A collection of all blog posts by Alejandro Villarreal.

blog/Alejandro Villarreal

The Notion of “Data-Driven Products” Isn’t New. But You Need a Strategy.

Alejandro Villarreal | 08.02.23

Not all “data-driven insights” are valuable to pursue for the sake of your product vision. But which data is valuable for your product and business goals and which can you leave behind? First, it’s the quality of data that matters—not just the quantity. Quality data that precisely matches your business case isn’t going to be...

Level Up Your Navigation: Inside Stamen Design’s Route Simulator

Alejandro Villarreal | 05.12.23

If you’ve been following some of our recent posts about maps and gaming, perhaps you’re wondering, what lessons on spatial navigation can we take from game design and apply to navigation in the real world? The answer is that the visuals that accompany the driving directions you get from Google, Apple, Waze or most other...

Connecting the Dots: How Data Products and Design Help Address Systemic Threats

Alejandro Villarreal | 03.22.23

The myriad and complex challenges of addressing climate change can feel overwhelming, but when you combine the wealth and power of data available with communication strategies, it becomes possible to imagine a future where we are valuing conservation, relying on renewables, promoting efficient industrial, consumer, and agricultural processes, and not pumping greenhouse gasses and pollutants...