Preparing yourself for client presentations

Welcome to the fifth issue of the Creative Community newsletter from infogr8. Every couple of months, I share a roundup of dataviz updates and upcoming opportunities to work with us.

Since last time out, infogr8 has been investing much of its resources to position the team as a data consultancy with sector-specific expertise, namely in EdTech, Sustainability, and Healthcare.

As part of these efforts, we’re revisiting one of our most valuable business development tools: our website. Our team is in the middle of redesigning it to better reflect our vision for infogr8 and the quality of work we deliver. We hope to have this completed later this year.

Opportunities to work with us:

• Call for writers: We still have slots open for November and December. You’ll get a chance to work with editors who will help you develop your piece, and you’ll be compensated for the published article. See the current writing themes for more info.

• Lead Information Designer: We’re looking for an experienced Lead Information Designer with modern flair to lead the creative visual outputs across our purpose-driven projects.

• Creative Technologist: We’re looking for a Creative Technologist, a data specialist who can find the art of possibility across data, beauty and the clients we serve every day.

What’s Happening in Data Viz

• Data Navigator: A tool to make dataviz work with assistive technologies
• Iron Viz Qualifiers now open: A data viz competition where contenders have 20 minutes on stage to craft a data story using the same data set
• 30 Day Map Challenge: An annual map challenge in November, open to everyone
• Svelte introduces Runes: In my attempt to better understand what Runes mean, I discovered this Reddit thread, which contains an equal mix of positive and negative responses (typical internet)
• Ben Fry resigns from Processing Foundation: It’s been forever since I last experimented animation on Processing – a bit surprising to hear what’s happening to the foundation
• Little Pictures of climate competition 2023: Submit your own entry for a chance to have it displayed at the UN COP28 climate conference
• Physicalizing Data for a Better World: Viz for Social Good released a new project calling for volunteers to capture environmental impact through physical data viz

New books

• Information Design Unbound by Sheila Pontis and Michael Babwahsingh
• Data Visualization in Excel: A Guide for Beginners, Intermediates, and Wonks by Jonathan Schwabish
• Present Beyond Measure: Design, Visualize, and Deliver Data Stories That Inspire Action by Lea Pica
• Britannica’s Encyclopedia Infographica: 1,000s of Facts & Figures―about Earth, space, animals, the body, technology & more―Revealed in Pictures by Valentina D’Efilippo, Andrew Pettie, and Conrad Quilty-Harper

Upcoming Events

• Data and Art • On Data And Design #25 (Oct 26)
• Information is Beautiful Awards Ceremony + Day of Inspiration (Nov 3-4)
• DataFest Tbilisi (Nov 9-11)
• Information+ Conference (Nov 22-24)

Learning resources

• Behind the scenes with ’24 hours in an invisible epidemic’ by Alvin Chang
• New climate metrics for new climate conversations by Duncan Geere
• The Little of Visualisation series by Andy Kirk
• A Gentle Introduction to GDAL Part 6.1: Visualizing Data by Robert Simmon
• Dashboard Publishing Checklist by Jacqui Moore

Preparing yourself for client presentations

This is a brand new section in the newsletter, dedicated to sharing helpful tips with data viz freelancers on working with clients. 

Stewart, our GM of Sustainability, draws from his experience working with our network of collaborators on how you can set yourself up for success when presenting your ideas.

Preparation is key to presenting concepts, designs, prototypes or the final product to clients. You may have dreamed up the most incredible, unique concept that meets all of the client’s needs, and lands a huge impact on the desired audience. But if the presentation is under-prepared, it will show, and might leave a negative first impression of your work.

My tip is to prepare the presentation in advance, and to frame it as a story. Tell me a little bit about how you got here, and walk me through it. The walkthrough is especially key. Some practitioners talk of the ‘golden path’ — and this is really important.

As you present the designs, everything should almost run to script, with no surprises as you navigate through the journey. You can show the client the story of your work, and express in clear terms how it helps them to achieve the goals of this project.

Preparation can also mean making sure you are in a quiet place (if remotely presenting): minimal disturbances, your tech is working, not leaving halfway through to find a charger for your battery. Ensure there’s minimal distraction between you, your client and your story.

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