Mini-project tips + resources

Examples / inspiration

Before you start, watch a few examples to get a sense of what live-coding a visualization looks like:

  • David Robinson’s TidyTuesday Screencasts: David has an extensive collection of live-coding videos where he explores TidyTuesday datasets. These are longer than what you’ll produce, but they’re excellent for seeing how an experienced data scientist approaches a new dataset. YouTube Playlist

  • Julia Silge’s TidyTuesday in Positron: Julia walks through analyzing the Orcas dataset using Positron – the same IDE you’ll be using. Blog post with embedded video

  • Nicola Rennie’s TidyTuesday Visualization Process: While not live-coding videos, Nicola’s videos show the development process behind her TidyTuesday visualizations, offering great insight into design decisions and iteration. YouTube Playlist

Tips

  • Practice your workflow before recording. Make sure you know how to load the data and have a rough plan for your visualization.

  • Don’t aim for perfection in your video. Authenticity and showing your problem-solving process is more valuable than a flawless performance.

  • Think about what makes a visualization effective: Does it answer a clear question? Is it easy to interpret? Does it avoid misleading representations?

  • Review some TidyTuesday submissions on social media for inspiration, but make sure your work is your own.

  • Have fun with it! This is an opportunity to be creative and share your data visualization journey.