Red Pen Reflections

It’s been roughly one year since I took over as Managing Editor of Nightingale, the Journal of the Data Visualization Society. In that time, I’ve worked with more than 60 contributors to produce nearly 100 digital articles.

Two things you should know about where I was one year prior to the time of writing this, when I first took the role over from the extremely talented Emily Barone:

  1. I had never worked as an editor before
  2. I had only entered the field of data visualization two years prior


How I came into the role


My professional background is largely in communications—both written and visual. I have been paid for my writing in some capacity since 2016, and the rest of the time has been spent designing brand assets—logos and websites—and developing public relations and marketing campaigns. The whole time, I was the one being edited; I had not once picked up the metaphorical red pen for anyone other than myself.

It always causes a chuckle when I say this to colleagues, but I discovered the world of data visualization on TikTok during the COVID lockdowns. Given the extra time I had, being between projects and full-time work, I threw myself into the community; my real introduction to which was through Nightingale.

After reading the thoughts of many great data visualization minds, I decided to take a shot at writing a piece for submission in early 2022. I wrote Designing for Neurodivergent Audiences, with Mary Aviles as the then-Nightingale Managing Editor. The whole experience was such a positive one, I found myself writing more and more, being invited as a columnist in early 2023. During this time, not only did I work with Emily Barone on articles related to lost stories of data viz, but I began learning the inner workings of Nightingale, including its print publication. 

By the end of 2023, Emily informed me she would be stepping down as Managing Editor and recommended I try to fill the very large shoes she was leaving behind; my words, not hers. I humbly accepted, having just finished my masters program in data analysis and visualization, and being left with both a lot of extra time and a desire to stay closely connected with those in data viz.


Looking back at year one


There’s a lot to look back on. First, the challenges I faced being a first time editor:

  1. I struggled (and still do, though not as much) with balancing between over-editing, making pieces feel a bit more like myself than the author, and under-editing, making pieces feel a little too different from one another, sacrificing a unified Nightingale voice
  2. Keeping in mind the varying level of data viz and writing experience a contributor has, needing to be ready to either assist or hone-in a piece based on such
  3. While the editorial team is exactly that—a team—there was a great deal of expectation to roll with individual ideas and set both standards and identity

Secondly, here are a few key takeaways from year one:

  1. I had the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from some of the names and thought leaders in data viz; ones I only learned about in textbooks, now casually chatting with about slow cooker recipes and pie charts over Zoom
  2. There are a lot of branches of data viz—design & technical, academic & practitioners—all of them finding a place to publish in Nightingale; collaborating on vastly different topics of interest week-to-week
  3. Working in such a key role for a publication which reaches 26,000 monthly readers holds a lot of influence, which can both be scary and rewarding when helping to develop articles—a few going on to receive views in the hundreds of thousands and enabling genuine conversation about the future of the field

Lastly, I wanted to share some of the articles I am extremely proud of seeing come together this first year (in no particular order):

  1. Good Morning Data #1 | The Mystery Job by Julie Brunet aka datacitron
  2. Data Design in Focus: Students Review Diverse Installations at Venice Biennale 2023 by David Skopec
  3. Visualizing Music Through Data: Are The Most Popular Ghost Songs Statistically More Metal? by Mackenzie Mercer
  4. Facing Shyness with Data Art by Victor Muñoz
  5. Visualizing Meth Addiction: Data Reveals The Truth About Methamphetamine Addiction in The US by Poe Bertholon

—
As I mentioned, this was not my first year with Nightingale, just in this role. I can’t say the same for Teo Popescu and Alejandra Arevalo. Both took on new roles in their first years with the publication, as Content Editor and Interactives Editor respectively. In Teo’s case, she took over our print publication during a particularly daunting and painfully difficult print cycle riddled with logistical nightmares. Alejandra carved out this new role for herself, launching a series of interactive articles for our digital publication, highlighted best, I believe, by this piece in collaboration with the University of Washington.

Of course, I can’t also publicly thank Jason Forrest, Nightingale’s Editor-in-Chief, whom of which served as an invaluable mentor to me in year one, and Julie Brunet, Nightingale’s Creative Director, a genuine collaborative partner and inspiration. 


Where we go from here


Nightingale is changing, and 2025 will be a pivotal year in the publication’s five-year history. Change can be scary, but there is an excellent team behind it all and every decision made will provide more value and opportunity to our fiercely loyal and supportive community. I don’t want to share too much too early, but know: exciting things are happening.
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