Principles from Edward Tufte. Remove chart junk. Erase redundant and non-data-ink. Above all else show the data.

Of course the present infographic trend laughs in the face of these principles in the interests of trying to encourage people to actually look at the data in the first place. But, assuming you actually want people to seriously infer some meaning from the data, these are not bad principles to follow when constructing your data graphics. Some basic Excel templates could do with a clean up for example.

Maximise data-ink

Tricky topics - validity trickier than reliability. At it’s core I believe reliability is about getting the same results given the same conditions and validity is about measuring what you intend to measure. Harder than it sounds.

Understanding reliability and validity

When you're next at a conference try starting 3 mindmaps: one for Questions, one for People and one for Ideas.

I have found this technique helps me with both getting the most out of the event at the event, and getting the most out of the event after the event.

Starting a to-do list on the side doesn’t hurt either.

Get my new weekly sketch in your inbox

Start three mindmaps at conferences and workshops