Frank ⌁

@[email protected]
1.2K Followers
717 Following
145 Posts

Presently PhD candidate studying tool-making for vis 📊 @hcii.cmu.edu. Prev: Adobe, Highsoft, Apple, Visa. Fall 2026: assistant prof @ Cal Poly.

Researching: Softer-ware (malleability), accessibility, data interaction.

In my spare time I'm writing a tabletop rpg (at 400+ pages currently).

Disabled, anti-fascist, queer, and trying to be less online these days.

Websitehttps://www.frank.computer
Data Navigatorhttps://dig.cmu.edu/data-navigator/
Chartabilityhttps://www.chartability.fizz.studio
PronounsHe/him
Frank ⌁Feb 10
Pavel A. SamsonovFeb 8

99% of stakeholder "ideas" are just copying a feature they saw on a competitor's product. And the features they notice most are the ones that yell at their users the loudest.

Now all software (not just consumer apps, but also metrics dashboards) yells at you, and trains you to attend to its yelling. Strategy becomes dominated by the overriding need to make the good number go up.

https://productpicnic.beehiiv.com/p/the-circular-logic-of-our-metrics

#tech #softwaredevelopment #ux #uxdesign #product #productmanagement

The circular logic of our metrics

We design what is familiar. The design patterns we adopt are the ones yelling at us the loudest.

The Product Picnic
Frank ⌁Feb 10
Show threadPavel A. SamsonovFeb 8

Thanks to @terry @frankelavsky @CyberneticForests @swardley @ryanrumsey @RuthMalan @cate and everyone else not yet on Fedi (for example, Pope Leo) for the writing and ideas quoted in this week's issue of the Product Picnic.

⸻

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Frank ⌁Feb 3

Updated our long-list of resources on accessibility and visualization, including 2025 articles, guides, and technical tools!

(For those that don't know, this single-page doc is one of my most-starred projects on github.)

https://github.com/dataviza11y/resources/blob/main/README.md

resources/README.md at main · dataviza11y/resources

A non-exhaustive and in-progress list of people and resources in Accessibility and Data Visualization - dataviza11y/resources

GitHub
Frank ⌁Jan 30

Participating in the general strike and not working today? Or outside the US and just interested in accessibility and visualization?

My course over at the Open Visualization Academy is out! It's a perfect way to spend a day just enriching yourself and your knowledge:

https://openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/accessibility-in-data-visualization/introduction/introduction/

1.1 Introduction - Accessibility in Data Visualization - Open Visualization Academy

Frank ⌁Jan 23

RE: https://hci.social/@bwaber/115942428213886220

One of my favorite talks that I've ever given! Had a fun time with this, the audience was stupendous, and it was new material that I got to try out, too.

I wrote this talk to try to give folks who are early in their careers some hope, while also giving a mature perspective on tool-making to folks who might be more seasoned.

Show threadFrank ⌁May 12, 2025
Here's a cute little preview of where I go with this:
Frank ⌁May 12, 2025

Folks on bluesky loved this, while folks on linkedin did not. Perhaps mastodon will have fun with it too? I made a game out of the "data-to-ink ratio," taking it to its logical (or *illogical*) extreme:

https://www.frank.computer/blog/2025/04/data-to-ink.html

Minimalism and the absurdity of the data-to-ink-ratio

How much minimalism is too much minimalism? I explore this question and propose the most minimalist, highest scoring data-to-ink ratio on a visualization ever made as a thought piece. Why? Well novices learning to make data visualizations are often taught to avoid ‘chart junk’ and strive towards visual minimalism. But they aren’t told when to stop.

Frank Elavsky
Frank ⌁Apr 16, 2025

I wrote this a couple of days ago and have continued adding to it. This has now turned into a manifesto against web accessibility overlays.

I oppose them on functional, philosophical, and aesthetic grounds. They're spoiling personalization for accessibility.

https://www.frank.computer/blog/2025/04/overlays-are-for-suckers.html

Accessibility overlays are good for business (just not yours)

Accessibility overlays are for suckers. But they are ruining the spirit and reputation of one of the best things about computers: personalization. So why do businesses love them?

Frank Elavsky
Frank ⌁Apr 14, 2025
Henry WilkinsonApr 14, 2025

@frankelavsky's thoughts on SaaS accessibility overlays perfectly match mine. Happy to see them validated by somebody else — I'm not crazy!

https://www.frank.computer/blog/2025/04/overlays-are-for-suckers.html

Accessibility overlays are good for business (just not yours)

Accessibility overlays are for suckers. But they are ruining the spirit and reputation of one of the best things about computers: personalization. So why do businesses love them?

Frank Elavsky
Frank ⌁Dec 3, 2024
Show threadSarah L. FossheimDec 2, 2024

All the issues I wrote about in the blog post were based on manual tests btw. Some of those were probably picked up on by the automated tests, but a lot of them are in addition to what these tools can detect.

For example, several maps were turned into images with alt text where the alt text didn't communicate any actual data or insights ☹️