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Ben Kates (he/him)

@benkates.com

50 followers 90 following 81 posts

Data Product Engineering and Data Visualization - benkates.com - formerly at the Urban Institute

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Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Jul 7

Leading web engineering, data viz design, and requirements gathering taught me a ton about building performant, dynamic data products. Grateful for the #svelte and #d3js communities and colleague @mitchellthorson.com.

Project: apps.urban.org/features/edu...
GitHub: github.com/UrbanInstitu...

Brainstorm board of visualization research and application layout wireframes

Draft engineering diagrams of data storage and loading

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Jul 7

This tool gives access to 60+ metrics tracking student milestones and resources as they move toward the workforce—available at state, county, and Census tract levels, with six disaggregates and trended over time.

Figma board of data viz and map component designs

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Jul 7

Earlier this spring, my team at the Urban Institute was impacted by layoffs due to federal revenue cuts. While I’m searching for my next role, I’m excited to share my final project: the Education-to-Workforce Framework Data Tool.

apps.urban.org/features/edu...

Dashboard containing a map and visualizations on the left

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Jul 3

Thank you so much Alvin!! Agreed, and while in the moment it feels like a roadblock it's really just leading us to the next evolution! Appreciate you taking a look, keep up the great work

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Jul 3

New case study up on my redesigned website! Full process of building a custom #datavisualization tool: brainstorming and prototyping to refining the UX through cross-functional teamwork and creative problem-solving! Inspired by @alv9n.com's great project walkthroughs!

Ben Kates - Case Study: Getting a Good Job Depends More on Race and Gender than Education

Ben is a data-focused technologist based in Philadelphia, PA creating custom data experiences for clients across industries.

Reposted by Ben Kates (he/him)

Mitchell Thorson @mitchellthorson.com · May 15

This week, @urbaninstitute.bsky.social launched the Education-to-Workforce Framework data tool.

This was one of the more complex @svelte.dev apps we've built, and @benkates.com led the way on development and made something really cool with this one.

apps.urban.org/features/edu...

Screenshot of a series of data visualizations. There are three metrics displayed: Share of students in grade 3 who meet grade-level standards in math, and in language arts, as well as the share of students in grade 8 who meet grade-level standards in math. For each metric, there is a line chart showing the trend from 2013 through 2020 for Cook County, Illinois, the state of Illinois, and the U.S. as a nation.

A choropleth map showing the share of students in grade 3 who meet grade-level standards in math by county in the mid-Western United States. Cook county Illinois is highlighted.

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · May 18

Thank you Jacque and Mitchell!! Very proud of the engineering and design decisions we made on this one!

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Nov 20

If you're in the #philly area - come nerd out about #dataviz!

December Data Visualization Meetup, Wed, Dec 4, 2024, 5:30 PM | Meetup

Our next meetup is December 4th at Cesium. Hosted by Ben Garvey and Ben Kates. Doors open at 5:30 and talks begin at 6PM. **Location** Cesium 400 Market St Philadelphia, P

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Nov 20

Same! The options for detail (compact, stacked, details, list) are very welcome. Plus reminders show up in the individual day too? So good!

Calendar screenshot with reminders at top

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Attention @datawrapper power users! I built a @raycastapp extension just for YOU! This extension allows you to view, search, open, and duplicate your Datawrapper #datavisualization anywhere on your Mac! Check it out and let me know what you think!
https://www.raycast.com/benkates/datawrapper

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

I've been working on my first complex @d3visualization project for the last month and I have to say the #rstats data manipulation skills I've developed work so well with the "custom" aspect of custom viz! Very fun!

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Has anyone come across an #rstats package that converts SQL parameters into structured data? ie:

select * from suez_canal where boat_name = 'Ever Given' and stuck = 'T'

would result in a dataframe with a row:

select * from suez_canal | boat_name = 'Ever Given' | stuck = 'T'

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

I’ve been on clubhouse for 20 minutes. I’ve never been to sxsw talks but I imagine this is exactly what it’s like

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

I am completely mesmerized by the @Apple homepage this holiday season...love the rotating tech!

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

#immersiveanalytics is the future! Here's a roundup of some of our research into the space! #datastorytelling #AugmentedReality https://x.com/CompassRed/status/1331637480286801927

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

I love online music communities, especially on Twitch. New infographic on the rise of virtual music appreciation this year, built in #GoogleDataStudio! https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/411867ba-a222-4074-9e55-d808d72adf9b/page/tF4fB

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Had a #recentgrad reach out and ask how necessary certifications are for getting that first analyst job. I said understanding of the analyst role + portfolio > certifications, what do you think? #data #rstats #Tableau #GoogleAnalytics

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Well I now have an excuse to share my love of mechanical keyboards, thank you @sharlagelfand for creating such a fun #rstats package! Got pretty close recreating mine in ggplot! Frame: Filco Majestouch 2 w/ Silent Red Cherry MX Switches
Keycaps: Jessica GMK Plum from Massdrop https://t.co/qsoixvJDaR

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Repo found here! https://github.com/texas-2036/covid_tracker/ (👀 the size of the app.R file)

GitHub - texas-2036/covid_tracker: This is a Texas-centric COVID Tracker that focuses on impacts felt across the state, both by those experiencing COVID-19 directly as patients or victims and those experiencing COVID-19 indirectly through economic hardship and other non-health impacts.

This is a Texas-centric COVID Tracker that focuses on impacts felt across the state, both by those experiencing COVID-19 directly as patients or victims and those experiencing COVID-19 indirectly t...

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Liked the use of these in particular:
📦metathis: SEO/social media sharing friendly tags
📦shinyLP: nice landing page (LP) experience
📦highcharter: charts, great custom theming
📦leaflet.extras: what it sounds like :)
📦waiter: loading screens
📦sever: disconnected screen

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Just spent a little while digging into this tool - a really impressive "big" #rstats #shiny project.

Aside from showing very important data from multiple sources, the frontend/UX is unique and makes use of multiple packages to tie everything together really nicely. Great work! https://t.co/31kz...

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Excellent overview video of new #GoogleMaps in #GoogleDataStudio from @RiccardoMuti and Tech Writer Rick! https://youtu.be/msMJaF-7rhI

Visualize your data using Google Maps and Data Studio

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Excited to share a #GoogleDataStudio report focused on #selfcare during the #COVID19 pandemic. Hope everyone is doing their best to take good care of themselves and others! Medium: https://t.co/C8xwNqdgMR Report: https://t.co/exr9cC5Y5o #infographic #selfcare @GoogleTrends

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

I've been looking at a lot of #GoogleTrends recently and was surprised to see such a drop in interest for the "Vegetarianism" topic in the US

Ben Kates (he/him) @benkates.com · Feb 21

Excited about this one! A @googleanalytics click heatmap viz in #GoogleDataStudio - thanks to @PatStrickler for the original post! Medium Post: https://t.co/YfoTnlmrI6 DS Report: https://t.co/QZ3Lvaf3UV Shoutout @mourner for putting together the JavaScript library #simpleheat!