Hi, I'm Sam. I tell visual stories.

It's so nice to meet you.

Here is my derp of a dog, Izzy, playing in the snow in Squamish, BC
My brother, my dad, and I attending a Blue Jays game during the pandemic in Buffalo as cardboard cutouts
My dog Izzy and I at her graduation from puppy school
My dog, Izzy, dressed up for Christmas
Here I am enjoying a rope swing on the beach at Cape Scott on Northern Vancouver Island
I’m currently the design manager at The DataFace, working remotely at the (very cliché) intersection of data science, journalism, design, and web development.
In short, I am a designer who can code. Or maybe a coder who can design. I am based in 🌧️ Vancouver, BC.

I have a bachelor's degree from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and a Master's of Science in Data Visualization from Parsons in NYC.

I’m also an 🍻 eight-time local pub trivia champion, along with my twin brother; the 🏒 current scoring leader in one of the lowest-division adult hockey leagues in the city; an 🚇 early pioneer of the Circle Line Pub Crawl; and a 🥍 starting defenseman for the Scotland National Men’s Lacrosse team.

You can see some of my work below and if you want to get in touch, you can email me at sam.vickars@gmail.com — I’m almost always down for a chat. If you add me on Twitter, @samvickars, I’ll probably follow you back.

TAAF's AAPI Database
TAAF
September 2023
TAAF
Design + Direction
Kim Granlund + Aria Todd + Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click + Arjun Kakkar
Launch
Replacing the Refs
States United
November 2023
States United Action
Design + Direction
Aria Todd + Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click + Arjun Kakkar
Launch
40 Years in Tech
Accel
June 2023
Accel
Design + Illustration + Direction
Aria Todd + Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click
Launch
Yelp Top 100
Yelp
January 2023
Yelp
Design + Direction
Aria Todd + Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click
Launch
Did Anyone Actually ‘Cart’ That #FoodTok Recipe?
Instacart
December 2022
Instacart
Design + Copywriting
Aria Todd + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click + Jack Beckwith
Launch
#2021Delivered
Instacart
December 2021
Instacart x The DataFace
Design + Development + Copywriting
Webby Awards, Finalist, Best Branded Editorial Experience 2022
Indigo Design Awards, Silver, Website Design
Indigo Design Awards, Bronze, Digital Ads + Campaigns
Some of my work on Instacart’s 2021 delivered experience.

We worked with Instacart's PR, comms, marketing, and data science team to create this Spotify-wrapped-esque experience for Instacart's customers, personalized to their locations.

I designed the entire experience, with help from Michael Hester, Aria Todd, and the Instacart marketing team, and worked with Michael Hester to develop the project in the weeks leading up to December, 2021.

Some of my work on Instacart’s 2021 delivered experience.
Some of my work on Instacart’s 2021 delivered experience.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd
Launch
#RaiseTheThreshold
CampaignZero
September 2022
CampaignZero x The DataFace
Design + Development + Copywriting
Shorty Impact Awards, Finalist, Activism Campaign

Felony theft thresholds are the dollar amount that determines when a theft becomes a felony – and instantly raises the minimum sentencing guidelines.

Mass incarceration is one of the largest problems facing Americans today. These low thresholds are an overlooked–but–crucial driver of mass incarceration and they have remained too low for far too long. And for the minorities who are a disproportionate population of incarcerated Americans, raising felony theft thresholds is a matter of racial justice.

A collage of my work for CampaignZero's #RaiseTheThreshold campaign.

The Problem

  • Felony thresholds are too low and come with harsh penalties that often far outweigh the cost of the theft.
  • Thresholds are outdated and not adjusted for inflation, while also not true to the costs of modern goods.
  • There are special-interest exceptions to thresholds, which means the penalty is even more severe for certain items that are valued at less than the threshold amount.

Our Demands

The goal of this campaign is to:

  • Raise the threshold in every state;
  • Remove special exemptions; and
  • Tie threshold amounts to inflation.

Americans should not be sentenced unfairly for low-level, non-violent theft.

A collage of my work for CampaignZero's #RaiseTheThreshold campaign.

No one else had collected all of the felony theft threshold laws before.

We began this project by gathering that data and analyzing the threshold amounts and years since the laws had been updated. We found out most haven’t changed their laws in the last five years, while many states hadn’t updated them in generations.

Our “hook” was to open the site with a quiz that introduces the felony theft threshold concept in users’ own states. We ask them to select what objects could land them with a felony theft charge (sometimes as little as a cell phone), and then show them when their state last updated its laws – and how outdated those numbers are today.

Once the visitor is through the quiz and has a grasp of the issue, we dive into the problems with felony thresholds and Campaign Zero’s proposed solutions. We present the current thresholds as an interactive map of the United States where visitors can explore how their state and legislators compare nationally.

Visitors are then prompted to take action by connecting with others who are pushing to #RaiseTheThreshold and  to contact their state legislators to demand these thresholds are updated.

A collage of my work for CampaignZero's #RaiseTheThreshold campaign.

Our message is simple: across the country, felony theft thresholds are too low and are not based on protecting the public. They prioritize material possessions over years of human lives.

This campaign is the first time all of these laws have been mapped. By raising awareness and collecting the data in an impactful way we’ve provided a clear and up-to-date resource for legislators, activists, and community members to utilize to demand reform.

Our Impact To-Date

  • California stopped a proposal to lower their threshold amount and cited our work.
  • Washington, DC is considering the highest threshold change in US history.
  • First campaign to collect all of the felony thresholds across the United States including all of the exceptions. No one had ever gathered all of the carveouts before.

The above description was written with the help of William Donahoe and Aria Todd.

I worked with Michael Hester to design and develop this experience, using very in-depth data collected by CampaignZero's team. William Donahoe helped with development.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd + William Donahoe + DeRay Mckesson + Katie Ryan
Launch
Mapping Police Violence
Campaign Zero
January 2022
Campaign Zero x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s Mapping Police Violence dashboard.

Given all incidents of police violence in the United States, Black people are almost 3 times more likely to be killed by police. What’s even more messed up than that stat is the fact that law enforcement agencies across the country fail to provide even basic information about the lives they take. So Campaign Zero is collecting the data themselves.

I spent the first few weeks of 2022 designing this dashboard for CZ’s Mapping Police Violence database, one of the richest and most in-depth of its kind. I then worked with their team (Deray Mckesson, Katie Ryan, William Donahoe, Justin Kemerling, and Abdul Nasser Rad) to refine every last piece so Michael Hester, Sawyer Click, and I could build the site from the ground up.

Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s Mapping Police Violence dashboard.

The basic design of the dashboard is modular, made up of cards with location, time period, and victim filters and data viz elements. The plan is to continue to evolve the experience as the dataset grows, with fact check modules, more controls, and more in-depth analyses.

Michael Hester + Sawyer Click + Jack Beckwith + DeRay Mckesson + Katie Ryan + William Donahoe + Justin Kemerling + Abdul Nasser Rad
Launch project
STAATUS Index 2022
LAAUNCH
May 2022
LAAUNCH x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.

We worked closely with LAAUNCH, a non profit fighting racism and increasing Asian American representaion, to bring life to their STAATUS Index for the second year in a row.

LAAUNCH surveyed thousands of Americans, asking questions like “how do people perceive the treatment of their own racial/ethnic group” and “When you think of prominent Asian Americans, what specific names come to mind, if any?” The results were eye-opening, and visualized here digitally and in a PDF.

For this year's edition, we modernized and simplified the PDF design, and essentially started the digital site from scratch, building a more efficient and streamlined data viz experience in Webflow.

Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd + Sawyer Click + Tiziana Alocci
Launch
figma2Html
Figma Plugin
April 2023
Design + Devlopment
figma2html in action

Export Figma frames to responsive HTML and CSS. A Figma version of ai2html, with additional features. Created by The DataFace.

Learn more about this plugin on GitHub.

Sawyer Click + Michael Hester
Install plugin
Why We Run
Strava
January 2020
Strava x The DataFace x Polygraph
Design + Development
Some of my work on Strava’s Why We Run.

Strava is a social network for fitness, home to millions of runners, cyclists, and performance athletes. With access to such a large group of avid runners who use the app to track their progress and connect with others, Strava found themselves with a ton of data and original research on the factors that motivate people to start and then keep running.

Strava hired us, along with Imprint Projects and Polygraph to build an experience that visualizes their findings. We combined their qualitative research with quantitative poll results to create a compelling, interactive narrative, with downloadable content and interactive elements, available in six languages.

Some of my work on Strava’s Why We Run.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
The Irregular Outfields of Baseball
Original
April 2019
DataFace Original
Design + Development + Copywriting + Illustration
Bronze, Information is Beautiful Awards 2019
An animated gif highlighting elements of my project on the irregular outfields of baseball.

Baseball is a sport rooted in rules and regulations. Everything in the game is standardized, planned, and coordinated, based on a guideline or precedent. Everything, that is, but the park itself: outfield sizes and wall heights vary across the entire league. There are 30 MLB stadiums. No two of them are alike.

The inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies of pro baseball fields have fascinated me for years. In this piece, the first in a series on the irregular outfields of baseball and my first original for the DataFace, I look at the seven different types of MLB parks, what makes them distinct, and where the varying sizes in their outfields come from.

A collection of illustrations I did for my project on the irregular outfields of baseball, based on a few major league baseball stadiums.
Launch
Globalography: Our Interconnected World Revealed in 50 Maps
Print Original
November 2017
Quarto Publishing
Part of my book on our interconnected book.

"Explore how cities are expanding beyond the reach of their nations, uncover the ways bananas, cobalt, and water bottles link the most unlikely of places, and discover how modern phenomena such as messenger apps and sharing platforms are changing not just our interactions, but how we interconnect."

"Globalography uncovers the myriad ways we can now connect with one another and in doing so, showcases the radical way globalization is transforming our world."

I worked with Quarto editors to create 50+ maps for this book (and the cover) on our interconnected world, which features essays by author Chris Fitch.

Part of my book on our interconnected book.
Part of my book on our interconnected book.
Buy
The Winningest Cities in North American Sports
The Pudding
November 2018
The Pudding
Design + Development + Copywriting
Longlist, Information is Beautiful Awards 2019

After the Golden State Warriors won their third NBA championship in four years in 2018, I started thinking...Of all the cities to field a professional or college level team in the last 150 years, which is the winningest?

I dug through a century of data to determine the titletown of all the North American titletowns, looking at 458 pro sports teams from MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, and CFL, as well as 1,917 NCAA div one college teams. All told, these teams have represented 199 different cities, and competed for 996 titles since 1870.

This visual essay explores all the data through three lenses to determine the winningest city in North America, while allowing you to set your own parameters throughout.

An animated gif of the first chart in my project on North America’s winningest cities.
The second chart in my project on North America’s winningest cities.
Read the article
Visualizing Canada's Indian Residential Schools
Thesis
May 2017
MSDV Thesis
Dsign + Development + Copywriting
Parsons Keynote Selection
AIGA New York Fresh Grad Selection
The title page for my Master’s thesis project on Canada’s Indian Residential Schools.

Canada's Indian Residential School System was a network of boarding schools, industrial schools, and federal hostels created to remove indigenous children from their homes, their families, and their cultures. While many schools originated long before Confederation in 1867, the system was primarily active following the approval of the Indian Act in 1876 — a group of laws aiming to do away with the Indian tribal system and forcibly enfranchise First Nations peoples — until the the last federally-operated school closed in 1996.

Only in recent years has information about the schools, often run by various religious sects, and their students welfare become public knowledge: physical and sexual abuse was rampant; malnourishment and poor living conditions were not uncommon; and assimilation, deprivation of cultural traditions, and punishment was the standard. It is estimated that 6000 children died while in attendance at an Indian Residential School.

We weren't taught this in school.

This project, my thesis piece at Parsons School of Design, aims to investigate the IRS system visually, beginning with the stories of survivors and transitioning into the narrative of each school.

A map showing all IRS locations I created for my Master’s thesis project on Canada’s Indian Residential Schools.
Launch
A Chair for Dr Seuss
Built Original
November 2013
ARCH 365: Structural Design
Come Up To My Room 2013, Judge's Choice
End of Year Show Selection

For one of my final projects in my third year structural design course at architecture school, I was tasked with designing and building a chair for a famous person or character, while also proving its structural stability. I chose Dr Seuss.

Inspired by All the Places You'll Go, this simple stool breaks down into 6 pieces, ready to pack up and go. It also serves as a reminder that life is quite the balancing act. And the whole thing is written in rhyme.

Read
The World of James Bond
Print Original
November 2015
Semifinalist, Adobe Awards 2016
Longlist, Information is Beautiful Awards 2016

Shaken. Not stirred.

Ever wonder which James Bond made the most money? How about which actor flirted with Moneypenny the most? Or who killed the most henchmen? I have. So I did what anybody would do: I sat down with a martini and watched every 007 film (including the unofficial Never Say Never Again), and I got to know every actor, every recurring character, every gadget, every car, and every killer pun. Then I made this.

This map is the result of my undying need to know everything James Bond - from the number of ladies he kisses in each film, to the cities he visits, to the cars he drives. This map shows it all and the connections between each.

Launch
Our little chihuahua named Fig, lying on his plush bed inside of a little dog house built into a cubby hole. The house is made of plywood, with a pointed roof and grey siding, on a tile and hardwood floor. There’s a plant next to the house. Our big dog, a red haired mutt, sits next to the plant. Fig looks unimpressed.
Me fist bumping two of my teammates after our 7th place finish against Sweden at the European Box Lacrosse Championships in Germany.
My Team Scotland lacrosse jerseys hanging on my "ego wall".
My brother and I in our kilts after playing at the European Box Lacrosse Championships for Team Scotland in Germany.
A team photo of our co-ed, beer league softball team
My brother in his grad gown surrounded by three of our friends and me, all wearing Georgetown Dad t-shirts at his graduation ceremony.
A photo of my brother, his girlfriend, my girlfriend (the losers) and me (the winner) on a podium after playing mini golf in London.
Me looking longingly at a roast on a stick at a Brazilian steakhouse in Toronto.
Our smaller dog, Fig, sitting on my partner's lap at the Tofino brewery.
A wooden Guess Who game I made for my 3-year-old nephew, where the characters are all family members.
A wooden Guess Who game I made for my 3-year-old nephew, where the characters are all family members.
A wooden Guess Who game I made for my 3-year-old nephew, where the characters are all family members.
A wooden Guess Who game I made for my 3-year-old nephew, where the characters are all family members.
An advent calendar I made for my brother in law, ready to be filled with beers.
An advent calendar I made for my brother in law, ready to be filled with beers.
An advent calendar I made for my brother in law, ready to be filled with beers, with a secret back!
Colour Box Bar: a stationary bar I built for my new house.
Colour Box Bar: a stationary bar I built for my new house.
Izzy’s Big Day: My sweet girl at her graduation from (not a) puppy school.
West Coast Headboard: a live-edge bed I built and installed.
San Josef Bay: a trip I took in summer 2020 to Cape Scott, where I camped on the beach at San Josef Bay.
Meet Izzy, a 2, 3, or 4 year-old mutt I found wandering around the SPCA in Vancouver.
My brother and I celebrating my win at the Information is Beautiful Awards in 2019 in London.
My nephew and I dressed as a couple of grouches for Halloween: Oscar and Arnold.
World Box Lacrosse Championships 2019, Scottish National Team, #42
My first published book, Globalography.
Winner
2024
Webby Awards
Replacing the Refs
Websites and Mobile Sites, News & Politics
Winner
2024
Webby Awards
AAPI Nonprofit Database
Websites and Mobile Sites, Charitable Organizations/Non-Profit
Gold
2023
Anthem Awards
#RaiseTheThreshold
Non-Profit Campaign
Silver
2023
Anthem Awards
End All No-Knocks
Non-Profit Campaign
Audience Honours
2022
Shorty Impact Awards
#RaiseTheThreshold
Activism Campaign
Finalist
2022
Webby Awards
#2021Delivered
Advertising, Media & PR, Best Multimedia Storytelling
Shortlist
2022
Information is Beautiful Awards
Health Care Spending in North Carolina
Science, Technology, & Health
Silver
2021
Indigo Design Awards
#2021Delivered
Website Design
Bronze
2021
Indigo Design Awards
#2021Delivered
Digital Ads + Campaigns
Gold
2021
Indigo Design Awards
STAATUS Index 2021
Infographics
Gold
2021
Indigo Design Awards
STAATUS Index 2021
Integrated Graphic Design
Winner
2021
PRWeek US
Yelp Economic Average
Data Insight
Finalist
2020
NIHCM Digital Media Awards
Healthy Marketplace Index
Shortlist
2019
Information is Beautiful Awards
Healthy Marketplace Index
Bronze
2019
Information is Beautiful Awards
The Irregular Outfields of Baseball
Finalist
2016
Adobe Awards
The World of James Bond
Selection
2013
End of Year Show
A Chair for Dr Seuss
Judge's Selection
2013
Come Up To My Room
A Chair for Dr Seuss
Replacing the Refs
States United
November 2023
States United Action
Design + Direction
Aria Todd + Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click + Arjun Kakkar
Launch
TAAF's AAPI Database
TAAF
September 2023
TAAF
Design + Direction
Kim Granlund + Aria Todd + Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click + Arjun Kakkar
Launch
40 Years in Tech
Accel
June 2023
Accel
Design + Illustration + Direction
Aria Todd + Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click
Launch
Yelp Top 100
Yelp
January 2023
Yelp
Design + Direction
Aria Todd + Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click
Launch
Did Anyone Actually ‘Cart’ That #FoodTok Recipe?
Instacart
December 2022
Instacart
Design + Copywriting
Aria Todd + Michael Hester + Sawyer Click + Jack Beckwith
Launch
The Yelp Economic Average
Yelp
October 2022
Yelp x The DataFace
Design + Development
PRWeek US 2021 Winner: Data Insight
Featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg and Axios, and on CNN, CNBC, and CBS This Morning
Some of my work on Yelp’s Economic Average.

The Yelp Economic Average tracks the performance of local economies across the United States using Yelp data. The DataFace has been working with Yelp’s communications team to produce data-driven stories since 2018, including quarterly YEA reports.

Since I joined the team, w’ve been responsible for two annual reports, six special reports, and countless quarterly reports. We also designed and built yelpeconomicaverage.com, the new home for YEA. Each report combines interactive and static data viz and graphics, with copy written by the Yelp team.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Yelp Comms Team + Yelp Data Science Team
Explore
Wicked Insights via Instacart
Instacart
October 2022
Instacart x The DataFace
Design + Development
A map showing top candy in each state and a top ten list of Halloween favourites.
Aria Todd + Molly Cook
Read the article
MoreThanFair
September 2022
MoreThanFair x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of the work I did on the MoreThanFair microsite.

America needs more inclusive credit. Access to affordable credit is essential to the quality of life for American families. For more than 30 years, credit scores have determined who has access to credit and at what price. Credit scores were innovative and useful in 1989, but they’re frozen in time. Limitations of credit scores mean millions don’t have access to affordable credit — and millions more pay too much to borrow.

When the MoreThanFair coalition approached us in mid 2022 with the five phrases above (and 7 more), we were intrigued. Their goal was to get their message out to the masses in as digestible, relatable, and visual a way as they could. And that's where we came in.

Aria Todd, Jack Beckwith, and I worked with a combination of their data and our own sources to design twelve visualizations that explained how and why America needs more inclusive credit, and how AI can be used in the right ways to make that happen, which combined into a fully interactive experience.

From there, Michael Hester and Sawyer Click built the microsite from scratch, using Svelte and SvelteKit, with D3, Layercake, Tailwind, and Ai2html to create the live experience.

Some of the work I did on the MoreThanFair microsite.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd + Sawyer Click
Launch
#RaiseTheThreshold
CampaignZero
September 2022
CampaignZero x The DataFace
Design + Development + Copywriting
Shorty Impact Awards, Finalist, Activism Campaign

Felony theft thresholds are the dollar amount that determines when a theft becomes a felony – and instantly raises the minimum sentencing guidelines.

Mass incarceration is one of the largest problems facing Americans today. These low thresholds are an overlooked–but–crucial driver of mass incarceration and they have remained too low for far too long. And for the minorities who are a disproportionate population of incarcerated Americans, raising felony theft thresholds is a matter of racial justice.

A collage of my work for CampaignZero's #RaiseTheThreshold campaign.

The Problem

  • Felony thresholds are too low and come with harsh penalties that often far outweigh the cost of the theft.
  • Thresholds are outdated and not adjusted for inflation, while also not true to the costs of modern goods.
  • There are special-interest exceptions to thresholds, which means the penalty is even more severe for certain items that are valued at less than the threshold amount.

Our Demands

The goal of this campaign is to:

  • Raise the threshold in every state;
  • Remove special exemptions; and
  • Tie threshold amounts to inflation.

Americans should not be sentenced unfairly for low-level, non-violent theft.

A collage of my work for CampaignZero's #RaiseTheThreshold campaign.

No one else had collected all of the felony theft threshold laws before.

We began this project by gathering that data and analyzing the threshold amounts and years since the laws had been updated. We found out most haven’t changed their laws in the last five years, while many states hadn’t updated them in generations.

Our “hook” was to open the site with a quiz that introduces the felony theft threshold concept in users’ own states. We ask them to select what objects could land them with a felony theft charge (sometimes as little as a cell phone), and then show them when their state last updated its laws – and how outdated those numbers are today.

Once the visitor is through the quiz and has a grasp of the issue, we dive into the problems with felony thresholds and Campaign Zero’s proposed solutions. We present the current thresholds as an interactive map of the United States where visitors can explore how their state and legislators compare nationally.

Visitors are then prompted to take action by connecting with others who are pushing to #RaiseTheThreshold and  to contact their state legislators to demand these thresholds are updated.

A collage of my work for CampaignZero's #RaiseTheThreshold campaign.

Our message is simple: across the country, felony theft thresholds are too low and are not based on protecting the public. They prioritize material possessions over years of human lives.

This campaign is the first time all of these laws have been mapped. By raising awareness and collecting the data in an impactful way we’ve provided a clear and up-to-date resource for legislators, activists, and community members to utilize to demand reform.

Our Impact To-Date

  • California stopped a proposal to lower their threshold amount and cited our work.
  • Washington, DC is considering the highest threshold change in US history.
  • First campaign to collect all of the felony thresholds across the United States including all of the exceptions. No one had ever gathered all of the carveouts before.

The above description was written with the help of William Donahoe and Aria Todd.

I worked with Michael Hester to design and develop this experience, using very in-depth data collected by CampaignZero's team. William Donahoe helped with development.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd + William Donahoe + DeRay Mckesson + Katie Ryan
Launch
BBQ SZN
Instacart
June 2022
Instacart x The DataFace
Design
A top 10 list of summer foods, a state-by-state map of favourite BBQ meats, and a state-by-state map of hot dog popularity.
Aria Todd + Sawyer Click
Read the article
STAATUS Index 2022
LAAUNCH
May 2022
LAAUNCH x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.

We worked closely with LAAUNCH, a non profit fighting racism and increasing Asian American representaion, to bring life to their STAATUS Index for the second year in a row.

LAAUNCH surveyed thousands of Americans, asking questions like “how do people perceive the treatment of their own racial/ethnic group” and “When you think of prominent Asian Americans, what specific names come to mind, if any?” The results were eye-opening, and visualized here digitally and in a PDF.

For this year's edition, we modernized and simplified the PDF design, and essentially started the digital site from scratch, building a more efficient and streamlined data viz experience in Webflow.

Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd + Sawyer Click + Tiziana Alocci
Launch
Beyond the Cart: A Year of Essential Insights
Instacart
April 2022
Instacart x The DataFace
Design + Data Analysis
Some of my work on Instacart’s COVID-19 report.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Read
Easter Across America
Instacart
April 2022
Instacart x The DataFace
Design
A top ten list of America's favourite Easter candies, a state-by-state map showing top candy purchases, and a collection of state outlines showing which prefer marshmallow chicks and which prefer jelly beans.
Aria Todd
Read the article
The Snacktime Report
Instacart
February 2022
Instacart
Design
Some of my work on Instacart’s Snacktime Report for the Big Game 2022.
Aria Todd
Check out the blog
Mapping Police Violence
Campaign Zero
January 2022
Campaign Zero x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s Mapping Police Violence dashboard.

Given all incidents of police violence in the United States, Black people are almost 3 times more likely to be killed by police. What’s even more messed up than that stat is the fact that law enforcement agencies across the country fail to provide even basic information about the lives they take. So Campaign Zero is collecting the data themselves.

I spent the first few weeks of 2022 designing this dashboard for CZ’s Mapping Police Violence database, one of the richest and most in-depth of its kind. I then worked with their team (Deray Mckesson, Katie Ryan, William Donahoe, Justin Kemerling, and Abdul Nasser Rad) to refine every last piece so Michael Hester, Sawyer Click, and I could build the site from the ground up.

Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s Mapping Police Violence dashboard.

The basic design of the dashboard is modular, made up of cards with location, time period, and victim filters and data viz elements. The plan is to continue to evolve the experience as the dataset grows, with fact check modules, more controls, and more in-depth analyses.

Michael Hester + Sawyer Click + Jack Beckwith + DeRay Mckesson + Katie Ryan + William Donahoe + Justin Kemerling + Abdul Nasser Rad
Launch project
#2021Delivered
Instacart
December 2021
Instacart x The DataFace
Design + Development + Copywriting
Webby Awards, Finalist, Best Branded Editorial Experience 2022
Indigo Design Awards, Silver, Website Design
Indigo Design Awards, Bronze, Digital Ads + Campaigns
Some of my work on Instacart’s 2021 delivered experience.

We worked with Instacart's PR, comms, marketing, and data science team to create this Spotify-wrapped-esque experience for Instacart's customers, personalized to their locations.

I designed the entire experience, with help from Michael Hester, Aria Todd, and the Instacart marketing team, and worked with Michael Hester to develop the project in the weeks leading up to December, 2021.

Some of my work on Instacart’s 2021 delivered experience.
Some of my work on Instacart’s 2021 delivered experience.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd
Launch
America's Favorite Halloween Candy
Instacart
October 2021
Instacart x The DataFace
Design + Data Analysis
Some of my work for Instacart’s project on America’s favourite halloween candies
Some of my work for Instacart’s project on America’s favourite halloween candies
Some of my work for Instacart’s project on America’s favourite halloween candies
Some of my work for Instacart’s project on America’s favourite halloween candies
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd
Pumpkin Spiced America
Instacart
September 2021
Design + Data Analysis
Some of my work for Instacart’s project on America’s love of pumpkin-spiced everything
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd
FreeKeithDavisJr
CampaignZero
July 2021
CampaignZero x The DataFace
Design + Development + Copywriting
Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s Free Keith Davis Jr. project.

Keith Davis Jr. was cornered by police in a West Baltimore garage in 2015, where they shot at him 44 times, striking him multiple times. Keith Davis Jr. was supposed to die, but instead he's endured trial after trial, simply for surviving.

Baltimore's state attorney Marilyn Mosby chose to protect the officers and prosecute Keith for crimes he did not commit. For more than 6 years, Keith has been the victim of inconsistent testimony, tampered evidence, and unjust trials.

We teamed up with Campaign Zero to create this website, where we walk through Keith Davis's last 6 years: the charges he's faced, the trials he's endured, and the web of inconsistencies in the evidence presented against him (cue this gif). 

I played a big role in the design of the site, along with Aria Todd, and the development, with Michael Hester and Omar Nema.

Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s Free Keith Davis Jr. project.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd + Omar Nema + DeRay Mckesson + Katie Ryan
Controversial Condiments
Instacart
July 2021
Instacart x The DataFace
Design + Data Analysis
Some of my work for Instacart’s project on America’s favourite condiments and sauces
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd
The Retirement Security Report
Equable
June 2021
Equable x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of my work on Equable’s Retirement Security Report.

Equable is a bipartisan, collaborative organization sitting on a wealth of data on pensions and retirement plans across the United States.

The Equable team reached out to us looking to create what they called the Retirement Security Report. They analyzed 335 retirement plans across 50 states + D.C. across 11 metrics to determine if plans are providing a path to retirement income security for all public workers.

We went above and beyond, creating a fully interactive report with a downloadable PDF, retirement savings calculator, and integrated data viz.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd
Launch
Plant Power
Instacart
May 2021
Instacart x The DataFace
Design + Data Analysis
Some of my work on Instacart’s Plant Power report.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Catalina Perez
America's Favorite Ice Cream
Instacart
May 2021
Instacart x The DataFace
Design + Data Analysis
A map of America’s favourite ice cream flavours.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Catalina Perez
STAATUS Index 2021
LAAUNCH
May 2021
LAAUNCH x The DataFace
Design + Development
Indigo Design Awards, Gold, Infographics
Indigo Design Awards, Gold, Integrated Graphic Design
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.

We worked closely with LAAUNCH, a non profit fighting racism and increasing Asian American representaion, to bring life to their STAATUS Index.

LAAUNCH surveyed thousands of Americans, asking questions like “how do people perceive the treatment of their own racial/ethnic group” and “When you think of prominent Asian Americans, what specific names come to mind, if any?” The results were eye-opening, and visualized here digitally and in a PDF.

Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Some of my work on LAAUNCH’s STAATUS index.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + Aria Todd + Catalina Perez
Laaunch
End All No-Knocks
CampaignZero
November 2020
Campaign Zero x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s End All No-Knocks project.

Breonna Taylor was one of many victims of senseless no-knock raids that happen across the US. While progress has been made to enact legislation to put a stop to no-knock raids, there is still plenty to do.

We worked with Campaign Zero to design and build this interactive site that both maps case studies across the country and tracks legislation at the state, city, and federal levels.

Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s End All No-Knocks project.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + DeRay Mckesson + Katie Ryan + Justin Kemerling + Will Donahoe
Launch
#NIXTHE6: No More Cop Money
CampaignZero
September 2020
CampaignZero x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s NixThe6 project.

Police unions have too much power. It’s time to hold them accountable.

We worked with Campaign Zero to design and build an interactive map tracking political contributions from law enforcement across the United States, between 2015 and 2020.

Some of my work on Campaign Zero’s NixThe6 project.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester + DeRay Mckesson + Katie Ryan
Launch
Healthy Marketplace Index
HCCI
August 2020
Health Care Cost Institute x The DataFace
Design + Development
NIHCM Digital Media Awards 2021 Finalist
Information is Beautiful Awards 2019 Shortlist
Some of my work on HCCI’s Healthy Marketplace Index.

The Health Cost Institute is a non-profit, healthcare research group based in Washington, D.C., working with grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Throughout 2019 and 2020, we worked closely with their team and their data to design and build their Healthy Marketplace Index (HMI). 

Made up of four fully interactive experiences (Price, Use, Price vs Use, and Hospital Market Concentration), as well as a metro area snapshot and several interactive dashboards, HMI uses nearly 2.5 billion commercial claims from 2013–2017 to track drivers of healthcare spending across 124 US metro areas.

Some of my work on HCCI’s Healthy Marketplace Index.
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
The No Doubter Report
Original
June 2020
DataFace Original
Design + Development + Data Analysis + Illustration + Copywriting
Screenshot of my project tracking No Doubters in the MLB.

Pro ballparks come in all shapes and sizes, sometimes due to the shape of the city block on which they were built, sometimes based on a team's strengths (or weaknesses), and sometimes just to add character. Because their shapes differ, a home run hit in one park might not be a home run in another.

That's what inspired the No Doubter Report. In this project, I look at every home run hit this season to determine which were hit hard enough, long enough, and high enough to leave any major league ballpark, which we've dubbed "No Doubters".

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
Healthcare Spending in North Carolina
HCCI x Duke
June 2020
HCCI x Duke x The DataFace
Design + Development
Some of my work on HCCI’s project on healthcare spending in North Carolina.

The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI), a non-profit research group based in Washington D.C., in collaboration with researchers from Duke University's Margolis Center for Health Policy and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, tasked us with building a comprehensive data visualization experience to promote the research.

We created a visual essay that walked readers through major findings, using interactivity, scrollytelling, and explorable and downloadable content.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
Coronavirus by County
Original
March 2020
DataFace Original
Design + Development

Michael Hester, Jack Beckwith, and I put this coronavirus tracker together in a couple of days in March. It uses the New York Times newly released coronavirus by county data.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
Yelp's Coronavirus Economic Impact Report
Yelp
March 2020
Yelp x The DataFace
Design + Development + Copywriting
Featured in Washington Post, Forbes, and Business Insider

We worked with Yelp’s communications team to design and build a special economic impact report focusing on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States. We released regular updates with interactive and static graphics, the last of which in September.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
Block-by-Block
B6
February 2020
B6 Real Estate Advisors
Design + Development

B6 Real Estate Advisors tasked us with bringing their regular quarterly reports to life, making use of interactive data viz and storytelling. We worked with them to publish 4 quarterly reports and one predicitions report.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
Why We Run
Strava
January 2020
Strava x The DataFace x Polygraph
Design + Development
Some of my work on Strava’s Why We Run.

Strava is a social network for fitness, home to millions of runners, cyclists, and performance athletes. With access to such a large group of avid runners who use the app to track their progress and connect with others, Strava found themselves with a ton of data and original research on the factors that motivate people to start and then keep running.

Strava hired us, along with Imprint Projects and Polygraph to build an experience that visualizes their findings. We combined their qualitative research with quantitative poll results to create a compelling, interactive narrative, with downloadable content and interactive elements, available in six languages.

Some of my work on Strava’s Why We Run.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
Yelp 15
Yelp
September 2019
Yelp x The DataFace
Design + Development + Data Analysis
Some of my work on Yelp 15.

Yelp celebrated their 15th anniversary in September of 2019. We created this microsite (yelp15.com) to help celebrate. Along with Yelp&rsquos data science team, we analyzed nearly 200m reviews and 15 years worth of search and consumer interest data to create six interactive explorations.

Check it out to explore the foods we consumed, the chains we cherished, the fads we followed, the language we used, the words that defined our cities, and the services we needed.

Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
Launch
America's Favorite Summer Drinks
Yelp
June 2019
Yelp x The DataFace
Design
I designed a set of versatile and custom icons for Yelp’s piece on America's Favorite Summer Drinks for 2019.

I designed a set of versatile and custom icons for Yelp's piece on America's Favorite Summer Drinks for 2019.

Michael Hester
The NBA's Best Drafting Teams
Original
June 2019
DataFace Original
Illustration
I illustrated a series of rookie cards for Michael Hester's article on the NBA draft.

I illustrated a series of rookie cards for Michael Hester's article on the NBA draft.

Michael Hester
The Irregular Outfields of Baseball
Original
April 2019
DataFace Original
Design + Development + Copywriting + Illustration
Bronze, Information is Beautiful Awards 2019
An animated gif highlighting elements of my project on the irregular outfields of baseball.

Baseball is a sport rooted in rules and regulations. Everything in the game is standardized, planned, and coordinated, based on a guideline or precedent. Everything, that is, but the park itself: outfield sizes and wall heights vary across the entire league. There are 30 MLB stadiums. No two of them are alike.

The inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies of pro baseball fields have fascinated me for years. In this piece, the first in a series on the irregular outfields of baseball and my first original for the DataFace, I look at the seven different types of MLB parks, what makes them distinct, and where the varying sizes in their outfields come from.

A collection of illustrations I did for my project on the irregular outfields of baseball, based on a few major league baseball stadiums.
Launch
Who is the biggest pop star?
The Pudding
February 2019
The Pudding x The DataFace
Design + Development

We worked with the folks at the Pudding to determine who the world's biggest pop star is, using a variety of different methods.

A graphic we designed for The Pudding's piece on the world's biggest pop stars
Jack Beckwith + Michael Hester
The Winningest Cities in North American Sports
The Pudding
November 2018
The Pudding
Design + Development + Copywriting
Longlist, Information is Beautiful Awards 2019

After the Golden State Warriors won their third NBA championship in four years in 2018, I started thinking...Of all the cities to field a professional or college level team in the last 150 years, which is the winningest?

I dug through a century of data to determine the titletown of all the North American titletowns, looking at 458 pro sports teams from MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, and CFL, as well as 1,917 NCAA div one college teams. All told, these teams have represented 199 different cities, and competed for 996 titles since 1870.

This visual essay explores all the data through three lenses to determine the winningest city in North America, while allowing you to set your own parameters throughout.

An animated gif of the first chart in my project on North America’s winningest cities.
The second chart in my project on North America’s winningest cities.
Read the article
Parental Leave in North America
The DataFace
March 2018
The DataFace
Design + Development + Copywriting

During his first term as president, Bill Clinton passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, providing 12 weeks of federally-mandated unpaid leave to new parents. Since then, the need for parental leave and for flexibility has only grown. Yet federal policies haven’t changed.

This project, my first with the DataFace, examines how companies across the US compare, and how the US compares to the rest of the world.

Launch
Globalography: Our Interconnected World Revealed in 50 Maps
Print Original
November 2017
Quarto Publishing
Part of my book on our interconnected book.

"Explore how cities are expanding beyond the reach of their nations, uncover the ways bananas, cobalt, and water bottles link the most unlikely of places, and discover how modern phenomena such as messenger apps and sharing platforms are changing not just our interactions, but how we interconnect."

"Globalography uncovers the myriad ways we can now connect with one another and in doing so, showcases the radical way globalization is transforming our world."

I worked with Quarto editors to create 50+ maps for this book (and the cover) on our interconnected world, which features essays by author Chris Fitch.

Part of my book on our interconnected book.
Part of my book on our interconnected book.
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Visualizing Canada's Indian Residential Schools
Thesis
May 2017
MSDV Thesis
Dsign + Development + Copywriting
Parsons Keynote Selection
AIGA New York Fresh Grad Selection
The title page for my Master’s thesis project on Canada’s Indian Residential Schools.

Canada's Indian Residential School System was a network of boarding schools, industrial schools, and federal hostels created to remove indigenous children from their homes, their families, and their cultures. While many schools originated long before Confederation in 1867, the system was primarily active following the approval of the Indian Act in 1876 — a group of laws aiming to do away with the Indian tribal system and forcibly enfranchise First Nations peoples — until the the last federally-operated school closed in 1996.

Only in recent years has information about the schools, often run by various religious sects, and their students welfare become public knowledge: physical and sexual abuse was rampant; malnourishment and poor living conditions were not uncommon; and assimilation, deprivation of cultural traditions, and punishment was the standard. It is estimated that 6000 children died while in attendance at an Indian Residential School.

We weren't taught this in school.

This project, my thesis piece at Parsons School of Design, aims to investigate the IRS system visually, beginning with the stories of survivors and transitioning into the narrative of each school.

A map showing all IRS locations I created for my Master’s thesis project on Canada’s Indian Residential Schools.
Launch
The World of James Bond
Print Original
November 2015
Semifinalist, Adobe Awards 2016
Longlist, Information is Beautiful Awards 2016

Shaken. Not stirred.

Ever wonder which James Bond made the most money? How about which actor flirted with Moneypenny the most? Or who killed the most henchmen? I have. So I did what anybody would do: I sat down with a martini and watched every 007 film (including the unofficial Never Say Never Again), and I got to know every actor, every recurring character, every gadget, every car, and every killer pun. Then I made this.

This map is the result of my undying need to know everything James Bond - from the number of ladies he kisses in each film, to the cities he visits, to the cars he drives. This map shows it all and the connections between each.

Launch
Roma XXXVI
Illustration
December 2014

I spent three and a half months studying architecture in Roma and I did one sketch a day for 80 days. These are my favourites.

A Chair for Dr Seuss
Built Original
November 2013
ARCH 365: Structural Design
Come Up To My Room 2013, Judge's Choice
End of Year Show Selection

For one of my final projects in my third year structural design course at architecture school, I was tasked with designing and building a chair for a famous person or character, while also proving its structural stability. I chose Dr Seuss.

Inspired by All the Places You'll Go, this simple stool breaks down into 6 pieces, ready to pack up and go. It also serves as a reminder that life is quite the balancing act. And the whole thing is written in rhyme.

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