Well done to everyone who entered the recent 2023 Iron Viz feeder contest!

Personally, I thought it was great to see so many first-time participants and less familiar names whilst browsing through the entry gallery. It’s encouraging to see so many new people enter the contest this year. As always, #IronQuest will be here to give you a platform to practice your Iron Viz skills all year round, and hopefully, have fun doing so!

The Theme

I’m excited to announce this month’s #IronQuest theme is ‘Weird or Wonderful‘. This will be the final #IronQuest of 2022 so let’s make it a fun one!

This topic was suggested in the 2021 feedback survey and we’ve been looking forward to running it all year! To give you some flexibility, we’ve made it weird OR wonderful so you’re not having to search for a topic that’s both! This month, we’re expecting fun, heartwarming, beautiful, unusual or downright strange vizzes and viz topics!

For data source inspiration, I encourage you to check out the following sources:

  1. Data is Plural – a weekly newsletter of useful/curious datasets, published by Jeremy Singer-Vine. There have been 309 editions to date. All of the datasets are saved to a Google sheet for easy reference.
  2. Flowing Data by Nathan Yau – a collection of datasets covering a broad range of topics
  3. Information is Beautiful – a collection of datasets compiled by the Information is Beautiful team covering a broad range of topics. They also have an additional collection of datasets used to drive the visualisations in the Beautiful News book.

How do I enter?

The process is simple:

  • Source your data and build a viz that somehow touches upon the chosen theme for the month.
  • Upload your viz to Tableau Public or somewhere where it can be openly viewed online. 
  • Fill in the submissions tracker (embedded at the bottom of this post) so we can keep track of who is participating. This step is essential if you want to request feedback or be credited in the wrap-up blog post.
  • If you opted in for feedback in step 3, the co-hosts and I will provide some constructive feedback on your viz after the submission period closes.

Top Tips

  • You can use any data set which fits the theme (assuming you have permission to share it publicly).
  • Always remember to credit your data source/s on your viz.
  • Refrain from using any images or logos on your viz unless you have permission to do so.
  • Remember the Iron Viz judging criteria and try to focus on all three; Design, Storytelling and Analysis.
  • Think outside the box!

Meet the Co-hosts

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be teaming up with the two co-hosts this month! Collectively, they founded Her Data, a community initiative designed to empower and connect women in data everywhere.

Dinushki De Livera (“Dee”)

Twitter

Tableau Public

Dee was born and raised in Columbo, Sri Lanka and then moved to the US to attend the University of Cincinnati. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Economics and Finance and went on to get her Masters in Applied Economics.

Currently, Dee works as a Business Analyst at Unifund. In this role, she found a passion for data analytics and data visualization.

When I am not in the office or playing with data, Dee stays active by swimming, running and boxing. This is mostly because she is a huge FOODIE and needs the balance! You can follow her foodie journey on Instagram, @ForkCincinnati.

Jennifer Dawes

Twitter

Tableau Public

Jennifer is a Cincinnati girl through and through and grew up five minutes from my current home. She attended the University of Cincinnati and completed her Masters in Human Resources. In her HR career, she spent time working as an HR Generalist but she has always had a passion for data analytics so finally made the career jump! Jennifer currently works as a Senior Consultant at Analytic Vizion.

The only love greater than data is her family. Jennifer has two sets of twins, all boys! With 4 boys ages 4 and 1, her house is never quiet or clean.

When is the submission deadline?

DEADLINE EXTENDED! The deadline for submissions is midnight PST on Friday, December 23rd Sunday, January 8th, 2023. Please use the submission form below to submit your entry.

Feedback will be provided (to those who request it) via a conversation recorded and posted to YouTube between the co-hosts and me in January. On the submissions form you can specify if you require feedback focused on the Iron Viz scoring criteria (design, storytelling and analysis) or more general data viz feedback.

Please note, that if we receive a large number of feedback requests (more than we can cover in two hours), we’ll initially prioritise those from Tableau beginners or those entering #IronQuest for the first time. Any remaining feedback will be shared with the authors directly via email.

Continue the conversation and connect with other participants by following the #IronQuest hashtag on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Look out for the feedback video and recap blog post after we complete this challenge!

Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing your entry!

Header image by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

Submissions Form