Date: Monday April 20, 2026
Time: 3:00-5:00pm PST
Location: Logan Media Center, North Gate Hall, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
This in-person event is free for students.
Creative Approaches to Data for Visual Journalists
This in-person workshop for students introduces practical and creative ways to approach data as a visual journalist.
New York Times Graphics Editor Marco Hernandez will walk students through a selection of methods for turning data into story ideas, visual concepts, and editorial approaches, with examples of projects that stand out for their originality and effectiveness.
Students will then work in groups on paper to develop one approach using a provided dataset, followed by a review of results and discussion.
Takeaways
Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of multiple ways to frame and interpret data visually, a stronger sense of what makes certain data-driven storytelling approaches distinctive, and a practical exercise they can use to develop future visual journalism ideas.
Speaker biography
Marco Hernandez has worked as a visual journalist for over 20 years in media outlets around the world, including Reuters in Singapore, La Nación in Costa Rica, and The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and more recently, The New York Times. Throughout his career, Marco has garnered hundreds of awards from international organizations in Europe, Asia, and America. Marco was named “World’s Best Designer” by the SND in 2021, he achieved consecutive Pulitzer Prize wins in 2023 and 2024, and received the 2023 Majeri Award for innovation and leadership in journalism from Ball State University. Since 2025, Marco has been part of the Board of Directors of the SND, where he actively promotes initiatives to support students in the fields of journalism, design, and related careers.
This event is sponsored by American City Business Journals, the San Francisco Chronicle and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
