This week Iron Viz 2026 Finalist and Tableau Visionary Brian Moore drops in

Zach and Brian discussed Brian's preparation for the upcoming IronViz competition at Tableau Conference, where Brian will present his "Confection Connection" visualization about candy company conglomerations.

They explored Brian's approach to creating data visualizations, including his methodical process of researching and manually building datasets, his technical design choices like using Tableau polygons for backgrounds, and his philosophy of balancing information density with storytelling clarity.

Brian shared insights about his extensive Tableau Public project portfolio, revealing he spends 3-4 hours per night for months at a time on each major project, and discussed his experience networking with other community members and preparing for the live presentation format.

The conversation also covered Brian's previous work, including his cryptid classifications project and Wes Anderson movie visualizations, highlighting how he approaches similar topics from different angles using varied chart types and design elements.

In this solo episode Zach talks about entering the Tableau Visionary Hall of Fame, entropy in complex processes, and persevering when work gets tough