Tenzer Visualization Contest

Judging will focus on clarity, accuracy, creativity and aesthetics, but it will be very friendly and forgiving. Here are some recommendations:

• Prepare and present a concise and accurate story; focus.

• Ensure you have an accurate title and perhaps a short description.

• Think creatively and bring your own style; even seemingly small things like color choices and layout can have a big impact and will help separate your visualization.

Less material that is clearly presented with clean aesthetics is usually better than multiple clumsy charts that don’t coalesce.

We intend to have at least one grand prize, other top finishers, and several honorable mentions. Prize packs will be determined later and may feature technology equipment and/or DePauw swag, gear or clothing. Prizes may not be distributed until we’re back on campus in August.

Winners will be announced via email and on this page as soon as possible after the deadline and certainly by the end of July.

We will only judge one submission from each student. If you make 2 or more submissions, we'll simply use the most recent while ignoring the others.

Your visualization only needs to be visible to anyone with the direct URL (so that we can view and judge it). We won't share or post your visualization without your explicit consent. If you have any doubts or concerns about it being viewed more broadly or with random people finding it (i.e., what we typically refer to as public), just list it as “not visible" on your Tableau Public portfolio. This will ensure that only people with the direct URL can view it.

Definitely not! Our goal is to encourage and promote your learning new technology and data visualization skills. This contest is designed to get you started with Tableau while also providing a fun summer opportunity before the fall semester.

On June 22 at 5:00 pm EDT, Micheal Boyles, director of Tenzer Technology Center at DePauw University, will host a contest kickoff workshop (see recording here). Our director will walk through the most basic features and functions of the Tableau Public software while creating a working example and then take questions. The workshop will be recorded and the video posted here. Additionally, please see the subsequent "more learning resources" question for additional tutorials and videos from Tableau.

Here is the online How-to Videos page for Tableau Public. We recommend concentrating on the following videos first as these may best relate to this contest:

• 1. Tableau Public Overview

• 11. Creating Your First Chart

• 12. Using the Show Me Tool Bar

• 13. Understanding the Logic of Charts

• 14. Combining Sheets on a Dashboard

• 15. Adding Interactivity to Dashboards

• 16. Dashboard Formatting

• 21. Adding a custom Viz in Tooltip

And here is the online Free Training Videos page from Tableau Desktop. Tableau Desktop is technically a separate software, but most of its features that you may leverage for this contest work similarly in Tableau Public. These are the Tableau Desktop video sections that are recommended:

• Getting Started

• Visual Analytics

• Dashboards and Stories (but ignore the Stories videos)

• Mapping

Yes, but only if it supports or extends upon the provided data set (which you must use).

• Accuracy and clarity are critical, but artistic expression and aesthetics are also important

• Less material that is clearly presented is often better than a bunch of seemingly random charts that don’t coalesce

• Focus on telling a story; do not try to impress us by demonstrating a bunch of Tableau Public features and functions

• Even seemingly small things like color choices and layout can have a big impact and will help separate your visualization

• Check your work carefully; ask yourself how each chart, title, color, font, data point, etc. is contributing to your visualization

If you have any concerns related to the contest, the data, or the Tableau software itself, please direct them to Tenzer Technology Center director Michael Boyles at michaelboyles@depauw.edu.