Thoughtful Data

Thoughtful Data is an essential book for the present moment, making the case that empathy can lead to impact—and, crucially, showing us how. Through interviews, examples, and expert advice, Schwabish and Feng provide us with the tools—and the inspiration—to make change in the world. – Lauren Klein, author of Data by Design: Visualization and Power from Abolition to the Dawn of Data Science
Numbers and data may seem neutral, but Schwabish and Feng argue convincingly that they aren’t always—and how they are presented, displayed, and charted influences the stories they tell. This book is eye-opening, provocative, and persuasive. – David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution
A comprehensive starter for anyone looking to practice data with humanity and respect. This guide asks deep and reflective questions while also offering practical but not limiting advice on how to think about data and ethics. It is the resource I wish I’d had when I started my career. – Pei Ying Loh, cofounder of Kontinentalist
Drawing on interviews with people in the field, Thoughtful Data provides a comprehensive look at data equity communication. This book offers actionable guidance to practitioners, funders, designers, educators, and others in the data visualization community. – Catherine D’Ignazio, author of Counting Feminicide: Data Feminism in Action
Schwabish and Feng have bottled decades of hard-earned wisdom into a practical guide to thoughtfully designing data visualization. An antidote to the misuse of the data our nation runs on. – Denice Ross, former US chief data scientist
Designing a visualization is never a neutral act of representation of data, but an act by someone (the designer), about something or someone (measured through the data), and for someone (the reader) in a particular context. This tetradic understanding ​of visualization has many ethical implications; for example, the designer ought to act in the best interest of the reader; moreover, the designer needs to consider what or who is being measured and represented, who is not, and in which ways that representation happens or fails to happen. This book is an excellent guide to this type of ethical reasoning, which I believe is crucial to modern design practice. – Alberto Cairo, author of The Art of Insight: How Great Visualization Designers Think

Jonathan Schwabish is an economist and data visualization specialist who helps teams and organizations across the world improve how they communicate their work. He is the author of four books on data communication, including Better Data Visualizations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks (Columbia, 2021).

Alice Feng is a data visualization designer, developer, and instructor. She has worked with research organizations, policy institutions, and newsrooms to tell stories about their data and teaches courses on equitable data communication.

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