
Andy Kirk@visualisingdata.com · 2y agoWow the last 36 hrs influx of new Bluesky accounts has been a real shot in the arm for this place in terms of the data viz community 📊. Getting the band back together is step 1. Getting that band to resume playing some of the old hits is step 2. Adding new members, writing new tunes is step 3.
