Nightingale is the journal of the Data Visualization Society (DVS). We reflect the mission of the DVS to “foster a community where every member benefits from resources that support growth, refinement, and expansion of data visualization knowledge, regardless of expertise level.”

Our goal is to share the incredible wealth of knowledge from our community. We embrace “idea evangelism”—by providing a greater reach and audience for the ideas and voices of our members, it increases their recognition, which in turn leads to new opportunities. We feature high-quality articles covering many of the applications of data visualization—including history, sports, how-to, best practices, and any other aspect or implementation of visual information design we find compelling. We cover everything from personal stories to exploratory research to interviews with community thought leaders. We drive engagement via our monthly newsletter, The ‘Gale.

Nightingale is a supportive, generous community. It is a place for practitioners to give back, learn, and advance their ideas. It is a platform to show our work, share, and explain a perspective. Like the DVS, we are a mostly volunteer-run organization. Meet the team and find out how to get involved!

What’s the story behind the name?

Glad you asked! Our name pays tribute to the rich history of data visualization embodied by the work of Florence Nightingale. With it, we celebrate the innovation, the creativity, the often expansive, and–importantly–the enlightenment, that historic data visualization practitioners inspired among their communities. We appreciate that the practitioners of the past were like us: a collection of visual thinkers who sketched their ideas and collaborated with illustrators, artists, analysts, researchers, and scientists to communicate in bold and creative ways.

Read more about the story behind our name in the piece that launched Nightingale in 2019.

What’s next for Nightingale?

We have exciting things planned for Nightingale! We just launched a print magazine! Order copies and learn more about it here!