When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail
To what extent do the tools we use shape how we think? If we habitually use a certain set of tools, do they prevent us thinking outside their very own box? For example, if I use PowerPoint or Word in...
View ArticleAsk a silly question
Ask a silly question’, my father used to say ’and you get a silly answer’. I have one dataset at the moment which I am using for two different reports: the first is an internal strategy report, and...
View ArticleThe Business Analyst: Facilitator or Designer?
Craig challenged me on the role of the BA recently. I said that Web 2.0 is something you can only understand in practice and he posted: Having said that what do you say to the role of the professional...
View ArticleInteractive Mapping – too cool a tool?
Some years ago, my friend Justin showed me a copy of Visual Thesaurus. I squealed with delight, which is always embarrassing at work. Click on the image below to see why. (All the images in this post...
View ArticleThe same again, but more so
My last post was unexpectedly timely. I was catching up on recent posts at Flowing Data yesterday and discovered that Google Image Swirl are working on much the same approach to Image Search over in...
View ArticleWhen words are not enough
This is a simple plea for mixed teams and visual tools. I once asked a friend if he dreamed in colour or black and white, and he said ‘neither, I dream in concepts’. By contrast with both of us, many...
View ArticleHow do you know when you’ve done enough?
The other day someone asked me an interesting question: How do you know when you’ve done enough analysis? I’m not really sure how to answer that one. Sometimes you are forced to stop when you run out...
View ArticleWhistle while you work
Whether you are happy in your work doesn’t just depend on the job that you do, it also depends on whether you like the culture of the place you are working. There are ways to route round the corporate...
View ArticleTreating the parts that real medicines cannot treat – a place for placebos
As a skeptic I have a shameful confession to make: I once had an imaginary condition miraculously cured by a placebo treatment. Some conditions have symptons but not signs. Symptoms are felt and...
View ArticleSign design
If you go into the loo today, you’re in for a big surprise… This elegant and witty pastiche is in the Lighthouse in Glasgow. Makes me feel the need to go just by looking at it. This second one from...
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