Observable

Sometimes even a technically “correct” chart can actually confuse or be misinterpreted by your audience. 😯 How can this be? Because even if a chart is technically accurate, it might not be the clearest way to bring the most value to viewers. ⏩ Fast forward to minute 23:02 of the storytelling with data podcast to hear real-life examples of this, and what you can do instead to balance data accuracy, clarity, and audience engagement.

🔍 Data exploration should inspire new questions and analyses. But most BI tools make exploration cumbersome and discourage alternate exploration paths. Good news — that’s no longer the case with Observable Canvases. 🎉 Canvases offer a lightweight way to pursue new questions, and were developed to support how analysts actually work: iteratively, collaboratively, and nonlinearly. Our latest blog post details 8 canvas features for fluid, flexible data exploration:

📣 We want to hear from you! We recently launched a survey on the state of BI and analytics today, and would love feedback on big topics in BI — like how you're using AI in your data work and the pain points you face in your role. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete, and will contribute to a community-driven report on industry trends and challenges. Plus, it's entirely anonymous! You can take the survey here: https://lnkd.in/gxQKm4_5

🪄 Our next Observa-bite is here! Last week we announced dashboards, and now we are introducing the ability to customize those dashboards with our new chart theming feature! Now, in Observable Canvases, you can: 🕸️ Apply your brand colors 🧛 Select custom fonts 🦇 Create dashboards that are automatically on-brand Get started with dashboards and chart theming here: https://lnkd.in/gW_fU2jY

You’ve put the final touches on your dashboard, and shipped it off to stakeholders, and called it done. ✅ Not so fast! As Observable’s Senior Developer Marketing Manager and Data Scientist Advocate, Allison Horst, reminds us on the storytelling with data podcast: “A successful dashboard isn't ever done. It’s a starting point that brings value to the team, but should evolve to stay relevant and up to date so that it becomes a long-term hub for people to have discussions and make decisions.” In other words: the best dashboards grow with your organization. They’re *living tools* that spark collaboration, surface new questions, and guide better decisions over time. Tune into Allison’s guest feature on the storytelling with data podcast for her take on why dashboards die (and how to save them):

😱 Horrified by the long hours you've spent carefully crafting dashboards that end up unused and rotting away in forgotten bookmarks? Observable Canvases streamline development, consolidate collaboration, and put state-of-the-art interactive charts are your fingertips, so you can deliver better dashboards that stay alive for the long haul. Learn how we’re changing the dashboarding game in canvases: https://lnkd.in/gMUumQZM

For all the clickbait claiming dashboards are dead, they remain one of the most frequently requested deliverables in business intelligence. When done right, dashboards are the go-to place where companies track essential metrics, and a hub for data-driven discussions and decisions. But too often, they end up unused and rotting because they’re hard to build, tedious to maintain, and developed in tools that thwart stakeholder feedback and engagement. We’ve recently made big changes to canvases that streamline interactive dashboard development, facilitate cross-functional collaboration, and improve the viewer experience. Our new dashboard viewer experience, dashboard builder, and control nodes help you build dashboards that thrive & stay alive, by: 🪶 Keeping data exploration, analysis, and dashboarding in one place for lightweight development and upkeep 💬 Consolidating collaboration for precise, in-product discussions that minimize crossed wires and back-and-forths 📈 Putting expressive, interactive charts at your fingertips, plus the option to build with code for full customization Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gMUumQZM

We have lots of exciting treats in store for the month of October! Check back each Tuesday for new features and functionality in Observable Canvases. The first new feature drops tomorrow (and it's a big one!).

🐝 Beeswarm charts are a powerful way to visualize quantitative variable distributions, and a useful alternative to more aggregated options like histograms and box plots. In this video, Product & Design Strategist Marisa Morby shows how you can create and customize a responsive beeswarm chart in an Observable Canvas, in just over a minute. Meet our expanding library of state-of-the-art, interactive charts in canvases: https://lnkd.in/g9bjS5Hj

📣 Calling all data professionals! We're conducting a new survey on the state of business intelligence and analytics, and we want to hear from you. Share your perspectives on today's big topics, like how you're using AI in your data work, and the pain points you face in your role. The survey takes just a few minutes to complete, and will contribute to a community-driven report on industry trends and challenges. Plus, it's anonymous! Take the survey here: