Alan Smith @theboysmithy Twitter profile

Last Seen Profiles

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

Got my hands on a 1994 @ft style guide...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

A couple of additions to the @FT Visual Vocabulary - grab the latest version here

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

If you're into #dataviz , let's just say it might be worth grabbing a copy of today's print edition of the @FinancialTimes ...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

9 years

A structural shift? Yes, moving to printed pages with visualisations composed entirely in #d3 …

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

The last 7 years of British politics in 1 chart #GE2017 - busy day with @digitalcampbell

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

How does Europe get its gas? Mesmerising visual explainer from our visual storytelling team 👏👏👏 @samjoiner @OilSheppard @digitalcampbell @niko_tinius @Dan_Clark5 @carolinenevitt @caletilford @buchanding

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

This is not just any jigsaw. This is the @FinancialTimes Visual Vocabulary jigsaw... #dataviz #jigsaw

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

The final @ft Chart Doctor of 2017 - Design secrets behind some of the FT's charts of the year feat. @jburnmurdoch @officeofjane @digitalcampbell @sdbernard and @LaurenLeatherby

Design secrets behind the FT’s best charts of the year

Maps, lines and pandas made 2017 a groundbreaking year in data visualisation

www.ft.com

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

#frankensankey Migration: the riddle of Europe's shadow populations

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

#deserved

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

4 years

Deconstruct the map to show what's important — really like this from @BobHaslett and @C_BruceLockhart in today's look at China and US from @martinwolf_ #dataviz

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

You can now share charts directly from within @ft articles. And find the pick of our #dataviz content at

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Great debut from @caletilford — I do love an animated population pyramid — The millennial moment in charts

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Visualising distributions, @jburnmurdoch style - the #Grenfell inequality gap

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

Incredibly grateful to @RoyalStatSoc for this recognition of our work — and very proud of the @ftdata team that produced it: @sdbernard @jburnmurdoch @tomhannen @BobHaslett @carolinenevitt @officeofjane @aendra @martinstabe @caletilford @alekswis @manib0g #RSSAwards #ddj

Royal Statistical Society

@RoyalStatSoc

3 years

The winner in the ‘explaining the facts’ category for 2021 is the @ftdata team for their excellent article, ‘Covid-19: The global crisis in data’.

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Presenting the 'Emoji-Isotype-AxisLabel' ...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

This is an incredibly efficient way of breaking all of the rules. All of 'em.

J Halton

@johnhalton

5 years

I won't name-and-shame the organisation responsible, but currently breaking out in a cold sweat and hyperventilating at the sight of this pie chart in a report I'm reading. 😱

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

Today's print edition of the @FinancialTimes is an essential buy if you like that full height, full width broadsheet graphics vibe

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

My latest Chart Doctor column introduces - and the different approaches to visual journalism that led us to this point... #ddj #dataviz

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

"Who should know what about where, why — and who should pay?" @DrBobBarr on the ethics of spatial data in my latest Chart Doctor

Why spatial data is on the UK political map

Numbers are more important than oil — they are a modern form of alchemy

www.ft.com

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Beautiful but depressing map... the Amazon rainforest is vulnerable to Brazil's political crisis. @financialtimes carto king @sdbernard on top form... #dataviz #ddj #gistribe

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

@jburnmurdoch brings you the news you wanted to hear: the vaccines are working

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

(Richard Attenborough voice)... and here we have a very rare sighting in the wild of a ... stacked pie chart #nicar18

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Dataviz training @ft HQ - our first Chart Doctor Live! event is an introduction to visualising data the @ftdata way

FT Chart Doctor Live! An introduction to data visualisation

Being able to communicate effectively with data is an increasingly important business skill, yet one in which few ever receive formal training. This introductory workshop provides the essential...

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

Visual journalism with actionable insight — avoid London's Central line. @lesliehook and @CamillaHodgson 's data collection and reporting paired up with @sdbernard and @ian_bott_artist 's juicy #dataviz

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

4 years

New with @AndyBounds and @bethanstaton - The UK's EU settled status applicant numbers exceed official population estimates

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

ICYMI #dataviz books for stocking-fillers ft. @visualisingdata @_deardata @spatialanalysis @albertocairo @jschwabish

The six best books for data geeks

From data-driven wildlife to a cross-Atlantic friendship, these books delight

www.ft.com

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

"Must be comfortable working with negative axes..."

Adam Dennett

@adam_dennett

7 years

Ooh data vis job @ Brexit dept: as data scientists our graduates will still produce graphs like this @chhcalling

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

4 years

Data journalism FTW

Press Gazette

@pressgazette

4 years

For the third year in a row the @FT is named News Provider of the Year by our judges for its coronavirus data, landmark Wirecard investigation and punching “well beyond its niche with quality journalism which has been quite simply exemplary” across the board #BJA2020

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

2 years

With @jburnmurdoch away, @ollie deputises on debut ("deput") for @ftopinion . The global race for supercomputing power - featuring a lesser spotted log scale

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Today’s @FinancialTimes Graphical Insight is just a big ol’ Marimekko ...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Superb map work by @digitalcampbell in @lesliehook 's look at the fight to own Antarctica

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

In my latest @ft Chart Doctor column, I asked readers to upload their favourite worst #dataviz and they have not disappointed ...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

"The most sinister feature on a chart is often an innocent-looking asterisk..." My latest @ft Chart Doctor

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Adding quotes to charts is fun! - Enjoyed working with @johnauthers on this history of bubbles... #dataviz

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Amid talk of freedom of movement, worth a reminder that lower net migration will accelerate the ageing of the UK's population #dataviz

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Does #dataviz focus too much on technology? And how do you make a pie chart on a typewriter? Latest @ft Chart Doctor

Data visualisation: it is not all about technology

The latest tools can be seductive, but sometimes it pays to think outside the box

www.ft.com

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

The @FinancialTimes loves pink. But it's important to know when not to use it. #gendercolourgap #dataviz My latest Chart Doctor column...

How to navigate data’s pink and blue problem

Gender associations are not universal, as data visualisation experts know

www.ft.com

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

New @financialtimes Big Read from @TimHarford - A year in charts, featuring the extraordinary chess career of DeepMind's AlphaZero... #dataviz

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Featuring "The mother of all Marimekkos"

Steven Bernard

@sdbernard

6 years

Just how bad is pollution in India? Find out in this graphics-led piece with @FinancialTimes @AmyKazmin This has been a labour of love over the past two months! #ddj #dataviz #pollution #CleanAir

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

🚨Multiple job vacancies klaxon🚨 As part of our new Visual Storytelling team, we're looking for reporters and graphics journalists to join the @ftdata family. (1/4)

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

The Dow Jones: a flawed measure but with a rich history, making it an ideal candidate for a very tall chart

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

4 years

Well, the @ftdata team deep dive into Covid-19 has been up for over 24 hours — and no-one has so far complained that it starts "Data has..."

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

The working name for this chart with @ChrisGiles_ was the "Brexit wiggle"

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Arriving in the newsroom to find the overnight @ftdata elves have done an amazing job

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

These 'little' visualisation design posts by @visualisingdata are actually a very big #dataviz resource. Highly recommended

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

My latest @ft #chartdoctor on PowerPoint includes the entire article in slide deck form...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

1 year

I could't resist visualising a decade of UFO sightings for this great piece by @henrymance ...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Did you know there's #dataviz on the backpage of the @ft every Monday?This week, robots too courtesy of

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

Here is that chord diagram: fun collaboration with @digitalcampbell - annotation includes guidance on how to read it

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Great Chart Doctor by @RobinKwong - the completely non-controversial-sounding "How to make 3D charts great again"

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Welcome to @manib0g who joins the tall timeline chart club with a sentimental history of theFed

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

Looking for some light relief from a heavy week of Brexit shenanigans? I can offer you the yield curve played on a marimba. My latest @FinancialTimes Chart Doctor makeover, in conjunction with the amazing @tomhannen #dataviz #sonification

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

First, second and third place finishes are revealing, including the role of the Brexit party in bringing down the red wall - and how the Lib Dems' push in the south came up short... great insight from @digitalcampbell and @BobHaslett

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

I love this anecdote from Jeff Lynne in latest issue of @ElectronicMagUK

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

2 years

Compare rising prices internationally with the @FinancialTimes global inflation tracker

Jim Pickard 🐋

@PickardJE

2 years

bear this in mind when people try to blame specific individuals eg Andrew Bailey or Rishi Sunak

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

ICYMI What made @HansRosling @Gapminder charts so effective? My latest Chart Doctor piece pays tribute

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

The @ftdata cupboard clearout has thrown up a truly vintage drinks coaster for my desk....

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

And to think the former Mayor of London has been a driving force behind Leave...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

2 years

@AlbertoCairo What I like is the consideration to change orientation according to display size - this is the mobile view

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

Great to see annotated charts take prime spot on the front page of @FinancialTimes Companies and Markets section

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

A map of Atlantis 'in its prime' - My latest Chart Doctor column includes a discussion with Mark Monmonier about 'How to Lie With Maps' - followed up by @sdbernard talking about the evolution of cartography in the FT newsroom

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

4 years

A huge team effort from @ftdata - take a bow @alekswis @caletilford @carolinenevitt @martinstabe @officeofjane @tomhannen @BobHaslett @sdbernard @jburnmurdoch @aendrew @manib0g 👏👏👏

John Burn-Murdoch

@jburnmurdoch

4 years

NEW: today we've published the culmination of a weeks-long @ftdata team effort, summarising everything data has shown us about the virus over the year so far, from Wuhan to the autumn resurgence Free to read, with a wealth of #dataviz on the key trends.

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Well this is a first, even for @SW_Help - train delayed at Woking while we await another train crew, because the existing crew "don't know the way to London"

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

4 years

In the latest instalment of the Maptastic video series with @tomhannen , I spoke with @kennethfield about cartography in the age of coronavirus #dataviz

Coronavirus coxcombs to waffles

What Florence Nightingale can teach us about the best ways to map the spread of disease. The FT's Alan Smith speaks to cartographer Kenneth Field about mapping in the era of Covid-19

www.ft.com

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

Great methodological transparency in this analysis by @jburnmurdoch @mroliverbarnes @JamieSmythF on how nearly half of US winter covid hospitalisations could have been averted - R code is on GitHub

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

"I know a place called Scatterplot City, where the data's dense and the charts are pretty" @BillyEhrenberg @alekswis

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Had fun with @caletilford and @carolinenevitt on this interactive Chart Doctor piece about why it's important to understand how people read charts - feat. @eagereyes and a shout out for the excellent @vis_research #dataviz

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

If you enjoyed my musical yield curve, join me for my first Reddit AMA on Thursday from 4pm GMT/12pm ET where I'm happy to talk #datasonification and #dataviz

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

At the @ft , such a pleasure to work with talented people like @ian_bott_artist - love Ian's visual explainers for the #FTappeal with @ARUKnews

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

When worlds collide - @martinwolf_ drops in on @albertocairo ’s talk at the @FinancialTimes

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 months

Sometimes you make a chart that surprises yourself. From @pmdfoster 's look at the UK's infrastructure gap (link is free to open)

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

10 years

Using #d3js to create a flexible interactive pictogram grid http://t.co/Uksqx2zyDk http://t.co/NMuwIAcRHP

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

1 year

Love the use of animated illustration by Cecilia Reeve to open this great piece on peak coffee from Lucy Rodgers, @carolinenevitt Justine Williams @Dan_Clark5 and Nian Liu

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

I spent too much of my youth attempting to recreate Manuel Negrete's amazing #worldcup goal at Mexico86 ...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

The @ft newsroom Visual Vocabulary I showed at #RSS2016Conf is on GitHub

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

Now *this* is a Sankey...

Christine Zhang

@christinezhang

3 years

This year NYC started using ranked-choice voting in local elections. The system is not the easiest to picture; here's my attempt using a recent poll of the mayoral primary. See @rcvisdotcom for more #dataviz @JoshuaChaffin story

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

4 years

Late birthday present from @StanfordsTravel @OrdnanceSurvey completes a new #mapsathome duo

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

New - Japanese language of @ft Visual Vocabulary now available thanks to our friends @nikkei #dataviz #ddj

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Mesmerising - @ian_bott_artist channels his inner Muybridge to explain why Winx is the best in the world...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Turns out @sdbernard is so ridiculously talented that 'just' doing the 3d animated Blender maps and d3 charts doesn't do it for him anymore, so he got his Apple Pencil out and drew the artwork as well for this stunning piece on China's polluted skies...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

The full code behind the yield curve 🎼 sonification I demonstrated at #StrataData is here and the write up here

GitHub - Financial-Times/yield-curve-sonification: An experiment to sonify the yield curve

An experiment to sonify the yield curve. Contribute to Financial-Times/yield-curve-sonification development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

@rawgraphs now supports 'beeswarm plots' - focus on individual data points can be really powerful compared to boxplots: passenger manifest of titanic by survival/age/class of ticket

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

2 years

#dataviz resource tip - if you've not signed up to the FT's new weekly newsletter "The Climate Graphic: Explained", you're missing out. Regularly explainers and insights from @sdbernard @digitalcampbell and ,occasionally, me.

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

Love #dataviz ? An interest in highlighting societal inequality? Not horrified at the prospect of receiving £1,000? Then you're in luck thanks to @will_s_t and the good people at @NuffieldTrust @bmj_latest @NHSDigital

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

I am v proud to be a part of the @ftdata team and it's very nice to see words like 'magisterial' associated with our work 😊

The Wincott Foundation

@Wincottfound

3 years

Also highly commended in the new Data Journalism prize category was the @ftdata team for its magisterial analysis of the pandemic and its progress around the globe

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

The current state of my @apple life. The adrenaline rush that comes with the risk of forgetting an adaptor is quite something...

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

The @ft visual wall taking shape, complete with updated Visual Vocabulary

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

"Gold standard"

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

8 years

In the latest #chartdoctor instalment, @martinstabe writes about the @ft 's evolving approach to interactive graphics

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

9 years

#dataviz legend @JockMackinlay ,ZenMaster @robradburn ,Christian Chabot: my take on Tableau

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

Well done @ONS - third prize in the #NTTS2019 Big Data hackathon.

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

Well, people really are asking me anything

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

7 years

The smoothest Brexit plan? Responsive Venn loveliness from @ian_bott_artist #brexit

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

9 years

Visualising changing patterns of world exports for new @sdonnan #bigread on global trade

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

48 hours left to apply to lead a new visual-first reporting team at the @FinancialTimes

Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

4 years

What to do with another lockdown Sunday? Why not apply to lead our new visual-first reporting team at the @FinancialTimes Closing date is Mar 11 (this is your last weekend folks!)

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

6 years

Nice feedback from a reader about why we do what we do

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

@scott_abbie @HBCompass @FT Indeed we do - in English, Japanese and Chinese at

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

5 years

Fun fact: ex-basketballer @undertheraedar is nearly one foot taller than me. @tomhannen dealt with this and other filming challenges in our look at the new Atlas of Inequality

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Alan Smith

@theboysmithy

3 years

Bookcase sort out leads to trip down amnesia avenue…

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