From the Nominator

As part of a special feature package for our “Spiders” issue of the University of Richmond Magazine, we wanted to show the breadth of our university community. Since our magazine is sent to all alumni, this package was intended to visualize a wide swath of alumni and student data, from geographic, to historical, to enrollment and beyond, while also giving everyone who received it a chance to see themselves and their experiences reflected in the range of subjects we photographed and data we presented.

From the Judges

From the photography to the call-out stats to the quick reads, the University of Richmond's Spider Census humanized a range of data points, presenting a comprehensive piece that felt full yet light. Each page was just as engaging as the one before it — visually, in the numbers chosen to highlight and in the supporting narratives. Utilizing several different types of graphs, charts, maps and other ways to present information gave variety to the piece without making it feel too busy and instead catered to different comprehension types. The Spider Census is an excellent example of how incorporating storytelling into data visualization can make basic facts and figures that much more impactful.