{"id":20510,"date":"2024-05-03T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dvsnightingstg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=20510"},"modified":"2024-05-15T09:56:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T13:56:14","slug":"interactive-data-diaries-banknotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nightingaledvs.com\/interactive-data-diaries-banknotes\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Data Diaries’: Making Interactive Data Visualizations about World Banknotes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April marked the second anniversary of publishing the interactive data visualization project that changed my career trajectory. To commemorate the occasion (and launch “The Data Diaries” series), I wanted to share the story behind the visual essay “Who’s in Your Wallet?<\/a>” and how it took me from being a podcast producer to working full-time as a data visualization developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From observation to pitch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was <\/strong>July 2021 and I had just heard of The Pudding<\/strong><\/a> \"\", a digital publication that publishes data-driven visual essays on everything from Air Jordans \"\" to the world population \"\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same month I found The Pudding, my home country of Peru announced some unexpected news: The country was changing its banknotes\u2014and would now feature more women than men on its currency.<\/a> Living in the U.S., where no women are represented on legal tender, I was curious how common\u2014or rare\u2014it was for women to be featured on money. I shared my initial curiosity with who would become my co-author, Eric Hausken<\/a>, and we came up with more questions to explore. What does someone need to do to be on a banknote? Is there a common professional background or shared characteristic among them? Does the bill’s value correlate with the person’s historical importance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we found several sources of information about the people on banknotes, there was no up-to-date comprehensive dataset. We began gathering data from dozens of central banks to create a dataset that included 200+ banknotes in circulation (which was later featured in the “Data is Plura<\/a>l” newsletter).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Meanwhile, we looked for articles on worldwide banknote design to see what was out there. We found three articles that served as reference points: one by Vox Media<\/a>, another by National Geographic<\/a>, and a third by money.co.uk<\/a>. None included interactive elements, relying mostly on text and static visuals to tell their stories. This showed us that making an interactive visual essay could be appealing and provide something new for audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could this be a pitch for The Pudding?<\/em> Turns out, their team had also been thinking about banknotes so they were happy to accept our idea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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From pitch to interactive essay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The process lasted around eight months, mostly because this was a side project to our full-time jobs. That was good though. This extended timeline encouraged us to verify the data and make multiple iterations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n