Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
@frank.computer
On the job market!
Presently PhD candidate studying tool-making for vis 📊 @hcii.cmu.edu. Prev: Adobe, Highsoft, Apple, Visa.
Softer-ware (malleability), accessibility, data interaction, node-edge navigation
Disabled & making a ttrpg.
www.frank.computer
Presently PhD candidate studying tool-making for vis 📊 @hcii.cmu.edu. Prev: Adobe, Highsoft, Apple, Visa.
Softer-ware (malleability), accessibility, data interaction, node-edge navigation
Disabled & making a ttrpg.
www.frank.computer
Pinned
1.1 Introduction - Accessibility in Data Visualization
- Open Visualization Academy
openvisualizationacademy.org
You can catch my full, open course on accessibility in visualization here:
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
In case you missed it: my full, free, open course on accessibility and visualization is out!
You can catch my full, open course on accessibility in visualization here:
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
1.1 Introduction - Accessibility in Data Visualization
- Open Visualization Academy
openvisualizationacademy.org
February 8, 2026 at 12:36 PM
In case you missed it: my full, free, open course on accessibility and visualization is out!
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
99% of stakeholder "ideas" is 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.
Now all software (not just consumer apps, but also metrics dashboards) yells at you, and trains you to attend to its yelling.
The circular logic of our metrics
We design what is familiar. The design patterns we adopt are the ones yelling at us the loudest.
productpicnic.beehiiv.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:11 PM
99% of stakeholder "ideas" is 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.
Now all software (not just consumer apps, but also metrics dashboards) yells at you, and trains you to attend to its yelling.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
You can catch my full, open course on accessibility in visualization here:
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
1.1 Introduction - Accessibility in Data Visualization
- Open Visualization Academy
openvisualizationacademy.org
January 30, 2026 at 6:55 PM
You can catch my full, open course on accessibility in visualization here:
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
Auto-ethnographies and auto-bio desogn are close? But those tend to be individualistic and not about communities, groups, or teams...
February 8, 2026 at 12:49 PM
Auto-ethnographies and auto-bio desogn are close? But those tend to be individualistic and not about communities, groups, or teams...
Hmmm. I'm really curious about projects led by non-academics especially, since most of "participatory" and "co-" approaches often involve some outsider who wants to create generalizable knowledge.
I'm *really* interested in "local" knowledges, produced by people for themselves.
I'm *really* interested in "local" knowledges, produced by people for themselves.
February 8, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Hmmm. I'm really curious about projects led by non-academics especially, since most of "participatory" and "co-" approaches often involve some outsider who wants to create generalizable knowledge.
I'm *really* interested in "local" knowledges, produced by people for themselves.
I'm *really* interested in "local" knowledges, produced by people for themselves.
In case you missed it: my full, free, open course on accessibility and visualization is out!
You can catch my full, open course on accessibility in visualization here:
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
1.1 Introduction - Accessibility in Data Visualization
- Open Visualization Academy
openvisualizationacademy.org
February 8, 2026 at 12:36 PM
In case you missed it: my full, free, open course on accessibility and visualization is out!
There are community based and participatory approaches, which is awesome. But I'm also just curious for the broader spectrum of (even non-academic) sources, as well as everything from designerly approaches to self-innovation/auto-ethnography.
Cc'ing @perhaxis.bsky.social for ideas, perhaps?
Cc'ing @perhaxis.bsky.social for ideas, perhaps?
February 8, 2026 at 12:34 PM
There are community based and participatory approaches, which is awesome. But I'm also just curious for the broader spectrum of (even non-academic) sources, as well as everything from designerly approaches to self-innovation/auto-ethnography.
Cc'ing @perhaxis.bsky.social for ideas, perhaps?
Cc'ing @perhaxis.bsky.social for ideas, perhaps?
Looking for deeper expertise:
I was re-reading this outstanding (seminal) piece by @gillianrh.bsky.social on action research in HCI, thanks to a convo with some recent non-academic collaborators.
What is action research up to now in HCI? I'm interested in epistemologies of "knowing by doing."
I was re-reading this outstanding (seminal) piece by @gillianrh.bsky.social on action research in HCI, thanks to a convo with some recent non-academic collaborators.
What is action research up to now in HCI? I'm interested in epistemologies of "knowing by doing."
The relationship of action research to human-computer interaction | ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction
Alongside the growing interest within HCI, and arguably computing more generally,
in conducting research that has substantial societal benefits, there is a need for
new ways to think about and to arti...
dl.acm.org
February 8, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Looking for deeper expertise:
I was re-reading this outstanding (seminal) piece by @gillianrh.bsky.social on action research in HCI, thanks to a convo with some recent non-academic collaborators.
What is action research up to now in HCI? I'm interested in epistemologies of "knowing by doing."
I was re-reading this outstanding (seminal) piece by @gillianrh.bsky.social on action research in HCI, thanks to a convo with some recent non-academic collaborators.
What is action research up to now in HCI? I'm interested in epistemologies of "knowing by doing."
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
GM: Charisma check.
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
February 7, 2026 at 5:01 AM
GM: Charisma check.
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
With alt text
February 7, 2026 at 2:56 AM
With alt text
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.
February 5, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
I wrote about some nuance involved with annotating focus order, following a conversation with @annaecook.com where we realized we'd both been running across the same well-intentioned behaviors. #a11y ericwbailey.website/published/yo...
You probably shouldn’t be annotating focus order
Sometimes not doing something is the right move.
ericwbailey.website
February 4, 2026 at 3:06 PM
I wrote about some nuance involved with annotating focus order, following a conversation with @annaecook.com where we realized we'd both been running across the same well-intentioned behaviors. #a11y ericwbailey.website/published/yo...
hah! some have tried already, like the folks with the City of SF: medium.com/san-francisc...
A template for accessible data visualizations:
If data isn’t accessible and understandable, it isn’t helpful. We shifted our bar for success beyond providing high quality data, to making
medium.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:15 PM
hah! some have tried already, like the folks with the City of SF: medium.com/san-francisc...
This kind of strategy not only is performative compliance but also demands repeated micro-labor from people with disabilities. Every single website requires additional interaction in order to gain basic, fundamental access? 1 click becomes 5. This adds up into a mountain of tedium and pain.
February 3, 2026 at 5:21 PM
This kind of strategy not only is performative compliance but also demands repeated micro-labor from people with disabilities. Every single website requires additional interaction in order to gain basic, fundamental access? 1 click becomes 5. This adds up into a mountain of tedium and pain.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
For the record, I hate being right. mantisandco.com/resources/gu...
February 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM
For the record, I hate being right. mantisandco.com/resources/gu...
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.)
github.com/dataviza11y/...
(For those that don't know, this single-page doc is one of my most-starred projects on github.)
github.com/dataviza11y/...
github.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:11 PM
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.)
github.com/dataviza11y/...
(For those that don't know, this single-page doc is one of my most-starred projects on github.)
github.com/dataviza11y/...
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Every day Mamdani comes out and is like "hey guys, I turned off the orphan-crushing machine. Literally just had to flip a switch. Took less than 5 minutes."
After decades of dem leadership pissing and moaning and fundraising about how complex an issue it is and how difficult the process is etc
After decades of dem leadership pissing and moaning and fundraising about how complex an issue it is and how difficult the process is etc
February 3, 2026 at 3:58 AM
Every day Mamdani comes out and is like "hey guys, I turned off the orphan-crushing machine. Literally just had to flip a switch. Took less than 5 minutes."
After decades of dem leadership pissing and moaning and fundraising about how complex an issue it is and how difficult the process is etc
After decades of dem leadership pissing and moaning and fundraising about how complex an issue it is and how difficult the process is etc
Ah, love this one!
February 3, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Ah, love this one!
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
Good morning... Not sure if folks can read the full post by Mark linked here since it's on FedBook but if you can, it's worth it to kick off a new week: www.facebook.com/mark.provost...
February 2, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Good morning... Not sure if folks can read the full post by Mark linked here since it's on FedBook but if you can, it's worth it to kick off a new week: www.facebook.com/mark.provost...
This single course might put "accessibility" in front of more students and learners than any other project, talk, or workshop I've done. I'm excited to see the growth in our community in the next few years.
This is one of the more hopeful things happening right now, which I really needed.
This is one of the more hopeful things happening right now, which I really needed.
February 2, 2026 at 3:54 PM
This single course might put "accessibility" in front of more students and learners than any other project, talk, or workshop I've done. I'm excited to see the growth in our community in the next few years.
This is one of the more hopeful things happening right now, which I really needed.
This is one of the more hopeful things happening right now, which I really needed.
In case you missed it, I have a free, full, open course on accessibility and visualization that is part of the launch of the new Open Visualization Academy.
The course is packed!
And the OVA has over 300+ sign-ups already (which isn't even necessary!) as well as over 4000+ newsletter subs.
The course is packed!
And the OVA has over 300+ sign-ups already (which isn't even necessary!) as well as over 4000+ newsletter subs.
You can catch my full, open course on accessibility in visualization here:
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
openvisualizationacademy.org/courses/acce...
1.1 Introduction - Accessibility in Data Visualization
- Open Visualization Academy
openvisualizationacademy.org
February 2, 2026 at 3:54 PM
In case you missed it, I have a free, full, open course on accessibility and visualization that is part of the launch of the new Open Visualization Academy.
The course is packed!
And the OVA has over 300+ sign-ups already (which isn't even necessary!) as well as over 4000+ newsletter subs.
The course is packed!
And the OVA has over 300+ sign-ups already (which isn't even necessary!) as well as over 4000+ newsletter subs.
Reposted by Frank Elavsky (he/him) ⌁
In case you missed it, we launched the Open Visualization Academy on Friday. Thread:
The Open Visualization Academy (OVA) IS LIVE!
openvisualizationacademy.org
Thread follows #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVisualization
openvisualizationacademy.org
Thread follows #dataViz #infographics #dataJournalism #dataVisualization
February 2, 2026 at 12:25 PM
In case you missed it, we launched the Open Visualization Academy on Friday. Thread:
The data shown vs the whole picture.
This is another one for the "how charts can lie" slide deck.
This is another one for the "how charts can lie" slide deck.
February 2, 2026 at 3:50 PM
The data shown vs the whole picture.
This is another one for the "how charts can lie" slide deck.
This is another one for the "how charts can lie" slide deck.