Eyeo 2014: And Then There Were Twelve. How to (keep) running a successful data visualization design...

And then there were twelveEric Rodenbeck@stamen#EYEO2014

And then there were twelveEric Rodenbeck@stamen#EYEO2014

1. It’s been a weird year

The market is changing

VCs are hiring designers in-house

Apple is hiring people from small firms like Stamen

It’s not working

Everything you do is being harvested

Traffic & round trip times

The Internet of Things is for suckers

The Internet of ThingsAmbient Incidental Fucking Internet of Everything

This is just getting started

Data visualization is going to have more to say

Things are weird, but we’ll have jobs! Whee!

2. Stamen keeps changing too

2004year 2

2006year 4

2014year 13

How do tinkerers thrive in the mainstream?

3. Why I’m doing this

Data visualization opens up new doors

collapses time into a few frames

and expands our ideas of what being in the world is

Crowdsourcing maps of private transit networks

Figuring out new ways to map the world

Mapping other worlds

4. Hacking into the mainstream

it’s getting easier to make maps

Stamen example 1: Maps From Scratch

Stamen example 2: mapstack.stamen.com

Stamen example 3: maptime.io

Atlanta @maptimeATLAustin @maptimeATXBoston @maptimeBostonChattanooga @maptimeCHACleveland @opengeoCLE Lexington @maptimeLEXCape Cod, Maine @maptimeMENew York @maptimeNYCOakland @maptimeOAKPortland @maptimePDXSalt Lake City @maptimeSLCSan Francisco @maptime SFSt. Johns, OR @maptimeStJohnsToronto @maptimeTOWashington DC @maptimeDCWindsor-Essex @maptimeWindsor

It’s getting easier to do, and we need to be ready

looking at early photography is instructive

mostly nerds doing itit’s alot about the techwhat’s in? what’s out?

“The members of Group f/64 believe that photography, as an art form, must develop along lines defined by the actualities and limitations of the photographic medium, and must always remain independent of ideological conventions of art and aesthetics that are reminiscent of a period and culture antedating the growth of the medium itself.”

“The members of Stamen believe that data visualization, as an art form, must develop along lines defined by the actualities and limitations of the data visualization medium, and must always remain independent of ideological conventions of art and aesthetics that are reminiscent of a period and culture antedating the growth of the medium itself.”

It’s getting easier to do, and we need to be ready

the view from here

It’s getting more popular, and we need to be ready

It’s going to happen quicker than we think

5. Sustainable business model for visualizers

and then there were twelve*

*(ok 14)

It can’t be just about the $

This can be confusing

They don’t teach this shit in data visualization school

Things I have learned:

a. Someone has to own 51%

b. Invest in operations earlier than you want to

This is Bill

c. People leave

This is me and Mike

This is Seth

(there are lots more people who can do this now)

http://stamen.com/studio/alumni

d. People over process every time

e. Fire early, fire often

(these will be your friends)

f. Someone’s going to have to stop coding

g. Designers & coders make terrible managers

h. Pay it forward & engage community

6. This will eat your head. Business is personal

People leaveMoney can be tightClients can be a dragDemons in your headUncertain future

When everything stopped

Past. Future.

7. Why I’m still here

The reveal, of objects to think with

Climate Central

The future

Independent practitioners

Aha! moments

Thank you EYEOOnwards!@stamen