During a recent Point b(e) Strategies staff meeting, our team members explored the true history of data visualization and the power gained through reimagining how data can be shared. By grounding in lessons we learned from Decolonizing Data Visualization, and by recognizing the practices and history of data visualization within Indigenous communities, the team discovered new ways to think about the stories behind the data and how we can shape the way people interact and engage with the data.
When the team let go of the Western “normalized” ways of assessing and designing data visualizations that we were once taught, we were able to more thoughtfully acknowledge the human emotions behind numbers and become more creative with the stories we wanted to tell.
