Polygraph
We publish visual journalism using original datasets, primary research, and interactivity.
Our storytelling instincts + your organization’s strategy/goals
Our team is comprised of the same folks behind The Pudding, an online publication that explains ideas debated in culture with visual essays.
The editorial work has been covered by just about every major news outlet, but we’re most-proud of the individual endorsements, ranging from Mark Cuban to Questlove.
Greatest hits from The Pudding
2,000 screenplays, broken down by gender and age - 2M views
How music taste evolved - 1.3M views
What city is the microbrew capital of the US? - 370K views
From idea to code
We’re unlike most content studios or agencies because we don’t specialize. All team members can research, design, code, and write, meaning we work far faster and more cohesively than other operations.
Our team is an eclectic group, comprised of former journalists, scientists, designers, coders, and researchers.
We partner with organizations who are purpose-aligned.
We work on projects that are aligned with our editorial rubric.
The idea is worthy of public discourse. Would a 4-person group debate the premise of the idea for 20 minutes? What assumptions does it challenge?
There’s a deeper truth. What deeper truth does it reveal (even if it’s buried deep in the essay)? Does the reader leave the essay feeling differently?
We’re showing, not telling. Visuals make your argument more accessible and less complex than a thousand-word essay. That detail allows readers to form their own opinions without taking the author’s argument word-for-word.
Viacom
Fan Theory
This three-part essay was executed using partner data from IMDb, including a neurological, fMRI study of South Park. It will also featured as a panel at SXSW 2018.
Visit the project.
Kickstarter
Creative Communities, by City
Anecdotally, aspiring musicians flock to Nashville. Portland has a vibrant food truck scene. Theater is rooted in New York City. Yet what about other cities? What is the creative fabric of Cleveland? Where do comic book writers cluster?
We worked directly with Kickstarter (and used a data dump of thousands of projects) to get answers.
Visit the project.
Google News Lab
The Year in Language
We identified 2016’s rising words by ranking Search interest growth for definitions of words (e.g., searches for “woke definition,” “define woke”). The project won an Award of Excellence at the 2017 Society for News Design Best of Digital Design Competition.
Visit the project.
YouTube
Clinton and Trump: Who Voters Are Watching
Before the 2016 US Presidential Election, we examined behavior of YouTube viewers. The project received press from the Washington Post and Daily Mail.
Visit the project.
The Atlantic
The Platinum Patients
After reaching out for visualization support, this collaboration with The Atlantic investigated health care: each year, 1 in every 20 Americans racks up just as much in medical bills as another 19 combined. This critical five percent of the U.S. population is key to solving the nation's health care spending crisis.
Visit the project.
American Society of News Editors+Google
How Diverse Are US Newsrooms?
Using exclusive data from the American Society of News Editors, we visualized 15 years of gender/diversity data from hundreds of newsrooms.
Visit the project.
