Jason Forrest
Turns complex information into human stories — for better decisions and real-world impact.
New York City based data designer and writer
For more details, visit his personal site: jasonforrestftw.com/contact ↗
About Jason Forrest
Jason Forrest is a data visualization and design leader who turns complex information into human stories for better decisions and real-world impact. Based in New York City, he leads two agencies built on one shared mission: to make data more relatable, intuitive, and human.
Through the Jason Forrest Agency (JFA), a collective of top dataviz, design, and AI talent, he partners with Fortune 100 companies, NGOs, and cultural institutions to build full-stack visualizations, exploratory tools, and experiential interfaces that help organizations see and act on their data — turning insight into faster, more empathetic decisions.
Data Vandals, the public-facing data-art studio he co-founded with Jen Ray in 2021, brings that same mindset into sculptures, murals, and pop-up activations, like LA Loves with the Mayor’s Office of Los Angeles for the World Cup’s Kick It in the Park celebrations, that turn data into unforgettable experiences and spark curiosity and conversation across audiences.
Before founding JFA, Forrest was an Associate Partner and Director of the Data Visualization Lab at McKinsey & Company. He started there as a UX designer, moved into data visualization through people analytics, and ended up at the center of the firm’s biggest public moments: launching the McKinsey Health Institute, a sustainability campaign for COP26, the Future of NY Summit — and, when the pandemic hit, the COVID Response Center, home of the Emotion Archive and its most-viewed page, the Vaccination Distribution Map.
He founded Nightingale, the journal of the Data Visualization Society, in 2019 and edited it until 2024 — first on Medium, then as a website, and from 2023 as a print magazine with 2,000+ subscribers in 59 countries. He writes about the history of information design, from the data portraits of W.E.B. Du Bois to the design and methodology of Isotype.
Three ideas drive the work.
Community
One has to participate in a community to be part of one. Through it: friendship, intellectual stimulation, and a sense of belonging.
History
How culture evolves, shapes our history, and connects us through lessons that guide our future.
Entrepreneurship
Energy, an ability to help people organize, and the drive to make sustained progress toward a goal.
Lectured at:
Want Jason to speak, teach, or take on your data?
Taking the long way
Before the data, there was a lot of noise.
Music, broadcast, software, community — a career he charts as one thread: connect with people through history and culture, build a community around it, then make something new.
2004
Best New Music
Pitchfork named his album Best New Music and he played some of the top music festivals in the world: Glastonbury, Primavera Sound, Mutek, Lowlands and Pukkelpop.
2001
Cock Rock Disco
The breakcore label he launched in 2001, with scores of albums, vinyl and CDs, turns 25 this year.
2008
Star6
An iOS instrument built a month after the iOS App Store opened. Front page of iTunes in 17 countries; about 70,000 sold.
2019–2024
Nightingale
Founder and Managing Editor of the Data Visualization Society’s print and digital journal: 6M+ views. 2,000+ print magazine subscribers from 59 countries.
2002–08
Advanced D&D on WFMU
Hosted the influential radio show on WFMU. Hundreds of premieres, guest sets, good times.
2005
Jon Watts’ first video
“Steppin Off” was the first music video by Jon Watts, later director of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Res magazine’s video of the year.
2011
Network Awesome
Online TV curated from 80,000 YouTube videos by 270 volunteers — 5M views. Sister company Radosaur Productions produced Boiler Room and many others.
The long version, with music, videos and press: jasonforrestftw.com/contact ↗
On stage
Lectures, talks and workshops.
Nearly 50 talks, lectures, panels and workshops since 2019.
2018–22
The data portraits of W.E.B. Du Bois
Oxford University, UPenn, NYU, NCCU, BIPOC Design History, McKinsey with Silas Munro
Listen: Oxford lecture ↗2021–24
Isotype and graphic language
Isotype and Beyond, Vienna; Symbol ’24 at the British Academy
Watch: Symbol ’24 ↗2024–26
Data in public space
London Data Week, Utrecht, Budapest, NOAHCON, LA Arts Datathon, NYC School of Data
Data Vandals ↗2025
Designing Trust
School of Visual Arts — launch of the MPS in Data Visualization & Communication
Watch the lecture ↗
- PastTalkShaping AI for Critical Creative FuturesNortheastern University29 OCT 26Boston
- PastTalkGuest lecture at the Harvard Kennedy SchoolCambridge, MAOCT. 21, 2026
- PastWorkshopData in Public Spaces: 3-day workshopSchool of Visual ArtsOCT. 15-17, 2026New York
- PastTalkHow do you have a conversation with a city?NY Tech WeekJUNE 2026New York
- PastWorkshopArts Datathon, Los AngelesInner-City ArtsAPR 29, 2026Los Angeles
- PastWorkshop1-hour workshop, New YorkNY School of DataMARCH 26, 2026New York
- PastTalkDesigning Trust: Creating a Future Where Data Connects UsSchool of Visual ArtsDECEMBER 2025New York
- PastWorkshopNOAHCON 25, New York1-hour workshopNOV 17, 2025New York
- PastTalkVisualizing Complexity Science: guest lectureComplexity Science HubAUGUST 2025Vienna
- PastWorkshop2-day workshop, 20 m² of green dataMOME Open, Budapest21-22 AUG 25Budapest
- PastWorkshop2-day exhibition workshopCentraal Museum Utrecht4-5 AUG, 2025Graphic Hunters
- PastTalkVisualization for ImpactGordon Research ConferenceJULY 2025Bates College
- PastWorkshopData That Moves Us workshopCanva HQ London10 JUL 25Canva HQ London
- PastTalkBeyond the Blobs: Visualizing the Psychedelic BrainPsychedelic Science 2025JUNE 2025Denver
- PastWorkshopGuerrilla Data Lab, BrooklynBRIC / NYC Open Data Week30 MAR 25Brooklyn
- PastTalkThe Data Dilemma: Creative Solutions for Data-Driven FuturesAICAD Symposium, ArtCenterNOVEMBER 2024Pasadena
- PastWorkshop2-Day Hands-on Data workshopArtCenter College of Design11-14 NOV 24
- PastTalkIsotype and Graphic LanguageBritish Academy, LondonSEPTEMBER 2024London
- PastTalkData-driven thinking for everyday lifeDataCamp RadarSEPTEMBER 2023Online
- PastWorkshopRadical Times: Data Vandals in LinzKunstuniversität LinzSUMMER 2023Linz, Austria
- PastTalkConvergence: Isotype by intentionIsotype and Beyond ConferenceOCTOBER 2021Vienna
- PastTalkThe data visualizations of W.E.B. Du BoisW.E.B. Du Bois lectures2021
- PastTalkExploring the data visualizations of W.E.B. Du BoisUniversity of OxfordOCTOBER 2020Online
- PastTalkData visualizations, New YorkUX + Data Meetup2019New York
- PastTalkThe Data Visualizations of W.E.B. Du BoisTapestry 2018NOVEMBER 2018University of Miami
- PastTalkGeneral AssemblyHow to Chart — lessons from Walter E. Weld (1959)New York
