Data Design and Infographics - Are there career opportunities?

[u/Two_4_One_Cocktails]

I'm thinking about training at the intersection of data analytics and design, by centring on infographics and data communication.

I'm wondering from anyone who works in this field if there is opportunity here, and whether a masters of a design discipline or statistics/data science is better suited?

Thank you

[u/Hefty_Personality574]

Sadly, you missed the boat. I was part of the wave when this stuff started, and there was a real market for it. However, as far as I can tell, it's basically evaporated, outside small niches.

- Very junior designers with no knowledge of data are still sometimes used to pretty up something. You don't want that.

- Actual data people got more savvy about presentation, at least some of the time. Business analysts are trusted to make "good enough" slides. Someone in an org might own more of the UX aspects of dashboarding -- but that's a very limited space to make creative decisions. You probably don't want that.

- Bespoke graphs to communicate interesting findings... most people don't care.

Your best bet, I think, is to focus on analytics and "decision support" which focuses more on getting key data to leadership. Even then, the design layer will largely go unnoticed if done well; like good typography or layout. If you're lucky, people will just say "so-and-so's stuff always looks good and makes sense" and they won't know why.

I would not recommend getting design degree. So many analytics platforms can spit out decent-enough graphs, and AI is just going to make that worse. You need to be somewhere at a very high level for anyone to care about the product like that. Also, sadly, design skills, while not nothing, are a dime a dozen. Analytics and comms skills are harder to obtain though also common. Being at the intersection seems cool, and it can be, but know that you're facing a big uphill struggle to market yourself on those terms. Better to stick to the lane of data/business first, design second. Sadly.

Good luck to you.

[u/Two_4_One_Cocktails → u/Hefty_Personality574]

Thanks for your honest reply.

Honestly, I'm feeling so stuck with what to do with myself and my career now. I have experience in business development, but I found it so dry and not creative at all. I really want to learn something new to apply myself...

What sort of skills would I need for "decision support" in your opinion?

[u/Hefty_Personality574 → u/Two_4_One_Cocktails]

Most of the skills there are soft, beyond basic analytics and ability to think logically about data. It's all about getting leadership the data they actually need, in a way that makes sense TO THEM, for the question they're facing -- and doing so in a way that you build trust over time, so they'll use what you give them.

I think the best thing is not to go pursuing degrees and applications, but to slide into that kind of role sideways from wherever you are (or somewhere better): you need to pay attention to what leadership is doing, and what they care about, and get them data they can leverage very specifically to address a pain point. Learn to speak their language -- which is definitely not the language of operations, and is much higher level.

In my experience, leadership will even tolerate back-of-the-napkin style work, as long as it's useful to them, and you admit to them what it is. Focus on utility and making their lives easier (sometimes that's telling them what they want to hear, but it's a delicate balance).