Alhadaqa

Turn mistful data into insightful art

Here, I explore data, looking for its hidden secrets and its mysterious stories. I discover those secrets, then reveal them in a beautiful, simple and insightful data visuals.

MOHAMAD WAKED

Salam, I’m a Mechanical Design Engineer who turned into a Data Scientist, then into a Data Visualization Designer and recently a Data Journalist. 

I have an extreme passion towards analyzing data, exploring its dark sides, examining it from different angles, breaking it down till roots, understanding the connections between its small dots, discovering and uncovering its deep secrets, then summarizing those findings in a graph that is pleasing to its viewer. I founded ALHADAQA which is my personal DataViz Lab. Here I am expressing part of my passion towards data exploration and data visualization.

 

My short story

from Mechanical Design to Data Visualization Design

I graduated as a mechanical design and production engineer from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. From my childhood until now I’m chasing my passion for designing things and playing with numbers. 

YOU CAN DO ANYTHING AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE PASSION, THE DRIVE and THE FOCUS.

During my early career in the automotive industry as a process analytics engineer, I gradually shifted my practical and scientific focus to data science. I also had the opportunity to enforce my back by getting my specialization in Data Science from Johns Hopkins University.

I was consciously observing my delight when it came to presenting the results of any analysis in a chart or graph. It is always the point where all my mental potential is unleashed. This was the main driver behind my second shift to data visualization design. 

Small change can make a big impact.

Because we live in the data and information age, I felt that anyone who has the ability to simplify and transform data into something that can help people in one way or another is socially responsible in his place.

So, I decided to create ALHADAQA to become my personal DataViz Lab, to people and for people. 

I don’t know if I’m chasing data or data is chasing me.

My life revolves around data. Beside my main job as a data scientist, I try to manage my time to work on my personal data visualization projects or experiments and sometimes it could be a project for a client. Add to that my recent part-time career as a data journalist. 

Freedom, in any case, is only possible by constantly struggling for it.

Albert Einstein

I’m always trying to escape from what is limiting my vision. I like to work freely on my projects, from conception to publication. That’s why on every project, I enjoy my constant struggle through many tasks, which include ideating, scoping, data collecting, cleaning and analyzing, sketching, innovating, designing, coding, illustrating, writing and publishing.

Awards

malofiej

BRONZE IN INNOVATION

MALOFIEJ AWARDS | 2020

Link

The best visual and data-driven story

The pudding cup | 2020

Link

Shortlist

SIGMA Awards | 2020

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malofiej

Gold Medal

Center for global data visualization challenge | 2019

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The best Data visualization

ARAB DATA JOURNALISTS NETWORK Awards | 2018

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Featured on

The Art of Insight

How Great Visualization Designers Think

 By Alberto Cairo

With great pleasure, Alberto Cairo interviewed me to be a part of his new book “The Art of Insight” among a group of great data visualization designers around the world. 

Link

INTERVIEWS

 

Other Appearances

 

Data viz today podcast | Alli Torban

How Connecting Two Charts Can Lead to Extra Impact

 

In this episode, Alli talked about how I used two charts with a captivating connective tissue to shine a light on a very important issue happening in the world around us.

Listen to it