Darragh Murray

Data visualiser and analytics professional

All posts in Visualisation

Reflections on Iron Viz 2023 Feeder Round & Three Lessons Learned

Posted on Author DarraghPosted in Tableau, VisualisationLeave a Reply

My first participation in Iron Viz Qualifier was a surreal experience.

As I hit the submit button with 10 minutes left until the submission deadline, I felt both wrung out and exhilarated. Like someone had squeezed champagne out of a tea towel. Bizarre metaphors aside, Iron Viz was an odyssey but still an overwhelmingly positive experience.

If you’re unfamiliar with Iron Viz, it’s an annual data visualisation competition built around the Tableau Public platform. Participants worldwide have a month to create and submit work on a selected theme during qualifier rounds, hoping their submission is good enough to qualify them … Read the rest

Analysing Interstate Migration Movements in Australia

Analysing Interstate Migration Movements in Australia

Posted on Author DarraghPosted in Data, Data Analysis, VisualisationLeave a Reply

I recently published a dashboard to allow people to view Australian interstate migration figures using ABS data.

As I mentioned in the post introducing the dashboard (which you can read here), interstate migration became a hot topic throughout the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We witnessed en-masse movements of Australians throughout the country – some were seeking an escape from COVID and associated lockdowns, while others were seeking a change of scenery as they realised they could work their high-paying jobs in Australian metro locations such as Sydney and Melbourne from the comfort of other … Read the rest

Visualising Population | Australian Interstate Migration Figures

Posted on Author DarraghPosted in Data, Data Analysis, VisualisationLeave a Reply

I’m a migrant, and migration data has always fascinated me.

While the media focus is often on international migration to Australia, the COVID pandemic suddenly threw interstate migration into sharp focus, as lockdowns in various states may have incentivised different people to question where they lived and what type of life they wanted to live. 

And as someone who was in the Queensland real estate market in 2021, it was often common to read stories about how people fleeing the lockdowns in southern Australian States and Territories were adding a lot of demand to a piping hot housing market.

As … Read the rest

A Cost of Insecurity – Comparing Spending on Military Capability v the Human Development Index

A Cost of Insecurity – Comparing Spending on Military Capability v the Human Development Index

Posted on Author DarraghPosted in Data, Tableau, VisualisationLeave a Reply

One great thing about the company I work for is that they continually encourage us to develop our skills via monthly data visualisation challenges. The latest challenge was themed on ‘scatter plots’ and it was definitely one I wished to be a part of – I love scatter plots!

Harking back to my postgraduate studies in international relations, I had sourced some data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute around the percentage of GDP various countries use to support their military capability. I was very keen to do some analysis using this data but momentarily stuck with what to … Read the rest

Fun with sets: Highlighting/filtering data using a shared attribute of a selected value in Tableau

Fun with sets: Highlighting/filtering data using a shared attribute of a selected value in Tableau

Posted on Author DarraghPosted in Data, Tableau, VisualisationLeave a Reply

Have you ever wanted to be able to filter or highlight records in a Tableau visualisation that share a common attribute? For example, say you had a visualisation and a filter that listed animals. You select ‘kangaroo’, and the visualisation would filter for ‘kangaroo’ and all other marsupials – animals that share the same infraclass as the chosen ‘kangaroo’.

Typically, when filtering in Tableau, you filter on a single dimension or measure and the filter action is limited to whatever you selected. Using the example above, if I chose ‘kangaroo’, the visualisation would filter for kangaroos but no other, unless … Read the rest

The Land is a Map: On being awarded Viz of the Day

The Land is a Map: On being awarded Viz of the Day

Posted on Author DarraghPosted in Data, Tableau, VisualisationLeave a Reply

Last week I was fortunate enough to be awarded my first ever ‘Viz of the Day’ (or VOTD). The more expansive (and I think better version) of the visualisation can be found on my Tableau Public profile.

If you don’t have a clue about what I’m talking about, Tableau – the purveyor of fine data visualisation software – regularly select a visualisation from the community to showcase most weekdays. Typically, VOTD often showcases an interesting new technique or visualisations that provide information on current news or relevant historical events or generates fascinating new insights.

In the case of … Read the rest