Hi, my name is Sam. I like to tell visual stories using data, graphics, and interactivity.
You can see some of my work below and if you want to get in touch, you can email me at sam.vickars@gmail.com—I'm almost always down for a chat. If you add me on Twitter, @samvickars, I'll probably follow you back.
I have a bachelor's degree from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and a Master's of Science in Data Visualization from Parsons in NYC.
I’m also an eight-time local pub trivia champion, along with my twin brother; the current scoring champion in one of the lowest-division adult hockey leagues in the city; a relatively accomplished wassailer; and an early pioneer of the Circle Line Pub Crawl.
I'm currently employed at The DataFace and recently won a bronze at the 2019 Information is Beautiful Awards. Get in touch if there's something you want to work on.
It’s so nice to meet you.
New work
Coronavirus by County
Using NYT data to track the spread of COVID-19 by U.S. county.
The DataFace, March 2020
The No Doubter Report
The homeruns hit hard enough to leave any MLB park
The DataFace, September 2019
The Irregular Outfields of Baseball
The varying sizes, shapes, and types of MLB ballparks
The DataFace, April 2019
I also recently designed and built Yelp’s Coronavirus Impact Report, this microsite celebrating 15 Years of Yelp, and this home for Yelp's Economic Average reports; illustrated some rookie cards for this project on the NBA draft; explored America's favourite summer drinks, according to Yelp; worked on HCCI's report on US Hospital Market Concentration; worked on visualizations and design for B6's first, second, third, and fourth quarterly reports of 2019; and contributed to this Pudding Piece on the Biggest Pop Star.
Old work
North America’s Winningest Cities
What makes a titletown?
The Pudding, November 2018
Globalography
Out interconnected world revealed in 50 maps
Amazon.ca, November 2018
Parental Leave in America
What’s the deal?
The DataFace, March 2018
Visualizing Canada’s Indian Residential Schools
MSDV thesis on Canada’s Past
2017
#Trumped
The First 100 Days of Tweets
June 2017
The World of James Bond
Shaken, not stirred
2017
The Biggest Rivalries in Sports
121 teams, 128 connections, 6 pro sports
2017
Comparing Greats
How much did the legends really score?
2017
The Value of a Draft Pick
Analyzing the value of every NHL draft pick since 1992
2017
The One with the Couch
The Central Perk's iconic orange couch and the role it played on Friends
2016
Roma XXXVI
Sketches from a term abroad
2014
A Chair for Dr Seuss
Oh the places you’ll sit!
2013
I made this site using ArchieML and Handlebars. The whole thing runs off this Google Doc. It's hosted on Github pages and uses Work Sans, a Google Font.