Getting the Viz of the Day nod is basically the "Blue Checkmark" of the data world. If you've spent any time on Tableau Public, you know the drill. You open the gallery, see a stunning dashboard about anything from migratory bird patterns to NBA shooting percentages, and think, How on earth did they do that? It’s not just about luck. Honestly, it’s a mix of design chops, storytelling, and knowing exactly what the Tableau curators are hunting for on any given Tuesday morning.
Most people treat Tableau like a corporate reporting tool. They build bar charts. They make spreadsheets look slightly prettier. But Viz of the Day isn't about reporting; it's about data art. It’s the difference between a grocery receipt and a gourmet meal.
What the Tableau Curators Are Actually Looking For
I’ve looked at hundreds of these. There is a specific "vibe" that gets picked. It isn’t always the most complex calculation or the most insane Level of Detail (LOD) expression. In fact, some of the best winners use the simplest math.
The secret? It’s the "hook."
You need a hook that makes a casual scroller stop. If your title is "Quarterly Sales Report 2024," you’ve already lost. If your title is "The Bitter Reality of Global Coffee Prices," you might have a chance. The Tableau Public team—people like Taha Ebrahimi and Kevin Flerlage—often emphasize that the story matters more than the software.
Design matters, obviously. But "design" doesn't mean "clutter." A lot of beginners think they need to use every single feature in the marks card. Don't. White space is your best friend. A Viz of the Day often feels like a magazine layout. It has a clear flow. You start at the top, get the context, dive into the middle for the "meat," and end with a takeaway.
The "Scroll-Telling" Factor
We’re seeing a massive shift toward long-form, vertical dashboards. Think of it like an infographic that actually breathes. Users like to scroll. It feels natural on mobile and desktop. When you build a Viz of the Day contender, think about the aspect ratio. A fixed size of 1000x800 is safe, but a 1000x3000 canvas allows you to lead the viewer by the hand through a narrative.
🔗 Read more: The MOAB Explained: What Most People Get Wrong About the Mother of All Bombs
Breaking Down a Real Winner: The Mechanics of Greatness
Let’s look at why certain vizzes win. Take a look at the work of someone like Chimdi Nwosu or Lindsay Betzendahl. They don't just dump data.
- Color Palettes: They don't use the default "Tableau 10" colors. Those are for your boss, not for the gallery. They use custom hex codes from sites like Coolors or Adobe Color.
- Typography: They bring in custom fonts. Standard Arial or Calibri won't cut it. You need something with personality. Note: Tableau Public supports Google Fonts now, which changed the game for web-based rendering.
- Interactivity: This is huge. A Viz of the Day usually lets the user play. Whether it’s a parameter action that changes the entire view or a hover effect that reveals a hidden insight, engagement is key.
You’ve got to make it personal. The most successful vizzes often come from a place of passion. If you love 90s hip-hop, make a viz about it. If you’re obsessed with the carbon footprint of your local commute, map it out. Authenticity shines through the pixels.
Technical Traps That Kill Your Chances
You can have the most beautiful design in the world, but if the dashboard takes 30 seconds to load, it will never be Viz of the Day. Performance is a silent killer.
Tableau Public is a shared environment. If you’re using massive spatial files or unaggregated data with 10 million rows, your viz will lag. Curators aren't going to reward a "spinning wheel of death."
- Aggregate your data before you connect. If you only need monthly totals, don't bring in daily transactions.
- Limit your filters. Every filter is a query. Too many "Global Filters" can slow down the rendering engine significantly.
- Watch your images. High-res backgrounds are great, but compress them. A 5MB background image is overkill for a web dashboard.
The Community Connection
Here is a reality check: Nobody wins Viz of the Day in a vacuum.
The Tableau community—#DataFam on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn—is where the magic happens. You should be participating in community projects. "Makeover Monday," "Workout Wednesday," or "Iron Viz" practice runs are where the curators hang out.
💡 You might also like: What Was Invented By Benjamin Franklin: The Truth About His Weirdest Gadgets
If you post your work and tag the right people, you get feedback. Sometimes, that feedback is the difference between a "nice chart" and a Viz of the Day. Don't be shy. The community is surprisingly welcoming. They want you to succeed because every great viz makes the whole ecosystem look better.
Diversity of Topics
Tableau intentionally picks a wide variety of topics. They don't want five sports vizzes in a row. If the last three winners were about the environment, maybe wait a week before posting your climate change dashboard. They look for balance. They want to show that Tableau can handle social issues, business analytics, scientific data, and pop culture.
Actionable Steps to Improve Your Visualizations
Stop overthinking the "algorithm" and start focusing on the craft. Here is how you actually move the needle:
Curate Your Portfolio
Go through your Tableau Public profile. Hide the "work stuff" or the half-finished projects. Your profile should look like a gallery. Use custom thumbnails. When a curator lands on your page, they should see a consistent level of quality.
Master the Small Stuff
Tooltips are often an afterthought. For a Viz of the Day, they are essential. Clean them up. Remove the "Tableau-ness" of it. Instead of "Sales: $400," write "This region generated $400 in revenue last month." Make it conversational.
Apply for it (Yes, really)
You don't have to wait for them to find you. You can actually nominate yourself or someone else. There’s a submission form on the Tableau Public website. While it doesn't guarantee a win, it ensures a human eye actually sees your work.
📖 Related: When were iPhones invented and why the answer is actually complicated
Learn Mapbox
If your viz involves maps, standard Tableau maps are "okay," but Mapbox integration is how you get that professional, custom look. You can create dark-mode maps or minimalist backgrounds that make your data points pop.
Final Polish Checklist
Check your dashboard on a different monitor. What looks good on your 4K screen might be unreadable on a standard laptop. Check your spelling—nothing kills a nomination faster than a typo in the main headline. Ensure all your actions work. If a button doesn't do what it says it does, the immersion is broken.
The path to Viz of the Day is basically a marathon, not a sprint. It takes most people dozens of uploads before they get that email notification. Just keep building, keep sharing, and for heaven's sake, stop using pie charts with thirty slices. Nobody likes those.
Focus on the narrative. Tell us something we didn't know about a topic we thought we understood. That is the heart of data visualization.
Next Steps for Your Tableau Journey
- Download the workbook of a previous winner. Deconstruct it. See how they used containers (it’s usually a mess of nested containers, let’s be real).
- Join a community project this week. Iron Quest is great for practicing themed storytelling.
- Set up a "Tableau Public" folder for your custom icons and color palettes so you aren't starting from scratch every time.