Judging will focus on clarity, accuracy, creativity, and aesthetics, but it will be very friendly and forgiving. You are not expected to be visualization experts. Just do the best you can with whatever you know about visualization best practices. 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 may feature technology equipment and/or DePauw swag, gear or clothing. Winners will be announced via email and on this page as soon as possible after the deadline and no later than the end of November.

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 and essentially eliminate the possibility that is "found" by random people.

Definitely not! Our goal is to encourage and promote your learning of a new technology and data visualization skills. This contest is designed to get you started with Tableau while also providing a fun co-curricular opportunity during the term.

Start by watching the From Excel to Tableau LinkedIn Learning course by Heather Johnson and Madecraft. This 90 minutes video walks you through the basics of Tableau and introduces a variety of different charts, all while using the required dataset.

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

• 2. Connecting to Excel and Text Files

• 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 we recommend:

• Getting Started

• Visual Analytics

• Dashboards and Stories (but ignore the Stories videos)

• Mapping

Yes, but only if it supports or extends upon the provided dataset. In other words, don't forget to leverage the required dataset (in order to meet the posted minimum requirements, see above).

• 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

• Do not hesitate to ask questions!

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

You can also contact the current Tenzer Technology Center interns, Lauren Nguyen '23 (trangnguyen_2023@depauw.edu) or Hai Phan '23 (haiphan_2023@depauw.edu).