Rolling out the purple carpet for the Information is Beautiful Awards has been a dream come true. This famous program, founded by David McCandless and run by the Data Visualization Society, has been iconic in the data viz community and a big inspiration for building a career in the field.

When I was brought in to run this year’s program, my vision was to create a more inviting and inclusive space for the data visualization community to celebrate their data viz accomplishments. From updating the visual identity of the awards marketing, sales and video assets to creating a community-centric volunteer system we felt the excitement all around us as the program took shape.

This years program received over 1,000 international submissions with the majority making it to the LongList showcase. Our dedicated volunteers supported pruning and reviewing all entries, dedicating many hours of their time to ensuring our judges had a clear roster to review. We also had our highest number of judges this year, dedicating time to reviewing the shortlist both quantitatively and in group sessions.

After 6 months in the program we awarded over 30 winners, built deep connections in the data visualizaiton community, and saw exciting new trends and innovation in community.