Like many of the best styles of multidimensional art, data visualization is an interdisciplinary specialty that dissects facts and information and reformats it into digestible graphical representations. This style, in particular, helps communicate data that is complex, complicated, or even just monotonous.
Today we’re sharing five data visualization artists that are helping transform the way we think about figures and statistics. Each designer has their own style, visual language, and, most definitely, a certain je ne sais quoi of breaking down complex information.
Federica Fragapane | @federicafragapane
Having collaborated with companies such as Google, United Nations, and BBC Science Focus, there’s no doubt in our minds that Federica knows—precisely—how to look at content in new and refreshing ways. She is a freelance informational and visual designer and often works to analyze environmental and social issues. Her Instagram feed features everything from designing the visualization of the menstrual cycle to sharing details from the letters written by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo. Not only is her feed filled with examples of data visualization, but she has a TedTalk explaining her process, a Society6 page where she sells her prints, and a children’s infographic book—pure talent.
Giorgia Lupi | @giorgialupi
We recently shared a piece about Giorgia Lupi that breaks down her second visualization for Art + Data, and, as luck would have it, her Instagram feed is completely follow-worthy. As a Partner at Pentagram in New York, the co-author of the interactive book Dear Data, a Ted Talk speaker, an artist with a permanent collection in the Museum of Modern Art, amongst other accomplishments, to say Giorgia is an accomplished artist would be an understatement. With over 1,000 posts on Instagram, there’s no shortage of square-shaped inspiration, plus her highlight reels often feature behind-the-scenes peeks and sneak peeks of future work.
Nathalie Miebach | @miebachsculpture
Call me uninspired, but I never in a million years would have imagined data to showcase itself in a three-dimensional world. Nathalie Miebach calls herself a “translator of data into sculpture and musical scores.” Her work focuses on the intersection of art and science. Still, unlike other data interpreters, she explains scientific data related to ecology, climate change, and meteorology through the form of three-dimensional structures. One of my favorite pieces on her feed tracks all the sunny days in Boston, Massachusetts, in November and December of 2020; the result is a magically cheerful piece with bold pops of oranges and greens.
In her artist statement on her website, Nathalie shares, “Every extreme weather events have at least two narratives. The first is scientific, made up of temperature, wind, and pressure gradients that generate energies to build these storms and propel them forward. The second narrative is made up of human experiences, both during and long after the storms have left.”
Her artful eye, concept, and designs are all worth following.
SurReal Dataviz | @surreal_dataviz
Just because it’s called data doesn’t mean that it can’t have a sense of humor. SurReal Dataviz is an Instagram account that’s bringing wit and banter into the world of data visualization. Think of understanding the color fuchsia as a dress code as told in a Venn Diagram or the alcohol levels in your blood in the form of an exponential graph. Or how about why we put music on while in the restroom as told by a Pi Chart. While data is at the center of all the posts, the graphics, colors, and copy make for an engaging and entertaining account.
Milos Popovic | @mapvault
Maps are Milos Popovic’s format of showcasing data; however, while you think the information might be repetitive, it’s anything but monotonous. Milos is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, and his research explores how countries intervene in civil wars abroad. So, it’s fair to say that maps are his thing. Scroll through Milos’ Instagram feed, and you’ll find data through the lens of maps sharing research such as “Young people aged 15-29 not in education, employment, or training in 2019,” “Parkinson’s disease mortality among female seniors,” and “Medical doctors per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018.” It’s fascinating to see how geography affects certain things previously thought of as random coincidences, but as we dig into the data, it appears nothing is just a coincidence.
