iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

William Careri @wcareri.com · 05/04/2026

A lot of us have seen the new photo of Earth, and I want it to serve as a reminder for how powerful such visuals can be. This was a short piece I wrote for Nightingale's fifth issue on nature, highlighting the Earthrise photo and what became after it was released.

The Power of Visual Insight

In 1968, humanity embarked on a journey to the moon, seeking to unveil its secrets. Yet, it was the view back home that forever changed our perspective. Captured in the iconic “Earthrise” photograph, Earth appeared as a fragile blue marble adrift in the boundless cosmos. This striking image ignited an unprecedented wave of environmental awareness, culminating in the landmark year of 1970. It saw the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the banning of leaded gasoline, the enactment of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and the celebration of the inaugural Earth Day. This moment marked the dawn of a new era of environmental stewardship.

This historic moment highlights the transformative power of visuals to inspire change. Just as the “Earthrise” photo galvanized a global push for environmental protection, modern data visualizations can play a crucial role in driving sustainability efforts. By turning complex data into compelling and understandable visuals, we can bring pressing issues like climate change, resource depletion, and pollution into sharper focus.

Data visualization has the unique ability to make abstract data tangible and relatable. When people can see the impact of their actions on the environment, they are more likely to take meaningful steps toward sustainability. Effective visualizations can highlight patterns, trends, and connections that might otherwise go unnoticed, empowering individuals, communities, and policymakers to make informed decisions.

By harnessing the power of data visualization, we can continue the legacy of that first breathtaking view of Earth from space, using visual stories to drive a more sustainable future.

*Photo courtesy of NASA.*

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 17/02/2026

Granted, it took me ten attempts to do this well. dialed.gg

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Suspiciously accurate. We're going to need to see your browser history. You ranked 4,723 out of 109,698.

White text on a black background.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 17/12/2025

Final grades are in and here marks the end of my first semester as an adjunct professor at Northampton Community College. Ten years after beginning my educational journey here, I have come full circle. www.northampton.edu/news/2025/12...

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 01/10/2025

Harvesting 1,000+ black walnuts from our property is one of my favorite and purposely least efficient things I do each autumn. www.wcareri.com/blog/efficie...

A black rubber tub of unprocessed black walnuts outside in a yard.

Two blue buckets filled with unprocessed black walnuts with a nut wizard next to them.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 12/06/2025

Congrats to @nadiehbremer.com on her successful launch at Outlier yesterday! I can't wait to see more people fall in love with this book. From seeing the mock ups to holding it in my hand, I don't think this book could have come out any more beautiful.

The book cover for "Chart: Designing Creative Data Visualizations from Charts to Art" by Nadieh Bremer. The title is in large, ornate white letters against a black background, with a colorful, abstract pattern on the left and right edges.

An open book displaying a detailed data visualization with a network of connected circles and hexagons, some labeled with words like "VOCAL MUSIC," "DANCE," "WEDDING," and "POETRY." The background is a faint hand-drawn sketch.

A hand holding the book "Chart: Designing Creative Data Visualizations from Charts to Art" by Nadieh Bremer, in front of a bookshelf filled with various titles.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 28/04/2025

Enjoying the day with our friend on her farm, getting ideas for our own. 🐑

A farm's open field with a number of sheep and goats grazing.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 07/04/2025

I wrote my latest piece for Anthropology News to not only draw attention to the fragility of digital data, but highlight the work being done by those at The Internet Archive (@archive.org) and independent archivist like Jason Scott (@textfiles.com). www.anthropology-news.org/articles/bit...

A mockup of two magazines and a phone. The magazines are open, revealing two spreads with both text and data visualizations. The phone features the digital version of the article.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 28/03/2025

The Digital Decay Dendrogram 📊 This #dataviz categorizes digital assets into three tiers based on their durability and susceptibility to technological, financial, or institutional changes. (Designed for my article in Anthropology News: www.anthropology-news.org/articles/bit...)

A circular dendrogram titled 'The Digital Decay Dendrogram,' categorizing digital artifacts based on their resilience to loss. The chart has three main sections: 'Most Resilient' (blue), 'Moderate Resilience' (yellow), and 'Most Fragile' (red). Each section branches out to include specific examples, such as open-source repositories, federated social media, and print archives in the resilient category, while cloud-stored files, social media posts, and streaming content fall under the fragile category. The design uses a dark background with colored branching lines to illustrate different levels of digital durability.

A close-up view of the 'Moderate Resilience' section of the Digital Decay Dendrogram. This section, in yellow, includes digital artifacts that require active maintenance but offer some control over preservation. Examples include personal collections, open-source content, preservation projects, and federated social media. The branches highlight formats like eBook libraries, music collections, and self-hosted websites, which depend on continued user effort for longevity.

A close-up view of the 'Most Fragile' section of the Digital Decay Dendrogram, highlighted in red. This category includes digital artifacts that are highly vulnerable to deletion, obsolescence, or policy changes. Branches list examples such as social media posts, cloud-stored files, streaming content, discontinued platforms (e.g., MySpace, Vine, Google+), digital purchases, AI-generated content, and unarchived online journalism. The visualization emphasizes the impermanence of these formats, which often depend on proprietary platforms.

A close-up view of the 'Most Resilient' section of the Digital Decay Dendrogram, highlighted in blue. This category includes digital formats with high durability and redundancy, such as institutional archives, print books, vinyl records, open-source repositories, and decentralized storage networks like IPFS and GitHub. The visualization emphasizes the long-term stability of these formats due to their physical nature, open-source structure, or redundancy in multiple locations.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 16/02/2025

Ed Fairburn creates pieces where maps and people coexist.

An old paper map of Quebec with a woman's portrait drawn into the space.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 13/12/2024

Excuse me, but you chose INSECTS to represent ALL OF NATURE

A magazine spread titled "The Insectarium." A grid of insects depicts each article inside the magazine, varying in body size, number of legs, etc...

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 26/11/2024

Such a fun idea for a portfolio! For finding different ways to lay out projects, this quadrant chart makes for a neat display. mankunguo.com

This is a scatter plot divided into four quadrants with axes labeled "Eyes On" to "Hands On" vertically and "Form" to "Info" horizontally. The plot features black dots scattered across all four quadrants. Labels such as "Print," "Tool," "Typography," "Identity," "Motion," and "Spatial" are written along the bottom left. The title "Mankun Guo" appears at the top left. The bottom right corner is labeled "TXT" and "Archive." The plot's overall minimalistic design focuses on categorizing various disciplines or themes within the four quadrants.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 22/11/2024

This report is a must-read for its messaging and insights, but the visualizations are hidden gems that make digging into the details well worth it.

A graphic visualizing the preservation status of 5.4 million URLs from a PEW dataset within the Wayback Machine. The graphic resembles a house structure, where 26% of URLs are labeled "Dead" and 74% are "Alive." Among the dead URLs, 10% have "Vanished," 18% are "Endangered," and 16% are "Restored." Among the alive URLs, 56% are "Preserved." Footnotes indicate that "Endangered" URLs are not preserved, and "Restored" URLs are dead but accessible via the Wayback Machine.

A pie chart represented in a pixelated, stylized graphic showing that 75% of video games tracked by the LGBTQ Video Game Archive from the 1980s are preserved and accessible through the Internet Archive. The chart has three-quarters shaded, with text describing the data alongside a retro, pixel-inspired aesthetic.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 21/11/2024

You're telling me I got to chat with Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic about data viz AND illustration design?? More to share soon 👀

Two people in a zoom room with an illustration below. The illustration features a cartoon dragon speaking with a monkey staring at banana peels with a close up of a chart comprised of banana peels.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 18/11/2024

My fiancé makes crocheted goods—plushies, hats, anything you want including custom requests! roseyxcreations.square.site/s/shop

A display of handmade crochet hats is set up on a table at an outdoor market. The items include colorful beanies and bucket hats, with some featuring faux fur pom-poms. A small chalkboard sign lists prices: "Beanies $20, Bucket Hats $45." The background shows a mannequin head wearing one of the hats and fall-themed decorations like artificial leaves.

A table at an outdoor market displays handmade crochet items and fall-themed decorations. The products include small crochet ghosts, frogs, bees, and chicken-shaped coasters. Each type of item is displayed in wire baskets with chalkboard signs showing prices: "Ghosts $5," "Frogs $5," "Bees $7," and "Chicken Coasters 4/$15." The display is accented with artificial autumn leaves, and some crochet flowers are laid out at the bottom of the image.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 16/11/2024

My re-visualization of the Tommy Westphall Universe—illustrating the theory of how more than 200 television shows are interconnected in the same universe. 📊 Full resolution - nightingaledvs.com/wp-content/u...

A visualization charting the Tommy Westphall Universe. On a dark background, a series of bubbles contain the name of television shows connected to other bubbles. Each bubble's size refers to the number of connections it contains and the line connecting them refers to how the shows are connected.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 13/11/2024

This week I'll be publishing a piece on the importance of data archiving for data viz designers. Part of it discusses the DDoS attacks targeting @archive.org. This is just a test run of a future project I would like to complete visualizing data archival efforts at this scale.

A timeline graphic illustrating a series of DDoS attacks and recovery efforts by the Internet Archive between October and November 2024. The timeline begins on October 8, when the Internet Archive experienced a DDoS attack, rendering its website unusable. A hacking group called SN_BLACKMETA claimed responsibility. On October 9, the organization disclosed a data breach compromising over 31 million user records. By October 14, the Wayback Machine resumed operations in read-only mode. On October 21, the "Save Page Now" service was restored, with ongoing work to recover additional functionality. A second DDoS attack occurred on October 28, targeting the Zendesk support email system. The timeline continues into November, highlighting that on November 4, the Wayback Machine was fully restored with its ability to save pages. On November 5, the Internet Archive focused on service restoration and enhancing security measures. The timeline concludes on November 6, with a report of ongoing recovery efforts and assurances that key services were being restored. The graphic features visuals such as servers, locks, and institutional buildings to represent the events. Data for the timeline is sourced from the Internet Archive. The design is credited to William Careri.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 23/10/2024

Did I also mention we have a new bundle available? Catch up on all the Nightingale goodness! shop.datavisualizationsociety.org/products/nig...

A screenshot of the Data Visualization Society shop. A picture of three Nightingale magazines sit next to each other with the title "Nightingale Bundle: Guidelines, Emotion, Nature."

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 22/10/2024

📊 Oh, what's this I'm holding? Nightingale Issue 5, of course! shop.datavisualizationsociety.org/products/nig...

A man holding a copy of Nightingale Issue 5 in front of a series of stacked bookcases. The cover reads "Nightingale Nature" with a trail of ants running along the cover in the shape of a line chart.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 20/06/2024

Before many fantasy series were made into movies, a mentor of mine would draw his own depictions from books. I lost touch with him, the first person who encouraged me to be a creative, 20 years ago. Recently, I found him and his artwork again. He sent me a few pieces, which I received last week.

A detailed black and white ink drawing of a surreal landscape. Central to the composition is a large, intricately detailed moon with a textured surface, floating in a clear sky. Below the moon, sharp, jagged peaks rise from the ground, with the tallest peak extending towards the sky. To the left, twisted, gnarled tree roots and branches emerge from a rocky terrain, creating an eerie and ancient feel. The foreground features a rugged, layered landscape with rocky outcrops and sparse vegetation. The detailed textures and cross-hatching techniques give the drawing depth and complexity. The artist's signature, "Kasiewniak '77," is visible at the bottom right corner.

An intricate black and white ink drawing of an ancient, partially ruined castle set against a mountainous landscape. The castle's walls and towers are detailed with stippling and cross-hatching techniques, creating a textured and shadowed effect. A crescent moon hangs in the clear sky above, adding a mystical or eerie atmosphere to the scene. The foreground features rocky terrain with jagged edges and a pathway leading towards the ruins. The artist's signature, "Old Path" and the name "Kasiewniak '78" are visible at the bottom right corner.

A detailed black and white ink drawing of a desolate, otherworldly landscape under a stark black sun. The landscape features jagged, rocky formations with sharp, angular edges and deep shadows, creating a sense of rugged terrain. On the left, twisted, layered rock structures rise upwards, while the right side showcases a spire-like peak jutting from the ground. The foreground is filled with intricate textures, including cracked surfaces and irregular rock formations. The black sun in the center of the sky contrasts sharply with the detailed landscape below, adding an ominous and surreal atmosphere. The artist's signature, "Kasiewniak '77," is visible at the bottom right corner.

A detailed black and white ink drawing of a fantastical landscape. Dominating the center is a large, textured moon, intricately drawn with a mix of stippling and line work to create its craters and surface details. Below the moon, a long, arched bridge stretches across the scene, connecting two rocky, uneven platforms. The left platform features twisted, organic shapes resembling ancient tree roots or petrified wood, while the right platform is composed of jagged, mountainous structures with sharp edges. The bridge itself appears to be constructed of uneven, weathered planks, adding to the otherworldly atmosphere. The foreground and background are filled with intricate patterns and textures, creating a sense of depth and complexity. The artist's signature, "Kasiewniak '77," is visible at the bottom right corner.

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William Careri @wcareri.com · 06/02/2024

How about starting with an oldie but a goodie? A few data viz design guidelines to improve accessibility for neurodiverse readers. Read my full article here: nightingaledvs.com/designing-fo... Find more resources here: github.com/dataviza11y/...

Title: Typography
Body: Font selection is one of the most important decisions a designer makes. It's the key to ensuring the data you're attempting to communicate is widely understood. Prioritize using Sans Serif fonts as opposed to Serif fonts, because they're more easily comprehensible to a wider array of readers.
Recommended fonts include Apercu, Brandon Grotesque, Brother 1816, Corbel, Futura PT and Lato.

Title: Patterns
Body: The use of patterns, both organic and geometric, appeases a neurodivergent audiences' need for predictability and repetition. Many of those who are neurodivergent depend on repetition and predictability to feel in control and comfortable with what they're attempting to comprehend.

A lattice pattern in displayed on the right to provide an example.

Title: Visual Hierarchy
Body: Having a clear path for a reader to follow is essential among neurodiverse audiences. When looking at the project as a whole, it should allow for the eyes to follow a path to easily find the title, description, primary graphic and a key. A visual hierarchy ensures balance.

A group of varying shapes and sizes are shown to the right to provide an example.

Title: Color
Body: Color can be a data visualization artist's best friend, offering an easy way to divide information and adding variables to a chart or dashboard. Sticking to single-hue color palettes and low contrast backgrounds prevent overwhelming or overstimulation for readers.

Single-hue color spectrums are shown on the left side to provide an example.

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