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upcoming

12—13 October 2023
visualization
workshop

Showing data and explaining science visually: the rules, the guidelines and the warnings.
2023 Precision Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics (POET) Congress, Calgary, Canada
14 August 2023
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Convolutional neural networks
Derry, A., Krzywinski, M & Altman, N. (2023) Points of significance: Convolutional neural networks. Nature Methods 20.
5 July 2023
training
visualization
workshop

Effective poster design: legible, clear, concise and compelling
BCCHRI, Vancouver
15 June 2023
talk
visualization

Essence of data visualization and design in science: what makes a good figure?
Pathology Department, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston
5–10 May 2023
visualization
workshop

Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Communicating Science Workshop
Schloss Lautrach, Germany
4 May 2023
visualization
workshop

Essence of data visualization and design in science: what makes a good figure?
Max Planck Institute, Munich
28 April 2023
visualization
workshop

Engage my brain, not my eye – the non-negotiables in visual communication of data and concepts
UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences
13 April 2023
visualization
workshop

Essence of data visualization and design in science: what makes a good figure?
International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM), Québec City
31 March 2023
visualization
workshop

Engage my brain, not my eye – the non-negotiables in visual communication of data and concepts
KT Connects Webinars, Michael Smith Health Research BC
16 & 23 March 2023
visualization
workshop

Essence of data visualization and design in science: what makes a good figure?
CHEM/CHBE, UBC
14 March 2023
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2023 `\pi` Day art
Repeated Sequence: A Modular Synthesizer Experience
27 February 2023
BMEG518
lecture
visualization

Graphical abstract — designing for small spaces
Practical tips and redesign examples for creating scientific graphical abstracts.
27 February 2023
MEDS3001
lecture
visualization

MEDS3001 Masterclass — what makes a good figure?
31 January 2023
visualization
workshop

Design of effective scientific figures
Human Proteome Organization Webinar
11 January 2023
cover
design
visualization

Cell Genomics cover
With Carlos Urzua, our cover design images the process of determining the parent-of-origin using differential methylation of alleles at imprinted regions (iDMRs) as a circuit.
10 January 2023
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Neural network primer
Derry, A., Krzywinski, M & Altman, N. (2023) Points of significance: Neural network primer. Nature Methods 20:165–167.
4 January 2023
cover
design
visualization

Science Advances cover
My cover design shows 672 barcode bases from three sequencing platforms encoded on the faces of 7-dimensional cubes.
19 December 2022
art
science
talk

Art is Science in Love
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
15 December 2022
hitchmas

Happy Hitchmas
Official Hitchmas party at Layla Bar in Berlin.
8 December 2022
talk
visualization

Explain visually, explain well: what makes a good figure?
Genetics Department, UMCG, Groningen, Netherlands
2–5 December 2022
visualization
workshop

Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Communicating Science Workshop
Schloss Lautrach, Germany
16 November 2022
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Regression modeling of time-to-event data with censoring
Dey, T., Lipsitz, S.R., Cooper, Z., Trinh, Q., Krzywinski, M & Altman, N. (2022) Points of significance: Regression modeling of time-to-event data with censoring Nature Methods 19
13–18 November 2022
conference
visualization

Set Visualization and Uncertainty
Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum fur Informatik GmbH
13 November 2022
conference
talk
visualization

Genomes: sets of sets of sets
Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum fur Informatik GmbH
10 November 2022
visualization
workshop

Effectively Communicating Research Through Visuals
Science Communication, UBC Pharmaceutical Studies, BC Children's Hospital
30 October – 2 November 2022
visualization
workshop

Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Communicating Science Workshop
Cold Spring Harbour, USA
22 October 2022
math
music
visualization

My video for Max Cooper's Ascent is released on YouTube
WATCH VIDEO
The animation shows cubes in 5-dimensional space — math, dyads and distortion.
2 October 2022
design
museum
visualization

Gene Cultures exibit at the MIT museum
Today the MIT museum reopened. My art is part of the Gene Cultures exhibit about the present and future of the genome.
14 September 2022
cover
design
visualization

Annals of Oncology cover
My Annals of Oncology cover is a representation of 570 cases of difficult-to-treat cancers, each individually encoding the actionable genomic alterations found in the sample and the type and length of therapy that resulted from the analysis.
31 August 2022
visualization
workshop

Communicating with data
Canadian National Proteomics Network
25 August 2022
web

Webpage style refresh. Same clickables but now with more room.
4 August 2022
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Survival analysis — time-to-event data and censoring
Dey, T., Lipsitz, S.R., Cooper, Z., Trinh, Q., Krzywinski, M & Altman, N. (2022) Points of significance: Survival analysis — time-to-event data and censoring. Nature Methods 19:906–908.
20 July 2022
graphic science
scientific american
visualization

See How Scientists Put Together the Complete Human Genome
Our graphic shows the evolution of the human genome assembly over the last 22 years — from humble shotgun beginnings to a complete telomere-to-telomere assembly.
With Jen Christiansen, Senior Graphics Editor at Scientific American.
25 May 2022
talk
visualization

A pandemic of bad charts.
BioVis Meetup
14 April 2022
cover
design
visualization

Nature Biotechnology cover
My Nature Biotechnology cover is a take on a phylogenetic tree constructed from over 200 million sequences.
14 April 2022
MEDS3001
masterclass
visualization

Telling stories with data
MEDS3001 Masterclass — Visualizing Data, University of Sydney, Australia
14 April 2022
talk
visualization

Art is Science in Love
Network Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam – Nieuw Universiteitsgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands
11 April 2022
cover
design
visualization

Cancer Cell cover
My Cancer Cell cover depicts cellular heterogeneity as a kaleidoscope generated from immunofluorescence staining of the glial and neuronal markers in GBM
1 April 2022
covid-19
design
visualization

Anatomy of the SARS-CoV-2 virus
My information graphic in the March/April 2022 issue of American Scientist shows the position of genes and ORFs on each WHO COVID variant, along with their commonly seen mutations
27–28 March 2022
visualization
workshop

Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Communicating Science Workshop
Schloss Lautrach, Germany
17 March 2022
cover
design
visualization

Nature cover: Gene genie
My Nature cover the cover offers a visual representation of the evolutionary properties of sequences at the extremes of the evolvability spectrum.
14 March 2022
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2022 `\pi` Day art
three one four: a number of notes
14 March 2022
masterclass
visualization

Eye for design, mind for data: in search of balance
VIZBI 2022
10 March 2022
MEDS1001
masterclass
visualization

How to tell a story to the eye — design of data graphics
MEDS1001 Masterclass — Visualizing Data, University of Sydney, Australia
9 March 2022
MICB425
lecture
visualization

Turning Tables into Graphics
What's the story and where are the outliers?
1 March 2022
BMEG518
lecture
visualization

Graphical abstract — designing for small spaces
Practical tips and redesign examples for creating scientific graphical abstracts.
25 February 2022
lecture
visualization
workshop

How to tell a story to the eye — design of data graphics
Science communication workshop, East of Scotland Doctoral Training Partnership (EASTBIo), Rules of Life
24 February 2022
lecture
visualization
workshop

Data visualisation principles and resources
SOMS4101 Honours Module on Data Analysis and Visualization, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Australia
9 February 2022
paper
visualization

A platform for oncogenomic reporting and interpretation
Reisle, C., Williamson, L.M., Pleasance, E., Davies, A., Pellegrini, B., Bleile, D.W., Mungall, K.L, Chuah, E., Jones, M.R., Ma, Y., Lewis, E., Beckie, I., Pham, D., Matiello Pletz, R., Muhammadzadeh, A., Pierce, B.M., Li, J., Stevenson, R., Wong, H., Bailey, L., Reisle, A., Douglas, M., Bonakdar, M., Nelson, J.M.T., Grisdale, C.J., Krzywinski, M., Fisic, A., Mitchell, T., Renouf, D.J., Yip, S., Laskin, J., Marra, M.A., Jones, S.J.M. A platform for oncogenomic reporting and interpretation. Nature Communications 13:756 (2022).
3 February 2022
visualization
workshop

Adobe Illustrator for scientist and practical data visualization workshop
Rock lab, Rockefeller University, NY
28 January 2022
cover
design
visualization

A catalogue of all my covers: journals, magazines and books.
28 January 2022
cover
design
visualization

PNAS cover: Earth BioGenome Project
My PNAS cover design captures the vision of the Earth BioGenome Project — to sequence everything.
24 January 2022
COVID-19
design
visualization

The COVID charts — Hospitalization rates
I fix a graphic by Canada's Health Minister Adrian Dix Brief and show how a story can be lifted from something that is inaccessible and muddled.
14 January 2022
BMEG518
lecture
visualization

How to tell a story to the eye — design of data graphics
SeRC course on Visual Storytelling, Linköping University, Sweden
15 November 2021
visualization
workshop

Science — Clearly
CSCI-CITAC General Meeting, University of Toronto
15 October 2021
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: The class imbalance problem
Megahed, F.M, Chen, Y-J., Megahed, A., Ong, Y., Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2021) Points of significance: The class imbalance problem. Nature Methods 18:1270–1272.
3–8 October 2021
conference
visualization

Visualization of Biological Data - From Analysis to Communication
Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum fur Informatik GmbH
23 September 2021
cover
design
visualization

Science cover: Human Genome, a Research Ultramarathon
Chromosomes spiral at 1 Mb/cm on the cover, annotated with genes associated with Mendelian disorders and mutations clusters found in advanced cancers.
20 September 2021
art
lecture
science

Science, art and pandemics.
Medical Science Interdisciplinary Project, MEDS3888, University of Sydney
16 September 2021
art
panel
science

Science Polish Perspectives Meetup USA 2021
Panel discussion: where art meets science
3 + 17 August 2021
visualization
workshop

Scientific Communication Workshop, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, UBC
27 July 2021
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Graphical assessments of tests and classifiers
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2021) Points of significance: Points of Significance: Graphical assessments of tests and classifiers. Nature Methods 18
6 July 2021
math
music
visualization

Max Cooper Live A/V at the Acropolis Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens, Greece
WATCH VIDEO
Ascent uses my animation of 5-dimension things doing things for its backdrop. Math, dyads and distortion.
6 July 2021
training
visualization
workshop

Effective poster design: legible, clear, concise and compelling
BCCHRI, Vancouver
28 May 2021
art
music
space
visualization

Flunk releases History of Everything Ever
The 'Down Here / Moon Above' song was written for the Sanctuary project genome discs. For the Moon.
17–21 May 2021
design
visualization
workshop

BioMedVis Spring School on Biomedical Visualization
Mentoring PhDs — Bring your image
1 May 2021
paper
public health
visualization

Capturing the data moment: Effective public health communication in a pandemic
UBC Medical Journal (2021) 12:6–10
19 April 2021
math
music
visualization

Transcendence: a tactile audio-visual installation in collaboration with Max Cooper, Salvador Breed, and AND&
WATCH VIDEO
Dimensions and digits projected onto the canopy of St Michael’s Church in Leuven with music by Max Cooper transmitted directly to your body by a haptic audio delivery system.
15 April 2021
talk
visualization

Visual design principles for scientific data, graphical abstracts and posters
2021 dermatology skin research trainee workshop, UBC
9 April 2021
talk
visualization

Design and delivery of effective virtual conference presentations
2021 ARCC pre-conference workshop, Canadian Center for Applied Research in Cancer Control
23 March 2021
talk
visualization

Design guidelines for posters and graphical abstracts
BCCHRI Seminar Series
14 March 2021
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2021 `\pi` Day art
A forest of digits
10 March 2021
art
covid
genome
visualization

Critics decry access, transparency issues with key trove of coronavirus sequences
My COVID genome poster from the deadly genome series appears in a Science news article about issues with open access to SARS-CoV-2 genome data
9 March 2021
MICB425
lecture
visualization

Turning Tables into Graphics
What's the story and where are the outliers?
5 March 2021
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Testing for rare conditions
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2021) Points of significance: Testing for rare conditions. Nature Methods 18:224–225.
2 March 2021
BMEG518
lecture
visualization

Graphical abstract — designing for small spaces
Practical tips and redesign examples for creating scientific graphical abstracts.
3 February 2021
art
covid
genome
visualization

Scientists call for fully open sharing of coronavirus genome data
My COVID genome poster from the deadly genome series appears in a Nature news article news article about issues with open access to SARS-CoV-2 genome data.
7 January 2021
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: The standardization fallacy
Voelkl, B., Würbel, H., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2021) Points of significance: The standardization fallacy. Nature Methods 18:5–7.
15 December 2019
hitchmas

Happy Hitchmas
Official Hitchmas parties in a pandemic.
Europe party: 9pm GMT
North American party: 9pm EST
13 Nov 2019
design
visualization

Effective graphical abstract design
Practical tips and redesign examples for creating scientific graphical abstracts.
10 November 2020
statistics
talk

Rats tasting tea: some statistical issues in preclinical studies
with Naomi Altman
Preclinical Imaging and Testing facility, MIT
6 October 2020
language
visualization

"This figure might give you a migrane"
A detailed look at the process of designing a poster and creating data stories.
5–6 October 2020
panel
visualization

Science communication: How to share science effectively and creatively?
Epigene2Sys CNRS GDRi
Oct 6 4:05–4:45pm CEST
30 September 2020
language
visualization

Word analysis of Trump-Biden 2020 presidential debates
Who said and didn't say what.
1 Sep 2020
talk
visualization

Science, clearly: design, data and stories
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York
24 August 2020
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

We celebrate 50 columns of clear explanations of statistics
7 years, 50 columns, 100 pages, 150+ figures. Whew!
24 August 2020
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Uncertainty and the management of epidemics
Bjørnstad, O.N., Shea, K., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2020) Points of Significance: Uncertainty and the management of epidemics. Nature Methods 17:867–868.
3 August 2020
cover
design
visualization

Nature Genetics cover: Dichotomy of Chromatin in Color
Histone modifications across HPV-integration events on the cover of Nature Genetics August 2020 issue.
6 July 2020
training
visualization
workshop

Effective poster design: legible, clear, concise and compelling
WATCH VIDEO
BCCHRI, Vancouver
16 June 2020
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: The SEIRS model for infectious disease dynamics
Bjørnstad, O.N., Shea, K., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2020) Points of Significance: The SEIRS model for infectious disease dynamics. Nature Methods 17:557–558.
5 June 2020
art
music

Gene Machines by Segue
Shifting soundscapes, textures and rhythmic loops produced by laboratory machines. Available on vinyl.
12 May 2020
color
visualization

Color palettes for color blindness
Updated pages on color blindness. Now with math calculations!
5 May 2020
keyboards

Splurge on a Better Keyboard, It’s Worth It
My interview about keyboards on Bloomberg Quint
by Arianne Cohen
4 May 2020
covid-19
graphic science
scientific american
visualization

Virus Mutations Reveal How COVID-19 Really Spread
Our graphic depics genetic sequences of the coronavirus reported by laboratories and shows when the virus arrived in each place and where it came from.
With Jen Christiansen, Senior Graphics Editor at Scientific American
21 April 2020
cover
design
visualization

Nature Cancer cover: 570 pan-genomes
Mutation spectra of 570 genomes on the cover of Nature Cancer April 2020 issue.
Influenced by the work of Christian Stolte.
20 April 2020
COVID-19
design
visualization

The COVID charts
Brief critiques of data visualization and science communication of the coronavirus outbreak.
20 April 2020
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Modeling infectious epidemics.
Bjørnstad, O.N., Shea, K., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2020) Points of Significance: Modeling infectious epidemics. Nature Methods 17:455–456.
9 April 2020
blindness
color
visualization

Color palettes for color blindness
Updated resources, added Adobe library links and refreshed figures.
4 April 2020
covid-19
outbreak
poem

The Outbreak Poems
You can now browse the poems by theme.
20 March 2020
covid-19
outbreak
poem

Top Questions have been updated with questions about COVID-19 and coronavirus
See what people want to know.
16 March 2020
covid-19
outbreak
poem

The Outbreak Poems
Poems in piku form written during the coronavirus outbreak.
14 March 2020
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2020 `\pi` Day art
Digits, poetically.
10 March 2020
covid-19
visualization

Data story about how small efforts in disease spread prevention have big payoffs.
Updated with SARS-CoV-2, including a special poster of 56 coronavirus genomes.
8 March 2020
disease
visualization

Deadly Genomes — Genome Structure and Size of Harmful Bacteria and Viruses
Updated with SARS-CoV-2, including a special poster of 56 coronavirus genomes.
6 March 2020
MICB425
lecture
visualization

Turning Tables into Graphics
What's the story and where are the outliers?
4 March 2020
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2020 `\pi` Day art—now accepting submissions
Digits, poetically.
25 February 2020
talk
visualization

Putting the form in formalizing
Shonan Meeting 167, Tokyo, Japan
23–27 February 2020
conference
visualization

Formalizing Biological and Medical Visualization
Shonan Meeting 167, Tokyo, Japan
20 February 2020
art
philosophy
science

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
My favourite passages, excerpts and quotes from this classic by Robert M. Pirsig
11 February 2020
talk
visualization
workshop

The Essence of Data Visualization in Bioinformatics
Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Australia
12 February 2020
art
science
talk

Cancer, Pi, Infinity
Charles Perkins Center, University of Sydney, Australia
8 February 2020
talk
visualization

Fitting Big Science on a Small Page: Compact visual explanations of complicated things
Lorne Proteomics Symposium, Lorne, Australia
5 February 2020
visualization
workshop

The Essence of Data Visualization in Bioinformatics
International House, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
4 February 2020
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Markov models — training and evaluation of hidden Markov models.
Grewal, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2019) Points of Significance: Markov models — training and evaluation of hidden Markov models. Nature Methods 17:121–122.
4 February 2020
talk
visualization

The Essence of Data Visualization in Bioinformatics
The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
3 February 2020
visualization
workshop

Using Circos in Galaxy Australia
WATCH VIDEO
Australian BioCommons, University of Melbourne, Australia
3 February 2020
visualization
webinar

The Essence of Data Visualization in Bioinformatics
WATCH VIDEO
Australian BioCommons, University of Melbourne, Australia
22 January 2020
anniversary
art
clothing
music

Behind the scene look at the design of clothing, music, drinks and art for our 20th anniversary celebration
BC Cancer Genome Sciences Center 20th Anniversary Celebration
22 January 2020
book
visualization

Scientific Data Visualization: Aesthetic for Diagrammatic Clarity
Chapter 3, The Aesthetics of Scientific Data Representation, More than Pretty Pictures, 1st Edition.
15 December 2019
hitchmas

Happy Hitchmas
Official Hitchmas party at Moretender's Cocktail Bar in Istanbul, 8pm till late
13 December 2019
talk
visualization

Genomes, cancer, infinity.
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey
8-9 November 2019
talk
visualization

Art is Science in Love
Science: Polish Perspectives (SPP), Cambridge, UK
20 October 2019
talk
visualization

Set visualization in genomics
SetVA at IEEE VIS 2019, Vancouver, BC, Canada
24 October 2019
talk
visualization

Little table, what do you have to say of visualization?
BioVis at IEEE VIS 2019, Vancouver, BC, Canada
10 October 2019
visualization
workshop

Effective visual scientific communication
Exposome Cluster, Michael Smith Laboratories, UBC
2 October 2019
visualization
workshop

Effective visual scientific communication
Hirst Lab, Michael Smith Laboratories, UBC
28 September 2019
math
music
visualization

Yearning for the Infinite, Max Cooper at the Barbican Hall, London, UK
Read about the math and making of my Aleph 2 music video for Max's show.
10 September 2019
visualization
workshop

Effective visual scientific communication
GrasPods welcome week workshop, BCCRC, 12-1pm
31 August 2019
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Hidden Markov models
Grewal, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2019) Points of Significance: Hidden Markov models Nature Methods 16:795–796.
Goes particularly well with Alan Watts and Blond:ish.
30 July 2019
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Markov chains.
Grewal, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2019) Points of Significance: Markov chains. Nature Methods 16:663–664.
Goes particularly well with Alan Watts and Blond:ish.
20 July 2019
apollo
maps
space
visualization

Gigapixel annotated maps of the Moon (6k+ locations), solar system (800k objects) and the north and south sky (100M+ stars and deep-sky objects).
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
19 July 2019
visualization
workshop

Data Visualization and Scientific Communication Workshop, Kobor Lab, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver
16–30 June 2019
visualization
workshop

EMBO Practical Course — Bioinformatics and Genome Analysis
San Michele all'Adige, Italy
7 June 2019
visualization
workshop

Scientific Communication Workshop, Part 2/2, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, UBC
30 May 2019
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Quantile regression.
Das, K., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2019) Points of Significance: Quantile regression. Nature Methods 16:451–452.
10 May 2019
visualization
workshop

Scientific Communication Workshop, Part 1/2, Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, UBC
Part 2/2 scheduled for July 7, 2019
9 April 2019
keynote
visualization

The Art of Data
MBB Graduate Colloquium 2019 (20th anniversary), SFU, Vancouver, Canada.
16–18 April 2019
talk
visualization

Creating Effective Visualizations – Design and Choreography for the Chaos of Data (Track 8)
Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, Boston, USA
30 March 2019
art
visualization
wayfinding

DNA on 10th
Science this way! Wayfinding signs on Vancouver's Health Care Corridor (10th Avenue, at Oak Street) (1 June 2019: signs are now lit!)
28 March 2019
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Analyzing outliers: Robust methods to the rescue
Greco, L., Luta, G., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2019) Points of Significance: Analyzing outliers: Robust methods to the rescue Nature Methods 16:275–276.
14 March 2019
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2019 `\pi` Day art
Digits, internationally.
14-15 March 2019
talk
visualization

Integrative Omics
14th Annual New Mexico BioInformatics, Science and Technology (NMBIST) Symposium, Santa Fe
27 February 2019
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Two-level factorial experiments
Smucker, B., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2019) Points of Significance: Two-level factorial experiments Nature Methods 16:211–212.
26 February 2019
lecture
visualization

Essentials of Data Visualization: Thinking about drawing data and communicating science.
MBB462, Simon Fraser University
17 February 2019
design
visualization

Tree of emotional life
Find your inner ASCII
15 February 2019
MICB425
lecture
visualization

Turning Tables into Graphics
What's the story and where are the outliers?
31 January 2019
UBC
visualization
workshop

Scientific Storytelling and Data Visualization
Faculty of Land and Food Systems, UBC
28 December 2018
color
visualization

Snap and find reference colors in an image
My colorsnap application (Linux/Windows) makes quick work of finding colors in an image.
18 December 2018
graphic science
scientific american
visualization

Take your medicine ... now
Visualization of the temporal patterns in the expression of 136 cardiac genes.
15 December 2018
hitchmas

Happy Hitchmas
Official Hitchmas party at Oslo's Fuglen, 8pm till late
10–11 December 2018
visualization
workshop

EMBO Practical Course - Bioinformatics and Genome Analysis
Pasteur Institute, Tunis, Tunesia
30 November 2018
illustration

Decoding Hemophilia
Hemaware, Fall 2018
11–14 November 2018
visualization
workshop

Scientific Storytelling, Canadian Stem Cell Network
30 October 2018
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Predicting with confidence and tolerance
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2018) Points of Significance: Predicting with confidence and tolerance Nature Methods 15:843–844.
20–21 September 2018
conference
visualization
workshop

Brain & Mind Symposium
University of Helsinki, Finland
1 August 2018
talk
visualization

Art is Science in Love
MSFT YVR DataViz Symposium, Microsoft Research, Vancouver
31 July 2018
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Optimal experimental design
Smucker, B., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2018) Points of Significance: Optimal experimental design Nature Methods 15:599–600.
27 July 2018
visualization
workshop

Data Visualization in Epigenetics Reporting Pipelines
Zymo Research, Irvine, CA
20 July 2018
media
visualization

Our job as scientists is to find the truth. But we must also be storytellers
Article by Nick Enfield in the Guardian references our Storytelling Points of View column
9 July 2018
conference
keynote
talk
visualization

One successful data exploration—many explanations
Keynote at BioVis2018, ISMB, Chicago, USA.
1 July 2018
illustration
magazine
visualization

The Whole Earth Cataloguer
Tree of life illustration accompanying the article. Sactown June/July 2018, p.89
28 June 2018
celebration
math
tau day

Happy `\tau` day!
Art for everyone.
28 June 2018
art
constellation
map
space
stars
visualization

IAU Constellation Shapes and Yale Catalogue of Bright Star Resources
Draw constellations and download high-resolution star charts.
23 June 2018
graphic science
scientific american
visualization

The Same Genes May Underlie Different Psychiatric Disorders
Analysis of 700 human brains and 11,000 genes.
23 June 2018
art
space
visualization

Universe: Superclusters and Voids
Galaxy clusters, superclusters and voids within 12,000 million light-years. And one quasar.
20 June 2018
visualization
workshop

Trainee Symposium, BC Children¹s Hospital Research Institute, Van Dusen Gardens, Vancouver
5 June 2018
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Curse(s) of dimensionality
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2018) Points of Significance: Curse(s) of dimensionality Nature Methods 15:399–400.
1 June 2018
art
science
talk

Bridging Science, Art and Design
Sydney Vivid Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
31 May 2018
visualization
workshop

Data Visualization Masterclass
Sydney Vivid Festival, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
25 May 2018
carpalx
keyboard
media

Why we can't give up this odd way of typing
A BBC article by Tim McDonald about keyboard layouts, referencing my layouts generated with my Carpalx keyboard optimization software
15–20 April 2018
conference
visualization

Visualization of Biological Data - Crossroads
Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum fur Informatik GmbH
3 April 2018
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Statistics vs machine learning.
Bzdok, D., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2018) Points of Significance: Statistics vs machine learning. Nature Methods 15:233–234.
16 March 2018
visualization
workshop

SFU Omics Visualization Workshop
1–4 pm, Library Committee Room 7200, WAC Bennet Library, SFU
14 March 2018
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2018 `\pi` Day art
Jake Lever and I shrink the world and use the digits of `\pi` to shuffle road maps.
14 February 2018
art
love
science
valentine

Art is Science in Love
Charles Perkins Center, University of Sydney, Australia
13 February 2018
design
visualization

Information design is data choreography for the page
University of Sydney, Australia
9 February 2018
design
visualization

Information design is data choreography for the page
Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
8 February 2018
visualization
workshop

Communicating science visually: Design of scientific concept and data figures
part of the Australian Poultry Science Symposium (APSS), Sydney, Australia, 4–7 February 2018
4–7 February 2018
conference
visualization

The Australian Poultry Science Symposium (APSS), Sydney, Australia. 4–7 February 2018.
Enhancing research communication through information design and visual storytelling: Reflections on 10 years of APSS proceedings figures
31 January 2018
art
public
science

Art is Science in Love
WATCH VIDEO
Curiosity Collider
3 January 2018
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Machine learning: supervised methods.
Bzdok, D., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2018) Points of Significance: Machine learning: supervised methods. Nature Methods 15:5–6.
15 December 2017
graphic science
scientific american
visualization

In silico flurries: computing a world of snow
With Jake Lever.
18 December 2017
art
cover
nature

Human versus machine
Making of the 2017 Nature 10 cover: balancing subjective design with objective optimization.
1 December 2017
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Machine learning: a primer.
Bzdok, D., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2017) Points of Significance: Machine learning: a primer. Nature Methods 14:1119–1120.
26–29 November 2017
visualization
workshop

4th Canadian Conference on Epigenetics
Mechanisms of disease
14 Nov 2017
art
visualization

Snowflake simulation
Each simulated snowflake is beautiful and, of course, unique.
2 Nov 2017
art
illustration
visualization

Genes that make us sick
Illustration in 'The Objects that Power the Global Economy' by Quartz.
11 October 2017
hive plot
network
visualization

Differential Hive Plots: Seeing Networks Change
Martin Krzywinski, Ka Ming Nip, Inanc Birol, Marco Marra (2017) Leonardo, 50:5, p.504
6–8 October 2017
visualization
workshop

iNANO Autumn School
Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, Denmark
29 September 2017
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Ensemble methods: Bagging and random forests.
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2017) Points of Significance: Ensemble methods: Bagging and random forests. Nature Methods 14:933–934.
24 September–1 October 2017
visualization
workshop

Spetses Summer School
Spetses, Greece
13–18 August 2017
conference
visualization

Scalable Set Visualizations
Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik GmbH
6–11 August 2017
conference
visualization

Gordon Research Conference, Bates College, Maine
Visualization in Science and Education
3 Aug 2017
art
typography

Intertypes of Helvetica Neue
Intertypes are the spaces between letters
1 Aug 2017
art
typography

Last lines of the 37 plays of Shakespeare.
29 July 2017
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Classification and regression trees.
Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2017) Points of Significance: Classification and regression trees. Nature Methods 14:757–758.
26 July 2017
art
pog
visualization

Art for the 5 year anniversary of the Personal Oncogenomics Program (POG)
The Personal Oncogenomics Program (POG) is a collaborative research study including many BC Cancer Agency oncologists, pathologists and other clinicians along with Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre with support from BC Cancer Foundation.
29 June 2017
book
chapter
visualization

Krzywinski, M. Scientific data visualization: Aesthetic for diagrammatic clarity.
DOWNLOAD EXCERPT
Chapter 3 in Scientific Data Visualization: Aesthetic for Diagrammatic Clarity. More Than Pretty Pictures (2017) Edited by Rikke Schmidt Kjærgaard & Lotte Philipsen. Routledge, NY.
29 June 2017
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Principal Component Analysis.
Lever, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2017) Points of Significance: Principal Component Analysis. Nature Methods 14:641–642.
13 June 2017
google
maps

Google maps challenge — longest routes
Added 3-point route challenge.
7 June 2017
benchmark
crossfit
fitness

`k` index fitness benchmark
Perform `k` reps at `k`% 1RM. Expected value is `k=26` and higher values are progressively more difficult to achieve.
5–17 June 2017
visualization
workshop

EMBO Practical Course - Bioinformatics and Genome Analysis
Centre for Research & Technology – Hellas. Tessalonica, Greece
3 June 2017
statistics
words

Dark matter of the English language—the unwords
Brand new words for the language generated from a neural network. New places, drugs, names and diseases.
31 May 2017
genome
statistics

Dark matter of the genome—the nullomers
Nullomers are the unwords of the genome, sequences that are not there.
31 May 2017
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Clustering.
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2017) Points of Significance: Clustering. Nature Methods 14:545–546.
25 May 2017
case study
visualization

What's wrong with pie charts?
30 March 2017
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Tabular data.
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2017) Points of Significance: Tabular data. Nature Methods 14:329–330.
21 March 2017
art
color
visualization

Proportions of colors in country flags
Country flags rendered as concentric rings in proportion to their color composition and sorted by similarity.
16 March 2017
visualization
workshop

UBC & CIHR Skin Research Day
Practical Data Visualization: Thinking about drawing data and communicating science.
14 March 2017
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2017 Pi Day art
This year, I imagine the digits of `\pi` as a star catalogue and populate the sky with constellations based on extinct species.
8 March 2017
art
visualization

BD Genomics stereoscopic art exhibit at AGBT
An article about the visualization and design process behind the art.
28 Feb 2017
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: Interpreting P values.
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2017) Points of Significance: Interpreting P values. Nature Methods 14:213–214.
21 February 2017
art
chemistry
math
physics
typography

Snellen Optotype Font
The font gets its dedicated page.
20 February 2017
clock
time

Ptolemaic Clock
Updated and named the clock, with contributions from Rodrigo Goya.
18 February 2017
art
chemistry
math
physics
typography

Snellen Eye chart typographical posters
Insist that you look at physics, math and chemistry
8 February 2017
visualization
workshop

Improving Your Visual Science Communication: Plots & Figures
A Westgrid workshop
7 February 2017
google
questions

Updated the World's Most Popular Questions site and added a section all about Trump.
Is Trump a Manchurian candidate?
24 January 2017
lecture
visualization

Essentials of Data Visualization: Thinking about drawing data and communicating science.
MBB462, Simon Fraser University
16 January 2017
resource
visualization

Essentials of Data Visualization: Thinking about drawing data and communicating science.
8-part video series.
4 January 2017
nature methods
points of significance
statistics

Points of Significance: P values and the search for significance.
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2017) Points of Significance: P values and the search for significance. Nature Methods 14:3–4.
17 November 2016
epigenetics
resource
visualization

Hirst, M. & Krzywinski, M. (2016) Snapshot: Epigenomic Assays. Cell 167:1430.e1
10 November 2016
talk
visualization

Fitting Big Science on a Small Page, VizUM2016, University of Miami, Florida
Remember, the genome is not a blueprint.
7 November 2016
media
science

On the origins of scientists.
Interview with The Ubbyssey by Nivretta Thatra. Photos by Joshua Medicoff.
4 November 2016
color
resource
visualization

Compilation of my color resources.
3 November 2016
nature methods
points of view
visualization

Krzywinski, M. (2016) Points of View: Intuitive Design. Nature Methods 13:895.
25 October 2016
language
visualization

Tripsum—Donald Trump Lorem Ipsum
Neverending speeches, haikus and promises by Trump and Clinton.
4 October 2016
talk
visualization

How to communicate information clearly and beautifully
Central European Institute of Technology, Brno, Chech Republic
29 September 2016
nature methods
points of signficance
statistics

Points of Significance: Regularization.
Lever, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2016) Points of Significance: Regularization. Nature Methods 13:803-804.
26 September 2016
language
visualization

Word analysis of Clinton-Trump 2016 presidential debates
Who said and didn't say what.
22 September 2016
communication
education
science

SCIE 113 first-year seminar in science
A talk about thinking: scientifically and artistically
19 September 2016
interview
visualization

The Art of Big Data
Interview with Biotechniques' Sarah Webb about the processes, challenges, and skills involved in visualizing large biological data sets. Including Nils Gehlenborg, Jan Aerts and Lennart Martens. Biotechniques 61:107-112 (2016).
2 September 2016
nature methods
points of signficance
statistics

Points of Significance: Model Selection and Overfitting.
Lever, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2016) Points of Significance: Model Selection and Overfitting. Nature Methods 13:703-704.
30 August 2016
talk
visualization

The Quality of Quantity
University of Sydney
26 August 2016
talk
visualization

Communicating Your Science
University of Sydney
12 August 2016
talk
visualization

A casual talk on data visualisation & design for science communication
Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Turkey
28 July 2016
nature methods
points of signficance
statistics

Points of Significance: Classifier Evaluation.
Lever, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2016) Points of Significance: Classifier Evaluation. Nature Methods 13:603-604.
22 July 2016
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2016 Pi Approximation Day art
Perfect packing of warped circles that embody the approximation.
29 June 2016
nature methods
points of signficance
statistics

Points of Significance: Logistic Regression.
Lever, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2016) Points of Significance: Logistic Regression. Nature Methods 13:541-542.
22 June 2016
talk
visualization

Seeing Networks Change
CANHEIT-HPCS2016 Conference: Shaping the Digital Landscape, Edmonton
21 June 2016
visualization
workshop

Sense and Sensibility—Visual Design Principles for Scientific Data
CANHEIT-HPCS2016 Conference: Shaping the Digital Landscape, Edmonton
4 May 2016
visualization
workshop

EMBO Practical Course: Bioinformatics and genome analysis
Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey
1 May 2016
nature methods
points of signficance
statistics

Points of Significance: Regression Diagnostics.
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2016) Points of Significance: Regression Diagnostics. Nature Methods 13:385-386.
21 April 2016
design
science
visualization

Design + Science mixer
10–noon, Art Building, Room 247, University of Washington, Seattle
20 April 2016
talk
visualization

UW Free Public Lecture
7pm, Kane Hall, Room 110, University of Washington, Seattle
20 April 2016
talk
visualization

Data Science Seminar
University of Washington, Seattle
7 April 2016
visualization
workshop

Creating better scientific figures—a workshop
9–11am, AW210, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
6 April 2016
art
talk
visualization

Fraser lecture series: The Big Data Revolution in Human and Environmental Health
Mt Baker Theater, Western Washington University, Bellingham
30 March 2016
nature methods
points of signficance
statistics

Points of Significance: Analyzing Outliers: Influential or Nuisance.
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2016) Points of Significance: Analyzing Outliers: Influential or Nuisance. Nature Methods 13:281-282.
22 March 2016
art
birds
song
typography

Typographical posters of bird songs
Against a background of the bird's plumage color, its song.
14 March 2016
art
math
pi
piday
visualization

2016 Pi Day art
This year, I imagine the digits of Pi as physical masses and collapse them under gravity. The work is featured in Scientific American.
11 March 2016
seminar
ubc
visualization

B.I.G. Retreat 2016: Art and Science of Data Visualization Workshop
1:15pm AMS Student NEST, UBC
7 March 2016
seminar
ubc
visualization

Ecoscope seminar: Visual design principles for scientific data.
12:30-1:30pm, LSC 3, Life Science Institute, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, UBC
1 February 2016
party
petabase
sequencing

Petabase party
When you sequence a petabase (1015 bases), you have a party. And it looks like this.
21 January 2016
sanctuary
space

Sanctuary
Our Sanctuary project site goes beta.
21 January 2016
communication
education
science

SCIE 113 first-year seminar in science
A talk about thinking: scientifically and artistically
4 January 2016
nature methods
points of view
visualization

Hunnicutt, B.J. & Krzywinski, M. (2016) Points of View: Pathways. Nature Methods 13:5.
15 December 2015
hitchmas

Happy Hitchmas
Official Hitchmas party at Copenhagen's Library Bar. Today at 8pm.
7 December 2015
graphic science
making of
scientific american
visualization

Making of our Scientific American December 2015 Graphic Science visualization.
Dust, bacteria and genomes.
3 December 2015
benchmarking
cluster

I've resurrected the web page of an ancient project—Clusterpunch.
It was published in Jul 2003 Sys Admin Journal.
3 December 2015
nature methods
points of signficance
statistics

Points of Significance: Multiple Linear Regression.
Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2015) Points of Significance: Multiple Linear Regression. Nature Methods 12:1103-1104.
19 November 2015
graphic science
scientific american
visualization

Collection of my Scientific American Graphic Science visualizations.
Dust, bacteria and genomes.
18 November 2015
bacteria
dust
graphic science
scientific american
visualization

Information graphic in this month's Scientific American Graphic Science.
Men and Women Alter a Home's Bacteria Differently—an analysis of dust reveals how the presence of men, women, dogs and cats affects the variety of bacteria in a household.
11 November 2015
center for inquiry
hitchmas
party

Center for Inquiry Canada promotes my Hitchmas 2015 party in Copenhagen.
11 November 2015
music
numbers
pi

More songs with numbers in their lyrics added.
9 November 2015
art
color
resource

Updated named color list (v0.3) to 8,292 colors.
7 November 2015
art
curios
math

Debunking bad math about `\pi`.
3 November 2015
art
color
resource

Ultimate list of 5,000+ named colors.
1 November 2015
hitchmas
party

Hitchmas 2015 is in Copenhagen.
Sit down. Object the objectionable
28 October 2015
nature methods
points of signficance
statistics

Points of Significance: Simple Linear Regression.
Altman, N. & Krzywinski, M. (2015) Points of Significance: Simple Linear Regression. Nature Methods 12:999-1000.
news + thoughts

Convolutional neural networks

Thu 17-08-2023

Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry. – Richard Feynman

Following up on our Neural network primer column, this month we explore a different kind of network architecture: a convolutional network.

The convolutional network replaces the hidden layer of a fully connected network (FCN) with one or more filters (a kind of neuron that looks at the input within a narrow window).

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Nature Methods Points of Significance column: Convolutional neural networks. (read)

Even through convolutional networks have far fewer neurons that an FCN, they can perform substantially better for certain kinds of problems, such as sequence motif detection.

Derry, A., Krzywinski, M & Altman, N. (2023) Points of significance: Convolutional neural networks. Nature Methods 20:.

Background reading

Derry, A., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2023) Points of significance: Neural network primer. Nature Methods 20:165–167.

Lever, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2016) Points of significance: Logistic regression. Nature Methods 13:541–542.

Neural network primer

Tue 10-01-2023

Nature is often hidden, sometimes overcome, seldom extinguished. —Francis Bacon

In the first of a series of columns about neural networks, we introduce them with an intuitive approach that draws from our discussion about logistic regression.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Nature Methods Points of Significance column: Neural network primer. (read)

Simple neural networks are just a chain of linear regressions. And, although neural network models can get very complicated, their essence can be understood in terms of relatively basic principles.

We show how neural network components (neurons) can be arranged in the network and discuss the ideas of hidden layers. Using a simple data set we show how even a 3-neuron neural network can already model relatively complicated data patterns.

Derry, A., Krzywinski, M & Altman, N. (2023) Points of significance: Neural network primer. Nature Methods 20:165–167.

Background reading

Lever, J., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2016) Points of significance: Logistic regression. Nature Methods 13:541–542.

Cell Genomics cover

Mon 16-01-2023

Our cover on the 11 January 2023 Cell Genomics issue depicts the process of determining the parent-of-origin using differential methylation of alleles at imprinted regions (iDMRs) is imagined as a circuit.

Designed in collaboration with with Carlos Urzua.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
Our Cell Genomics cover depicts parent-of-origin assignment as a circuit (volume 3, issue 1, 11 January 2023). (more)

Akbari, V. et al. Parent-of-origin detection and chromosome-scale haplotyping using long-read DNA methylation sequencing and Strand-seq (2023) Cell Genomics 3(1).

Browse my gallery of cover designs.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
A catalogue of my journal and magazine cover designs. (more)

Science Advances cover

Thu 05-01-2023

My cover design on the 6 January 2023 Science Advances issue depicts DNA sequencing read translation in high-dimensional space. The image showss 672 bases of sequencing barcodes generated by three different single-cell RNA sequencing platforms were encoded as oriented triangles on the faces of three 7-dimensional cubes.

More details about the design.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
My Science Advances cover that encodes sequence onto hypercubes (volume 9, issue 1, 6 January 2023). (more)

Kijima, Y. et al. A universal sequencing read interpreter (2023) Science Advances 9.

Browse my gallery of cover designs.

Martin Krzywinski @MKrzywinski mkweb.bcgsc.ca
A catalogue of my journal and magazine cover designs. (more)

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