Adrián Blanco's portfolio - The Sigma Awards

2023

Adrián Blanco’s portfolio

Entry type: Portfolio

Country/area: United States

Publishing organisation: The Washington Post

Organisation size: Big

Cover letter:

To the attention of the 2023 Sigma Awards Jury,

During the past three years and half years as a Graphics reporter at The Washington Post, combined with my previous experience as a data journalist in Spain and the United Kingdom, I’ve analyzed dozens of datasets and published dozens of pieces, hundreds of graphics and experimented with new ways for data to tell stories.

[How election modeling can help us understand who might win](https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/interactive/2022/how-election-models-work/?itid=ap_adrianblanco), [Tracking which 2020 election deniers are winning, losing in the midterms](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/election-deniers-midterms/?itid=ap_adrianblanco) and [More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people are two pieces](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/interactive/2022/congress-slaveowners-names-list/?itid=ap_juliezauzmerweil) I have worked on this year that show complex analyses of hand-crafted databases, high-quality data visualizations and curated design. These pieces showcase my interest in pushing for more investigative, highly curated and uniquely presented content.

Over this time, I have become a better graphics reporter, widening my range of technical and visual skills. From my position in the newsroom, I have tried to promote collaboration, knowledge sharing and learning across the Graphics team and other desks. I have been part of the onboarding process of numerous colleagues, offering support and solving questions and teaching them the systems in place.

As a Graphics reporter, I always aim to create beautiful and well designed graphics that stop people from scrolling to take a deeper look and leave having learned something new and unexpected. I strongly believe on the use of highly curated visualizations to explain complex concepts such as redistricting, policy making or even election results that have an impact in our daily lives. As data and visual reporters, I believe we have the capacity to not only react to the news with explainers, but also push exclusive content and generate and open source [our own databases](https://github.com/washingtonpost/data-congress-slaveowners) where no data exists.

I am fascinated by the possibilities the intersection of reporting, data and design offers to journalism. Not only do I put this combination of skills in practice on my own work, but also advocate for it. In my free time, I have also mentored students and taught classes on these disciplines at Master’s levels in Spain and the U.S.

Kind regards,

Adrián Blanco Ramos

For a full portfolio of my work, please visit adrianblancoramos.com and https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/adrian-blanco/

Description of portfolio:

To the attention of the 2023 Sigma Awards Jury,

[My portfolio](adrianblancoramos.com/) showcases my goal of innovation and thinking outside of the box for daily pieces to highly curated investigations. No matter the topic or the approach, my goal when working on a story or graphic is to create a ‘whoa’ factor for the reader using data visualization techniques, graphics or illustrations.

In terms of presentation, I always pursue beautiful and well designed stories that stop people from scrolling to take a deeper look and leave having learned something new and unexpected. Examples of highly sophisitcated data visualizations include [a live tracker on which 2020 U.S. election deniers were winnin and losing in the midterms](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/election-deniers-midterms/?itid=ap_adrianblanco) and [a visual explainer rich on illustrations on how election modeling works](https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/interactive/2022/how-election-models-work/?itid=ap_adrianblanco).

Behind the scenes, I have developed a wide range of skills to analyze complex databases, identify the most important patterns in the database and prepare the main findings for publication. The investigative analysis on [how many suspects have been charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/interactive/2022/jan-6-capitol-riot-charges-sentences/?itid=ap_aadittambe), as well as the investigation on [the congressmen who once enslaved Black people](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/interactive/2022/congress-slaveowners-names-list/) are examples of sophisticated analyses based on hand-crafted datasets created in the newsroom for investigative purposes that I have worked on during the past year. The original topics, attention to the detail and the technical skills put into practice to create these pieces are some of the things I enjoy the most while reporting. I feel strongly that this portfolio reflects my passion and aim as a graphics reporter.

[My portfolio](adrianblancoramos.com/) also features [a few courses and workshops](https://observablehq.com/@zachlevitt/nacis-collaborative-mapmaking-with-observable-in-javascript) on data visualization and data analysis that I taught over the past year. I find it incredibly rewarding to teach others and help them grow and develop their skills to become better graphic reporters or data journalists.

Links to my work are attached. Please do not hesitate to contact me, should you need any other information.

Kind regards,

Adrián Blanco Ramos

For a full portfolio of my work, please visit adrianblancoramos.com and https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/adrian-blanco/