A Community for Visualization.

What is Visually?An ecosystem for creating, sharing, and exploring data visualizations.

create.visual.lymarketplace.visual.ly

visual.ly

blog.visual.lyvisual.ly

Community RolesWithout each role, the ecosystem would fall apart.

VisualizersDesigners, Developers, Journalists, Animators, Researchers

Publishers

Viewers

Create.Visual.lyViewers need to feel engaged.For viewers, create provides a place where they can see their own information in the infographic format they enjoy.

Create.Visual.lyPublishers need results.For publishers, create provides a way to summarize important metrics, and for big publishers, it can be a platform for advertisement.

Create.Visual.lyPublishers need to measure results.Summarizing information and delivering it automatically keeps publishers happy.

Visual.lyViewers want to see cool stuff.The main website provides a curated source of “cool stuff” for people to browse. This gives people a good source of content to share on their social networks, or just entertainment when they are bored at work.

Visual.lyPublishers want eyeballs.Publishers want their content seen. They paid money to get it created, and they want as many people to see it as possible, both to show it off, and for advertising.

Visual.lyVisualizers want credit, and more work.Creators want to be able to keep creating. They need people paying them to make new stuff, so they need credit for the things they’ve already done.

Blog.Visual.lyViewers want to see cool stuff.Blog posts give us a way to highlight certain works, or collections of work that we think people will like to see and share.

Blog.Visual.lyVisualizers want to learn.Educated creators make better content, and that is good for everyone involved.

Blog.Visual.lyVisualizers want to compete.Competitions provide a place to hone skills, show off, and receive constructive criticism.

Blog.Visual.lyVisualizers want credit.Spotlight pieces help get a creator’s name out and get their work more attention.

Blog.Visual.lyThe community need to trust us.Publishers we work with are paying us money to do a job. They need to trust that we do good work, and that we are representing their name as best as we possibly can.

Creators need to trust that we want them to succeed, and that we are helping them to get what they need to keep making.

Viewers need to trust that the content we show them is truthful and accurate.

Marketplace.Visual.lyVisualizers want work.Visualizers want to work on projects that pay well, with clients that aren’t overly demanding.

Marketplace.Visual.lyPublishers want reliability.Publishers want their work done quickly by skilled designers, and they want it to match what they envision.

Marketplace.Visual.lyEmploying the community.Categorized graphics get aggregated for each designer account.

Marketplace.Visual.lyEmploying the community.At least ten designers are employed full-time through the marketplace, with many more approaching that threshold every month.

Lead by exampleCommunities need leaders.Doing great design, storytelling, and data visualization helps to provide inspiration for other visualizers.

Lead by examplePublishers need proof it works.Publishers need to know that showing data and information to people is a good way to gain trust and recognition.

Lead by examplePublicly recognize good work.The staff pick badge is a recognition of extraordinarily good work. The recognition makes publishers and visualizers proud, and helps spotlight good work for viewers.

Internal ConnectionsReach out personally.Being supportive of work that people create helps them feel appreciated, and will earn their loyalty many times over.

Internal ConnectionsShow off community activity.Showing people that the community is active and engaged helps to keep them active and engaged in the community.

Internal ConnectionsStrengthen internal connections.Let community members connect with each other, and help them keep those connections strong.

External ConnectionsRecruit new members.There will inevitably be a natural tendency for the community to stagnate and lose members over time. External connections help to pull in new members and keep the community vibrant.

External ConnectionsMake it easy to share.Running our own social media accounts makes it easy for other people to re-share the good examples we’ve selected.

External ConnectionsPromote Designers’ WorkShowing designers’ work to external communities helps get eyeballs on it. This helps the designers by showing off their skills, and it helps publishers by getting their work seen.

External ConnectionsBe accessible.drew@visual.ly@seeingstructure