# Iron Viz 2026

## Метаданные

- **Канал:** Tableau
- **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc
- **Дата:** 07.05.2026
- **Длительность:** 1:02:11
- **Просмотры:** 2,193

## Описание

Iron Viz: The Ultimate Data Viz Showdown 

Three viz-whizzes take the stage at Tableau Conference #TC26 to build a data visualization in 20 minutes or less—only one will be crowned the next #IronViz Champion. The finalists are judged on design, analysis, and storytelling.

Meet the cast:

Finalists
- Ann Pregler, Senior Performance Analyst, BECU from Battleground, WA
- Brian Moore, Manager for Data Visualization & Analytics Practice, Cleartelligence from Haverhill, MA
- Kevin Wee, Lead Business Analyst, Capital One from Chicago, IL

Souz Vizzers
- Grant Quick, Tableau Lead, Analytics SE from Sydney, Australia, supporting Ann Pregler
- Lauren Smith, Tableau Lead, Analytics SE from San Francisco, CA supporting Brian Moore
- Gus Frazer, Tableau Senior, Analytics SE from London, United Kingdom, supporting Kevin Wee

Judges
- Bo McCready, Tableau Visionary and 2025 Iron Viz Champion from Austin, TX
- Vidya Setlur, Tableau Senior Director, Research from Palo Alto, CA
- Mark Bradbourne, Tableau Principal, Specialist SE from Twinsburg, OH

Hosts
- Archana Ganeshalingam, Tableau Program Manager, Global Solution Engineering from London, United Kingdom
- Cate Guyman, Tableau Software Engineering PMTS from Seattle, WA

Want more? Tune in to Salesforce+ for more live sessions and exclusive online-only content from Tableau Conference 2026: sforce.co/4mH3Pcj

## Содержание

### [0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc) Segment 1 (00:00 - 05:00)

Welcome to the ultimate data showdown. This is Iron Viz. Hundreds of data wizards from around the world have competed to be here. And now, three finalists remain. They're at the top of their game, and the stakes are high as they prepare to push themselves to creative extremes. How will they be judged? On three criteria: design, storytelling, and analysis. Watch the sparks and insights fly as they furiously race against the clock, going dashboard-to-dashboard, hoping to be crowned best in viz. Who will take home the trophy? Stay tuned to find out. Hello and welcome to Iron Viz 2026. Please welcome to the stage your host, Archana Ganeshan Lingam. Hello and welcome to Iron Viz. My name is Archana, and I am part of the Tableau Strategic Initiatives team. But today, I am your one of your co-hosts for Iron Viz, and I'm so delighted to be back for another year with my trusty partner in crime. Oh, shoot. Of course, I have to find a new co-host for this year. Good thing I have my phone with me. I can use my analytics agent. So, which Tableau employees are most excited about Iron Viz this year? Let's see what it comes up with. Okay. I'm recognizing some of these names. Ivana Filter, Norma Distribution, Bob Chart, of course, but who's that coming out on top? Kate Gaynor? I don't think I know her. Let me switch to Slack bot. Pull up one of Kate's most recent messages about Iron Viz. OMG, just saw the Iron Viz qualifiers and I'm literally buzzing. Those parameter actions, I haven't slept in 3 days because I'm so busy building a dashboard to track the velocity of my own excitement. #datarockstar, #vizordie. Wow, she sounds like a lot, but what does she actually do here besides posting in Slack all day? Okay, she's been here 6 years, she's a principal software engineer, and she has keynote experience. She's checking a lot of the boxes. Send her a message to bring on stage now. Please welcome to the stage your co-host, Kate Gaynor. Welcome, Kate. How on earth did you get here so fast? Thank you so much, Archana. Well, I've actually been hiding backstage since last year and I didn't want to be underdressed for my biggest break yet. What an incredible outfit. You know, it kind of reminds me of a pie chart. Oh, thanks. That's actually exactly what I was going for. Oh, and I get yours now. It's small multiple radial bar chart, right? Not quite, but I'll take it. But we are perfectly complementary in the Tableau signature orange and blue. So, Kate, you ready to do this? Let's do it. — It's 2026 AND THIS IS IRON VIZ! — [screaming] — WELCOME! To the world's ultimate visual analytics competition. Today, three contestants will go head-to-head building the most compelling data viz they can in only 20 minutes. Then, they'll each have 3 minutes to present to our esteemed judges on three criteria: design, analysis, and storytelling. This year, our data set comes from Goodreads. Bright Data, the world's leading The world's leading web data platform, has provided us with 6. 5 million rows of metadata covering books, authors, genres, and reader reviews. Our contestants could have taken so many pathways with their analysis, whether

### [5:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=300s) Segment 2 (05:00 - 10:00)

it's literary trends, review sentiments, and sales performance metrics. I'm curious to see what they come up with. Absolutely. So, our contestants today have had 1 month to read between the lines of all that data. They have outlined, they have drafted, they have edited, and today it's time for them to bring their viz's off the page and into life. You're already getting the hang of this Iron Viz thing. You're full of all those puns. Now, let's talk prizes. This year, we're upping the ante. We are matching the charity donations to the cash prizes that our contestants will take home. Talk about viz for good. That's right. So, get this. This year, the runners-up will each receive a $6,000 cash prize and a matching $6,000 donation to the charity of their choice. And the winner will receive $15,000 in their pocket today plus a matching $15,000 donation to their chosen charity. But that is not all. The winner will also take home the coveted Iron Viz trophy, the ultimate piece of shelf candy to sit alongside all those books. And the plot thickens. All of you in the audience will also get a chance to vote on your favorite Viz. That's right. You'll be able to choose who you think the fan favorite is. Stay tuned because we'll be reading out more on how you can make your voice heard. All right. So, our three contestants secured their spot on this stage today by competing in an Iron Viz qualifier at the end of last year. All right, Ashana. Are you ready to bring them out? Let's do it. First up from Chicago via Malaysia is Kevin Wee. Hi. I'm Kevin Wee, a Chinese Malaysian living in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago excites me with its stunning skyline, world-class museums, and soul-enriching performance art. The city fills me with endless inspiration. I came across Tableau in 2019 and it has transformed my life — ever since. I leverage Tableau in my PhD research. I built a data visualization portfolio on Tableau Public leading to my career transition from academia to the data industry. I'm also a Tableau Visionary and Ambassador. So, I teach dashboard design at Tableau conferences and user group meetings. I choose to donate to UNICEF. Its mission to improve children's lives aligns deeply with my belief in lifting up the next generation. Winning the Iron Viz would equip me with more opportunities to give back to the data fam community. As the first Chinese Malaysian Iron Viz finalist, I hope my journey inspires the people whose lives can be improved through data analytics and Tableau. Because at its core, Tableau is a tool of empowerment. LET'S BRING OUT KEVIN WEE! WOO! — [screaming] — YEAH! SO, KEVIN, ARE YOU READY TO read the competition? Absolutely. Let's do it. Next up from Battle Ground, Washington is Ann Pegler. My name is Ann Pegler. I come from Battle Ground, Washington, a small town where exactly zero battles have ever taken place. I love living in the Pacific Northwest. Surely it rains like all the time, but we also have volcanic mountain ranges, huge forests, and some of the most stunning and beautiful natural scenery in the country. I live here with my husband, our two kids, two cats, and 10 chickens. I started using Tableau about five or six years ago when I changed careers from teaching to data analytics. During my master's program, I took just one class on data visualization and got to try Tableau for the first time. I'm competing today for all of the career changers like me or people who took a different path than the usual into this world of data. And of course, I'm also competing for my family who have loved and supported me unconditionally throughout this entire journey. My chosen charity today is UNICEF, which helps support children in war zones, refugee camps, and other dangerous situations around the world. Every person deserves to be safe and have a

### [10:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=600s) Segment 3 (10:00 - 15:00)

home, especially children. And today, the work UNICEF is doing is more vital than ever. Winning today would be a huge validation of all the work that I've put in to get to this point, all of the people who supported me, and this journey that I've been on as I've learned and grown in data visualization and in my career as well. Let's bring out Ann Kriebel. All right. Ann, are you ready to show us all your novel ideas? — I sure am. And last but not least, from Haverhill, Massachusetts, let's meet Brian Moore. My name is Brian Moore, and I live in Haverhill, Massachusetts with my wife, who many of you already know, our amazing son, and our two dogs. Now, I said two dogs. — Now, that's my Haverhill is your typical New England mill town with a lot of history and tons of great outdoor spaces to enjoy. Except for in December and March, when it's covered in snow. — And July is tough when it's too hot. And April and May when it rains every day. But for those other few weeks, it's paradise. Besides building fun stuff for Tableau Public, I have plenty of hobbies to keep me busy, like snowboarding, learning piano, playing video games with my son, disc golf, and hiking with my dogs. Aw. For anyone who's ever shared on Tableau Public, written a blog post, presented at a user group, or found your own way to share your knowledge and passion, you're what makes this community special, you're the reason I'm on stage today. — For my charity, I chose the Make-A-Wish Foundation because they provide children with critical illnesses with an unforgettable experience that inspires hope and reminds them every day that anything really is possible. Winning Iron Viz would be a huge honor, but I'm just happy to be a part of it. If we can put on a good show and donate to a really good cause, then that's already a huge win in my book, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity. HELP ME WELCOME BRIAN! SO, BRIAN, are you ready to show us your best edition viz? As ready as I can be. Thank you. Now, let's meet our Su Vizzes. These Su Vizzes are a vast library of product knowledge, sage advice, and let's be real, emotional support for our contestants. Think of them as the editors to our very talented authors. These uh proud members of Tableau Solution Engineering team are here to provide commentary during the 20-minute builds. And just like my last library loan, we're probably overdue on bringing them out. So, co-authoring with Brian is Lauren Smith from California. The Su Vizzer bookmarked next to Ann is Aussie Grant Quick. And on the same page as Kevin is GUS FRAZER FROM LONDON. All right, everyone. Let's get to the competition. All right, contestants. This is the moment you've been training for, the final chapter. The clock is set, 20 minutes on the screen. Are you ready? They're ready. Audience, are you ready? — [cheering] — Count down with me. 3 2 1 ALL RIGHT, THEY ARE OFF TO THE RACES. They are building, they are prepping, and while they get started let's meet our judges. First up from Austin, Texas is data scientist and founder of pie chart press. You will all recognize him as newly minted Tableau visionary and reigning Iron Viz champ, it's Bo McCready. Next up from Palo Alto, California is senior director of Tableau research Vidya Setlur. Vidya's work at the intersection of AI, natural language, and visualization is evolving the way that we think about and interact with data. Let's hear from Vidya.

### [15:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=900s) Segment 4 (15:00 - 20:00)

And finally, we have Mark Bradbourne, a principal solution engineer from Cleveland, Ohio. Mark is very well read in all things Iron Viz as a three-time Sou Vizzers and making his third appearance as a judge today, Mark Bradbourne. — Okay, Archana, turning back our attention to the craziness that is already happening on screen. I couldn't help but notice that we saw just a second ago on Brian's screen that he was using a feature that was introduced last year at Tableau Conference 2025 Devs on Stage, custom color palettes. Did you catch that? I missed it, but I think it is the first time we're seeing it on the Iron Viz stage, if I remember correctly. Let's hear a cheer if you're already using custom color palettes. — [cheering] — That's right. Now, I'm also seeing that Kevin obviously has some notes pulled up on his screen. Um Gus, why don't you tell us a little bit about sort of what Kevin did to prep for building his visualization today? Sure. Kevin W P H D. It means he prepared his data. He used Tableau Prep to create multiple flows to define the data and shape it in the way he needed. From best practices to, you know, filtering data out that wasn't relevant for his analysis, removing duplicate data, particularly important for those books and titles that have multiple versions, and creating groups and aggregations of publication years for in 5-year half decades, which will make a lot more sense later on in the build. Thank you, Gus. And why don't we go down the line? So, Grant, can you tell us a little bit about how Ann prepared her data today? Thanks, Archana. So, Ann did a lot of data preparation, and she used Tableau Prep to do exactly that. Now, there was a lot of really good clean data that came in from Goodreads, but it still needed to be formatted in the way that Ann needed, so she created seven different data sets that you'll see today. One of the things was getting the number of genres into a really clean state, so she reduced that from a few hundred down into 17. I'm not sure that I could name 17 book genres, but Ann certainly can. Let's all go over to Brian. Lauren, tell us a little bit about what Brian did to prep his data. Absolutely, I can do that. So, first thing Brian did was open the data in Tableau Desktop to explore the data a bit more to find the story that he wanted to tell to you all the audience today. But, when he found that story, he knew that he had a very specific way that he wanted to present that. So, he brought it then into Tableau Prep to clean the data a bit, but also to include elements that were going to be essential in the visual component that he's going to show you later on. Thank you, Lauren. Now, I want to quickly draw our attention to something we just missed on Anne's screen. It was a Venn diagram. Grant, can you tell us about how Anne got there? That's right. So, when Anne was telling me her concept, I thought, "Hey, a Venn diagram would be perfect for this. " But, I didn't say anything because as many of you would know, that's not a native chart type in Tableau, and I thought that's a lot of work. Anne came back the next time we met, and she had it nailed because really anything that you can imagine in Tableau, you can build, and Anne showed us exactly how you can do that. Incredible. I didn't know you could do a Venn diagram. Um, Kevin, I see over on Kevin's screen that there's a dual axis something or other. Gus, please tell us more. Yeah, it's not going to make much sense right now, but it will when Kevin drops the background image and title into the screen. You see, he didn't just want to use text objects and annotations, so he put all of that into the data. So, these marks are going to turn into text marks describing what's on the screen on the dashboard, and also giving him instructions for the final build in the final minutes. And those blocks are going to form redactions, so you can't see his secret until right at the end. Uh, okay, that all makes sense to me, but now I'm seeing sheet names on the viz. Why does it say legend and sheet two book? Did Kevin just break Tableau? Look, he's not broken it. He's not sweating. I'm not sweating. Maybe just a little bit, but you know, it's all part of the plan. You see, some people build wireframes in technologies outside of Tableau. He's doing it in the sheet one. Right, so this is going to form the gridlines when he builds the dashboard in the final build. Please, no one file a bug on me during Iron Viz. — Now, Kevin is clearly building something fairly complicated and he's got a Venn diagram, but looks like Brian's keeping things pretty simple with basic bar chart. Lauren, tell us more. Well, personally I am a big fan of bar charts. It is a classic data visualization, easy to understand, simple to create, and we're going to start things off simple because we're going to really bring things to the next level later on, but we've got some really clear labels. We have a very intuitive viz, so I'm happy with where we are right now. Thank you, Lauren. Um it looks like Anne might also be building a bar chart. Grant, is that right? Almost, yes. So, as Anne Sue Visor I said to her, "This is Iron Viz. We need to go big. " And you know, bar charts probably aren't going to cut it. So, Anne took things a whole

### [20:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=1200s) Segment 5 (20:00 - 25:00)

'nother step further and she made a lollipop chart. So, this really gives us a great taste of the data and you can see the effect here. It just pops off the page. Thank you, Grant. Now, why don't we check in with our judges? Mark, this is your third time behind the judges desk. I know it's early, but what are you seeing um stand out from our contestants this year? Well, it's the same thing that stands out every year. They're all going in completely different directions. I came to the realization that data is a lot like a choose your own adventure book. Everybody starts on that initial data connection, but by the time they go through their twists and turns and they find their stories, they're all at completely different endings. And I'm sure that's something all of you here in the audience can relate to. You never know what insights you're going to cover when you open that data set. Yeah, let's go to another one of our judges, Vidya. I'd love to hear a little bit of more about your research. Can you tell us about how your research on AI natural language visualization might impact our Iron Viz of the future? Yeah, Kate, thanks. I mean, at Tableau Research we're really focused on innovating human-centered analytical experiences, combining techniques from AI, visualization, storytelling techniques. And it's really inspiring to see our customers use our features in creative ways, like we're seeing here at Iron Viz. So, if folks are really interested in checking out what research is doing, please come to our labs and our demo booth at the Data Village. I know I'll be there. Data Village Labs demo booth, see about research at Tableau. Now, I want to turn to Kevin's screen. Is that at the bottom there like a bird? A plane? Birds and planes, no, Alisha. That was last year. Oh, of course, I'm mixing up my years. Forgive me, forgive me. But, Gus, why don't you tell us more? Look, it's not a bird, don't worry, Kate. I know you're scared of birds. It's not Pac-Man either. These are polygons, right? So, like a book, Kevin had more spine than to use a bar chart and a lollipop chart. He went and created his own chart. The pages of this book is going to tell a story later on. It doesn't make sense now because Kevin is using a parameter to hide all the data. Again, keeping the secret right till the end. Oh, Goran has his hand raised. Tell us about Ann. I'm just going to say that a good book needs to be legible. Am I right? And if we can't read the words on the page, I don't know what to think. But, I'll save my review for the final chapter. I'm loving the space from the super zoomers. Yeah, and while we're with you, Goran, why don't you tell us about some of the chart types Ann just flipped through? Yeah, so Ann has created a lot of different charts in this build. And I said to her when we were in planning, Ann, there is too much there. You need to tone it down a bit. You're not going to get this into 20 minutes. But, you didn't listen to me, and I'm really glad she didn't because she has absolutely packed so much into this time. You're going to be amazed with the result that you see. I guess we could call that Ann-alytics. Absolutely. All right. — We just saw Ann flip through so many different type types of charts, but Brian is still on the same bar chart. Lauren, is Brian falling behind? He is not falling behind. I'm not worried, and I do want you all to feast your eyes now on this bar chart because it will not be the star of the show in his presentation. But, Brian wanted to create something as he found his own story when he was exploring the data in Desktop. He brings us through a very guided story throughout his presentation. But, when he publishes this viz to Tableau Public, he wanted to give you all at home a way for you to explore the data and find your own story. But, it won't be the main character of this story in his final presentation. Thank you, Lauren. Now, from bars to bubbles, Grant, can you tell us a little bit about this chart that Anne's building? Well, I don't want to burst your bubble, Achana, but that's more than just a bubble chart. This is actually a network chart. So, there's two map layers here. One is showing the bubbles, the other is showing the interconnectedness between them. Now, for showing that kind of integration between objects, this is a really good chart. Not only does it look amazing, it also tells a really good story, as you'll soon see. Thank you, Grant. Thanks, Grant. Um Kevin, I'd like to hear a little bit about more about his lines that is doing something. Gus, tell us more. Look, it's time to k- rank it up. All right? I know it's terrible. But, uh Kevin didn't just want to make a rank chart. He wanted to make a completely custom experience. So, he created four map layers to build this custom rank, which tells a story of genres and ranks over time using those half decades that we created in Tableau Prep. It looks like a bit of a mess at the moment, but again, the parameters are going to tell a story later on. Thank you, Gus. And I heard a mention of map layers there. I think I saw Brian dragging out some map layers as well. Lauren, can you tell us some more? He sure did, and he dragged out not one, not two, not four, but six map layers into his viz. And everything that you'll

### [25:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=1500s) Segment 6 (25:00 - 30:00)

see today is built on one individual sheet. So, all of these different map layers are going to be essential in telling his story later on, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Yeah, go ahead, Grant. If I can just say, the quality of a book is not determined by the number of pages. — Nor is the quality of a viz determined by the number of layers. Oh, fighting talk. Wow, these super stars really brought their spice today. Love it when they get a little feisty. Um I mean, that's what's really amazing about map layers is you think about maps and you think, oh, it's geography, but it actually you can encode so much more data and so much more analysis that just goes beyond longitude and latitude, which is really cool. Um all right, let's turn it over to wow. I just feel like I this background images on Anne's are beautiful. Um Grant, can you tell us a little bit more about that gorgeous illustration? Absolutely. So, here at Tableau Conference, you've probably been hearing about AI all week and you're probably thinking, well, this is probably another great example of AI. Anne actually drew all of this by hand. — [cheering] — I had no idea she had this talent, but you're going to see that she's got more than that talent when it comes to the final build when it's done. She is going to amaze everyone with what she's got. Thank you, Grant. Now, from hand-drawn art to more abstract art. Brian's viz is looking a mess. — It might look like a little bit of a mess right now. I concur and Anne, I will say your drawing is absolutely beautiful, but I do think that Brian has his own unique art form that he's showing us. Every mark type and every piece of the visualization that you will see today is an entirely native Tableau mark. No background images required, just bar charts, line charts, and text. That's all you'll see. Wow. — Wow. I can't imagine the amount of maths going on behind the scenes there. Yeah, we really have both ends of the spectrum. We have really specialized custom hand-drawn art, and then we have only native mark types, which is really cool. Um is Kevin building a scatter plot, Gus? Look, simplicity is sexy when we scatter stories. — Kevin is going to tell many stories in this one scatter and one visualization. Um again, using parameters to change not only shapes, viz's, colors, but what's going on in the story that it's telling. It's also going to have an interactivity part where with the highlighter, you can find the character of your book uh through things like titles, genres, and summaries, all from one field. Thank you, Gus. Now, Kate, I want to turn to you cuz this is your first time on the I and Viz stage, but you are no stranger to a keynote. You've done Devs on Stage before, you've done the main keynote before, but what was it like being in the audience this morning for Devs on Stage? Did anything stand out? — I'm so proud of my developers. Can we hear it for the Devs on Stage? There's so much work that goes in behind the scenes that behind the scenes to make some of that work happen. I'm personally biased towards all of the Tab Agent features. Those are all powered behind the scenes by what I work on, which is an API called VizQL Data Service. So, if you're like me and you like to interact with data through code instead of through a visualization, then VizQL Data Service is a really great way to do that. Can I get a big cheer for all the engineers in the audience? Thank you, Kate. Now, I want to draw everyone's attention to Brian's viz. It's I'm not going to lie, Lauren, it's still looking a little messy. It looks like the dictionary is just spilled all over the viz. It did, but this is what happens when you have a one-sheet build, like we're seeing with what Brian has. He's going to be using actions and these layers that he's built later on to create a very clear, cohesive story. Thank you, Lauren. All right, it looks like Kevin's now on to his dashboard. Gus, can you tell us a little bit about the dashboard assembly? Yeah, it's looking a bit like a hot mess right now, but don't worry. Uh we've got it covered. Right, Kevin is team floating. Can I get a cheer for whose team floating? So, that worksheet one allows him to just drag and drop those floating objects into place, saving a lot of time in this part of the build. The whole dynamic zone visibility is also going to clean up this mess. So, the whole user experience is pushed by parameters. So, like you turn a page in a book, we're turning the parameter, and that's going to tell a different story, show a different viz, show different colors, text within the dashboard as we go through. Thank you, Gus. So, there was a mention there of dynamic zone visibility and parameter actions. So, I'm curious, Grant, is Ann using any of these features? She is indeed. In fact, Ann's using a lot of actions. I'm seeing a lot of words on the other viz's up there right now, and I think actions speak louder than words.

### [30:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=1800s) Segment 7 (30:00 - 35:00)

— But Ann's using parameter actions to drive dynamic zone visibility. So, with that, she's created a really cool effect, and she's able to basically hide a lot of the images, so they're not all shown at once. This means that the user can focus on the charts that matter at the point in time they are in the story. So, I won't spoil the effect, but you will see it soon. That's awesome. Well, we've heard about some parameter actions, dynamic zone visibility. Um Lauren, can you tell us a little bit about how Brian is using some interactivity in his visualization? Well, I I've heard some fighting words today about actions speaking louder than words, but since we're looking at book data, I find words to be pretty powerful as well. And I think that Brian has very strategically used text on his viz. And I think that you will also find that it's a very action-packed story that he's going to give us. He's used parameter actions. In a little bit, you'll even see he's going to bring us into another type of action in that interactive viz that won't be the star of the show, but that you all can use on Tableau Public. And that's going to bring you to a URL action that you can actually see more information about the titles and the books that we're looking at throughout the viz today. Thank you, Lauren. Now, Kate, why don't I tell you about one of the features that got me really excited during Devs on Stage? — We just saw map layers here on stage. And in that keynote in this morning, we saw map layers being used on the axes, layers upon layers. That was pretty exciting, right? I can already envision how our Iron Viz contestants next year are going to use it. I mean, it's going to go hard. Next year's Iron Viz will be epic. I can already feel it. — I'm so excited. All right, well, speaking of Iron Viz's future, present, what about Iron Viz's past, Bo? You are the reigning Iron Viz champion, and we are down to almost the final 2 minutes of this build. Please, tell us, how were you feeling at this time last year before you became our 2025 Iron Viz champion? Kate, this is such a surreal moment to experience as a finalist. Uh last year, I spent about 100 hours preparing for the Iron Viz final. Uh so, I know that for most of this build, uh they've been on autopilot. But for these last couple minutes, they're starting to become more aware of their surroundings and really start to feel the enormity of the moment. Uh you know, when you're watching something like the Olympics, you're watching world-class athletes who have spent years and years getting ready to show the world what they can do for just a few minutes. And you know, if you think about it, this is the data viz equivalent of that and it's why I'm always so excited to watch it happen. Thank you, Bo. Now, if these are our athletes, this is our arena. So, I want to get hear you give the audience the contestants, excuse me, a cheer. It's we're almost into our final minute. Go, Bo. All right, we have less than 60 seconds on the clock. I don't think a single one of these contestants is done yet. It is really coming down to the wire. What do you think, Ochonna? — It looks like they're crossing the eyes and dotting the tees. Ooh. What are we seeing here? What are we seeing? They're checking their work. They're making sure, you know, you want to take all the time when you're doing an exam, right? You don't want to close the book and be done and maybe forget a feature or, you know, a tiny bit of formatting or something. Oh, yeah, no, they're definitely just testing their interactivity. I'm seeing some buttons. Oh, it looks like we have our first contestant. — is done. Good job. You know, you're It's not a race. ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE, please count down with us in the last 10 seconds. 10 9 8 7 6 You're done. 5 You did 4 3 2 1 JUST A FEW HITS BUT THEN you came back, made up time. You got this. In the bag. And they are done. I don't know if I got to see if they all finished, but I hope they did. That was 20 minutes flew by as they always do. That was such a page turner. Please, everyone, can you hop on socials? Let us know what you think with the hashtag Iron Viz. But, the story is not over yet. Our contestants now each have 3 minutes to present their inverses to our panel of judges and to all of you in the audience, whether you're here or watching on Salesforce Plus. So, first up is Kevin. Take it away. Judges and data fam, there's a book medium that tells stories with words and visual arts. I'm talking about graphic novels. People often dismiss the

### [35:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=2100s) Segment 8 (35:00 - 40:00)

medium as just superhero stories for kids. Well, the data on Goodreads indicates otherwise. Flipping through the pages and you will see the real top genres by book count, fiction, fantasy, sci-fi. Only 13% are superhero titles. Only 7% are children's book. Clearly, the myth is not true. But, what fuels it? Let's put a bookmark on these values and take a look at how readers engage with each genres using written reviews. Clearly, fiction and fantasy account for most graphic novel reviews. Superheroes, however, account for only 14%. Has superhero engagement always been this way? How does it compare to other genres? This rank chart tracks graphic novel genre by reader engagement over publication periods. Superheroes peak in the '80s, fall, then bounce back from 2000 to 2019. Why? Marvel and DC turned their stories into movies and TV shows. These adaptations propagated the illusion that graphic novels means superheroes. Here's another myth, that graphic novels are not serious reading. After all, fiction, young adult, fantasy has they have dominated the field the last three decades. However, from 1980 to 84, one book breaks the pattern. Maus, under genres of classics, non-fiction, war, and more, accounted for 35% of reviews in the same period. It is a Holocaust survival memoir, the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize, proving that graphic novel can carry serious topics. Recently, romance, LGBTQ, and adult stories have been getting more popular. Many of these books are not just about love, but also the sense of belonging and identity. Speaking of the books, here are the 100 most reviewed graphic novels on Goodreads, plotted by rating and review. It's time for some recommendation. For the helpless romantic, Heartstopper, the the most loved graphic novel series by every metric. They are coming-of-age, LGBTQ, electrifying sweet love stories. For history readers, Maus, for reasons we've just discussed. For fantasy fans, Sandman, a meditation on what it means to dream as human. So, graphic novels are fantasy, romance, history, and everything in between, not just superheroes or something childish. What are you going to read next? When I was a kid, I often lost myself in graphic novels. My grandmother would say, "They're just drawings. They're not real. " You might have heard of something like that, too. Well, the Sandman answers, "Things need not have to be true. Tales out of shadow truth that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes and forgot. " Thank you. Thank you so much, Kevin. Now, let's go to our judges for some questions. Mark, do you have a question for Kevin? I do. Kevin, really liked your book chart. Um and I'm really curious about the uh inspiration behind it. Like, what were you trying to convey to the audience with that kind of trick? Sure. Thanks for the question. Inspired by the action of uh flipping through a book, I created the book chart using data densification and dashboard action. I wanted to convey the excitement of reading a new book as I was telling my story. Did it work? Yeah. All right. Thank you, Kevin. Now, if I am Viz were a graphic novel, how cool would that be? The Viz Whiz. Something for the Tableau store next year? — Next, Anna. I've cracked myself up. — Our next presentation is Ann. Take it away. Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there lived a fairy princess who fell in love with someone

### [40:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=2400s) Segment 9 (40:00 - 45:00)

she could never have. Hey, looks like this is a fantasy romance story. I love a good romantasie. Dragons, true love, happily ever after. What's not to like? And I'm not the only one. There's over 20,000 books on Goodreads with this combination. Let's finish the story. But everything changed when the butler confessed to the murder? Wait, are there actually books out there that are a mashup of fantasy, romance, and crime? Apparently, Goodreads lists 3,000 of them. People have been making crazy genre mashups for about as long as we've been telling stories. Some are staples like crime and action. Others are less popular like cozy horror, which shockingly only has three books in total. And sometimes a genre mashup goes viral like paranormal romance, which saw a massive surge in book counts in the early 2000s, becoming four times more popular and briefly becoming the third most popular genre combo in the world. Here's what I'm wondering. What's the next big thing going to be? Even if we only consider pairings of two genres and combos that aren't already in the top 10, we still have a giant pile of potential popular picks to choose from. Every line in this tangled web over here represents one of 125 valid combinations. We're going to need to narrow this down by looking for mashups that have the same three features that let paranormal romance soar. Number one, a strong base. All of the top 10 most popular pairings and 16 of the top 20 include one of what I'm calling the big three. Fantasy, romance, or action. So our new pairing probably should, too. Applying this criteria gets us down to just 35 remaining options. Pretty good progress. Number two, passionate fans. For a mashup to go viral, it needs people who really love it and give it lots of five-star reviews, not just like it and give it mostly four stars. Let's narrow our options down further by looking for combos that have a higher than average percentage of five-star reviews. Number three, a catalyst book. If you talked to any teenage girls in the early 2000s or anybody, really, you probably already know the book that started it all for paranormal romance. Twilight. Twilight had 900 times as many ratings as the genre average and led to a flood of new books in the category. To find our next big genre mashup, let's look for combos that have a catalyst book in the last five years. A book that was significantly more popular than the genre norm. This gets us down to four top picks. We have fantasy and animals, fantasy and humor, historical fiction action, and sports romance. Personally, I'm most excited about fantasy and animals. I think we need more sheep casting spells in the world. But whether you're psyched about hockey players falling in love, thrilled about gunfights in Regency ballrooms, or just think dragons ought to tell more jokes, I've got good news for you. Your perfect genre mashup is out there and it's just waiting for you to read it. — All right. Vidya. Vidya, do you have a question for Anne? Um, I love the artistic flair to your analysis. Um, I found that catalyst book metric to be really interesting. So, can you just walk us through how you developed it? Yeah, that's a great question. Um, the pattern of a really popular book leading to a lot more books is easy to see visually, but I wanted to make sure the analysis was really sound as well. So, I built a calculated field that looked for books that were at least 50 times more popular than their genre norm, checked to see if there had been one in the last 5 years, and also checked to make sure that wasn't part of a bigger pattern that never went anywhere. Great, thank you. Thank you, Anne. Now, if I envisage where is genre mashup, I think it'd be comedy, suspense, and action maybe. Next, we turn to Brian. — Take it away. There are only 210 fiction books on Goodreads with more than a million ratings. 46 of these were published more than 50 years ago.

### [45:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=2700s) Segment 10 (45:00 - 50:00)

These classics include some of the greatest literary works of all time. So, it's not surprising that the group is so well represented amongst Goodreads most popular titles. What is surprising is how some of those titles are rated. The overall weighted average for all fiction books on Goodreads is 4. 05, meaning nearly half of these classics would be considered below average by Goodreads standards. But, how can that be? How can seminal works that define genres be rated lower than their let's just say less influential counterparts? Now, these low ratings have actually been researched at universities across the country. Some scholars point to the negative impacts of required reading. Others blame it on slow and outdated pacing. And many pull from a laundry list cognitive biases known to impact user ratings. While these are all valid theories on their own, none of them adequately explain how some of the greatest stories ever written could be rated so poorly. But, what if we looked at them together? And rather than focusing on the how or the why, what if the real story lies in the who and the when? The largest cohort on Goodreads are 25-34 year-olds, representing roughly 30% of all users. This group would have been exposed to many of these classics in school sometime between 2001 and 2018. Think about some of the titles that were popular at that time. First, there was Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Twilight, The Hunger Games, Divergent. These mega-popular series were at the heart of the fantasy boom that started in the late 1990s and is still going strong today. In fact, 71 of the most popular fiction books on Goodreads are fantasy titles published after 1995. That's just over a third of all fiction books with more than a million ratings. And for many of these books, not only were they specifically designed to appeal to these younger readers, but for the most part, they are the polar opposite of the classics. And students during the age of Goodreads have been experiencing them at the exact same time. A distinction bias is when you're evaluating two things simultaneously, characteristics of one subject can impact your evaluation of the other subject. If a student were reading two books at the same time, or even in close proximity, do you think it's possible that characteristics of one of these books might impact the evaluation of the other book? That this direct side-by-side comparison might exaggerate the already vast differences between them? A good read ratings aren't necessarily a measure of quality or cultural significance. For most people, they're a measure of enjoyment. When these students sit down to populate their Goodreads bookshelf, whether it's immediately or 10 years down the road, which of those books do you think they'll remember enjoying more? The 75-year-old book they were forced to read about an old man and a big fish? Or the modern fantasy hit that they chose to read about a kid just like them becoming a wizard? 99 times out of 100, it's going to be Hogwarts over Hemingway. Thank you. — Thank you. Thank you, Brian. Bo, do you have a question for Brian? Yeah, absolutely awesome work, Brian. I know that to make the data absolutely dance like this, especially in a single sheet build, you must have done some pretty cool work in Tableau Prep. Can you talk a little bit about how the story you wanted to tell impacted the way that you prepared your data? Yeah, so to, you know, really bring this story to life with all those animations and transitions, like you mentioned, I did have to build it all in a single sheet. But that meant I couldn't rely on some of the native design functionality for things like, you know, access lines and labels, reference lines, things like that. So I used Prep pretty extensively to create a lot of additional data points that I could use to plot all those different design elements. Very cool. Thank you. Thank you, Brian.

### [50:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=3000s) Segment 11 (50:00 - 55:00)

Now, we turn over to our su-visors. They each have 60 seconds to make the case for why their contestant should win. So, Gus, why is Kevin your Iron Viz champion? So, hands up if you've been told that graphic novels are for kids. Keep them up if you've ignored that advice. Well, Kevin didn't just ignore that advice, he proved it with data. With a medium of graphic novels, many images, hundreds of stories, thousands of emotions, all without saying a word. He channeled that magic in his final build. Polygons, wireframes, custom ranks, he even created his own book chart, come on. Most people will Google it and give up, but Kevin just did it. He did it with craft, creativity, and better storytelling than some of the books I've actually read myself. Um he covered every genre to make sure everyone was included, from romance, war, to fantasy. So, whether you wanted a love story, or you did just want to see Batman punch someone, he had a recommendation for you. We should give him the win because he didn't just challenge the status quo, he closed the book on it. — Next, it's Grant. Make your case for Anne. Well, Archana, you know that I love trash talking, but I want to be a little bit more sincere. And I think that of the three vizards that we saw today, they are three of the best vizards we have ever seen at any Iron Viz. Not only were the vizards amazing, the presentations that everyone did were absolutely spellbinding. But, however, I think there was one that really stood out for me. did so much work in terms of data prep, in terms of the data science that went into the metrics that they used, actual show-stopping visualizations that they built, as well as their graphic design. I think they pushed Iron Viz to a whole new level. I've got a word for it, and I'm going to add it to the dictionary. It's ambishious. — Thank you, Grant. And finally, we turn to you, Lauren. Why should Brian take home the trophy? Well, from exploration to preparation, all the way to presentation, I think we can agree that Brian took advantage of the full magic that Tableau has to offer throughout the entire Iron Viz process. He bent Tableau to his will using only three native chart types, zero external images, and one singular sheet for the incredible story that he has told us today. And let's be real, this is not just a viz. He brought us on a journey down memory lane with all of the joy and nostalgia of days in the classroom with a little bit of excitement of reading under a blanket with a flashlight when you're up a little bit too late at night. So, I think that Iron Viz is really all about creativity, storytelling, and a love of data. And with this classic viz, I think we can all agree that Brian is a quintessential example of what it means to be an Iron Viz champion. Thank you. Thank you, Suvizers. Now, before the judges deliberate, I'd like to hear some final thoughts from them about the three judging criteria. So, Mark, over to you first. What did you think about the design elements used by today's contestants? — Um wow. Uh I mean, having sat here 3 years as a judge, I can easily say that the three designs that we saw today are truly setting a new bar as far as it goes, you know, as Iron Viz concerned. Um this is going to go down in the annuals of Iron Viz lore, and I can't wait for years from now for people to pull it off the shelf and enjoy it again and again. It's going to be amazing. Sometimes you really can judge a viz by its cover, I guess. — All right, over to Vidya. Uh can you tell us a little bit about the analysis on display today? Yeah, I was so impressed by the analytical rigor that all three participants showed here. Um moving from just basic data transformations to more structured reasoning. And it was really interesting to see that the analytical approaches used guided narratives as well as external framing to sort of help with their stories. So, really well done. Well done. And finally, Bo, tell us a little bit about the storytelling that you witnessed in today's showdown.

### [55:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=3300s) Segment 12 (55:00 - 60:00)

You know, it's really fitting for a data set about books that we saw three really rich, nuanced, and incredible stories. Uh all of our finalists uh told a clear and different story from one another and gave us all something that we can learn from and take away and remember. Uh you know, going from 6 and 1/2 million rows of data to something like they've just shown us, it's a really, really special skill set, and uh I'm pretty sure this trilogy is going to be one that we all want to revisit. Thank you, judges. We'll now leave you alone to make the very tough decision about who the Iron Viz 2026 champion will be. But now, we need all of your help, whether you're here in the audience in San Diego or watching from around the world on Salesforce Plus. Your voice matters. That's right. Okay, so now it's time to vote for the fan favorite. This year, voting will be conducted through an anonymous Google form. You can scan the QR code on the screen to participate, but don't worry, we're not going to collect your emails. Remember, it's just one vote per person, so choose one of our incredible contestants. Go with your gut and choose who you think the fan favorite will be. Voting is now open. You have until tomorrow, 10:00 a. m. Pacific Time to cast your vote. Until then, we've actually posted all the finalists visualizations on Tableau Public, so you can go interact with them and explore with them via the URL up here until the voting period ends. Now, if you want to be there when they announce the winner, that's going to happen tomorrow at 1:30 p. m. at the Vizzys, which is our community award show. That's going to take place in the community meetups area of Data Village. Also, while you're there, don't forget to pick up a complimentary trial of Brightdata. If you loved how interactive the Goodreads data set was today, you definitely won't want to miss a chance to explore all of their other awesome data sets. Now, speaking of Goodreads, let me tell you about the next generation of storytellers. This year, we combined the student edition of Iron Viz with the official qualifier competition. This means that students from around the world submitted entries tied to the theme of food and drink. And boy, oh boy, did they serve up some mouthwatering vizzes. We wanted to let this year's winner marinade in the spotlight, so let's cook up some applause for this year's Iron Viz student winner, Hannah De Bee. Welcome, Hannah. Please tell us, what was the inspiration behind this flavorful viz? Thank you so much for having me. Um the inspiration behind my viz came from being a college student who loves to try new food, but that obviously adds up on a student budget. Um and I also wanted to incorporate storytelling, which is how I ended up with my favorite restaurants and then the cost and how I incorporated that into my own cooking. Wow, I'm hungry already. And can you please share, what do you hope this visualization stirs up for the audience? Yeah, I hope that this can remind everyone of their favorite restaurant and hopefully pick out a dish that they can recreate themselves at home. Absolutely incredible. So, everyone, this was actually Hannah's first ever entry into the student Iron Viz competition, but this viz was clearly very well seasoned. So, can we please give another huge round of applause for our student Iron Viz winner, Hannah De Bee. We picked the right person to co-host Iron Viz with me. Whether it's books or food, Kate, you're just full of puns. Team, isn't she doing great? Yeah, well, you know, I might be an engineer by training, but my punny sense of humor is completely shelf-taught. — Sorry, sorry. All right, let's check in with our judges. I think they may have made their decision. All right, can we have the envelope, please? Now, to recap, our runners-up today will each receive a $6,000 cash prize plus a matching $6,000 donation to the charity of their choice. And the winner will receive not only this lovely piece of shelf candy, but also $15,000 and $15,000 to their chosen charity. Now, before I announce the winner, we need to get to the acknowledgements page of this Iron Viz book. We want to thank our data set

### [1:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd24t5PDDPc&t=3600s) Segment 13 (60:00 - 62:00)

provider, Bright Data, everyone behind the scenes, especially a shout-out to Juliet, Anezi, and Katie. Our judges, our supervisors, and our incredible contestants. That's right. And finally, a thank you to you, our audience here in San Diego and around the world, our DataFam, our community. We cannot wait to see your 2027 Iron Viz qualifiers. Just remember, you win or you learn, but you can't lose. All right, it's time. Ashna, will you announce the winner, please? My pleasure. Can I hear a drumroll with those bam-bams? The 2026 Iron Viz champion IS ANN PEGLOW! — [screaming] — ANN! ANN, CONGRATULATIONS. You just won $15,000 and $15,000 for UNICEF. How are you feeling right now? Amazing. Uh Iron Viz led me to the Data Fam and literally changed my life. So, being here is incredible. Huge round of applause for Anne. Well done to Anne and congratulations to our runners-up, Kevin and Brian. Yes, and before we wrap, don't forget to vote for the favorite by scanning the QR code displayed on the screen. And if you want to find out who wins the fan favorite award, be sure to join the Vizzys tomorrow at the community meetups area. All right, that's our show, everyone. Ash, should we bring it home? Until next year, keep vizzing!

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*Источник: https://ekstraktznaniy.ru/video/50788*