the talent
We’re data visualization designers. People ask us what is that – a coder, graphic designer, a data nerd? The way we see it, data is king. When we take on a project and look at a data set, we need to see what the data is trying to say and help make that message clear to whoever will be looking at it. Whether the end result is a chart, an infographic or an interactive data visualization.
If you want to think of it simply, information is the clay and we don't change its consistency or formula but we mold it in the best way to tell a story to its stakeholders or whoever's interested. But most importantly, design is all about meeting a client’s requirements and constantly evaluating and testing our designs to make sure they’re actually solving a problem. Let us do that for you.
kufic+grid is a story of East meets West. A pairing between organic and structured. A marriage between the oldest Arabic typeface in history – Kufic – and an essential Swiss design tool – the grid.
Maaria Assami, MFA
Maaria Assami is an information designer living in Boston. Earning her undergraduate degree in Media Communications in Northwestern University, she won acclaim as director for her short documentary film, Bader, which received regional and international recognition. She interned at Al Jazeera English’s New Media team throughout her undergraduate years. She then worked in marketing and social media at ictQATAR for two years before moving to Boston where she received an MFA degree in Information Design + Visualization at Northeastern University. Always interested in social justice, she is now passionate about designing for advocacy and change.
Rania Masri, MFA
Rania M. Masri is an information designer with 15  years of experience in creative design, front-end development and marketing. Her current focus is on data visualization, UI/UX, and responsive web apps, with a special interest in the nonprofit and healthcare sectors. Rania obtained her MFA in Information Design and Visualization from Northeastern University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan–Dearborn in Computer Science, Communication and Economics.
Rania has worked as a data visualization designer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and at the Center for Applied Data Science at UnitedHealth’s OptumLabs, a collaborative research and innovation center. Previously, she directed creative design at a multi-location clinic and was chief creative officer at a nonprofit consulting firm.
public speaking
engagements
09.11.2018
11.04.2017
10.18.2017
09.07.2017
04.27.2017
Masri, Rania
Using Data Visualization to
Reveal Signal Among the
Noise in Data
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Innovation Enterprise: Data Visualization Summit 2017
Boston, MA
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Assami, Maaria
Humanizing Information Visualizations
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Part of the The Roles of Information Design in the Public Sphere series
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The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) Conference at Northeastern University
Boston, MA
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Masri, Rania
Extracting Actionable
Insights from Medical
Records Data
Global Big Data Conference
Boston, MA
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Masri, Rania
Extracting Actionable Insights from Medical Records Data
Innovation Enterprise: Data Visualization Summit 2017
Boston, MA
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Masri, Rania
What You Can See with Big Data
NewCo 2016
Cambridge, MA
Masri, Rania
Using Data Visualization to
Reveal Signal Among the
Noise in Data
​
Innovation Enterprise: Data Visualization Summit 2017
Boston, MA
​
​
​
Assami, Maaria
Humanizing Information Visualizations
​
Part of the The Roles of Information Design in the Public Sphere series
​
The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) Conference at Northeastern University
Boston, MA
​
​
​
Masri, Rania
Extracting Actionable
Insights from Medical
Records Data
Global Big Data Conference
Boston, MA
​
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Masri, Rania
Extracting Actionable Insights from Medical Records Data
Innovation Enterprise: Data Visualization Summit 2017
Boston, MA
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Masri, Rania
What You Can See with Big Data
NewCo 2016
Cambridge, MA
publications
Assami, Maaria
Humanizing Visualizations.
Atlas of Transitions 2018.
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Outsider, Everywhere. Humanizing Syrian Refugee Visualizations.
Northeastern University 2017.
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The Syrian conflict is the worst humanitarian crisis of modern history. But, with that reputation, the information visualizations representing this crisis have been accompanied by a voice that tends to be a more inhumane and neutral one. The representations are often done using graphic languages that are used to display statistical and quantitative information. This turns human elements, emotions, and struggles to bar charts and bubble charts which, in return, dehumanizes their struggles. The visualizations of this thesis humanize the representation of the Syrian conflict by focusing on individual refugee journeys. Every single one of those millions of Syrian refugees has an experience filled with struggle that they carry along side them on this treacherous journey. By centering on the point of view of one refuge at a time, the visualizations will be more humanized, and, in return, is more impactful than any statistical graph or chart. The Syrian crisis is specifically addressed. Ultimately, however, an awareness for the worldwide refugee crisis will evolve by proxy.
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Masri, Rania
Gapfinder: Exploring Inequality
in Human Services
Northeastern University: 2015.
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Gapfinder informs nonprofit leaders in the metropolitan Detroit area striving to work towards cross-organizational efficiency and productivity while better targeting those who are most in need of human services. Gapfinder’s companion website (gapfinder.org) is a series of interactive web-based data visualizations that highlights spaces in which government agencies and human services public charities have left gaps and redundancies.
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Masri, Rania
Visual Information Vases:
Towards a Framework for Transmedia Creative Inspiration
Northeastern University: 2015.
Visual Information Vases (Viv) is an artificially intelligent ceramicist that creates 3D-printable vases using inspiration from a user-supplied image. Viv, through an interactive interface, scores an image along four aesthetic measures—activity, warmth, weight, and hardness—by evaluating the image’s color palette. The AI then attempts to create a vase with similar aesthetic measures through evolution. The resulting vases are diverse and functional creations.
awards
2017
2013
2013
2012
Humanizing Syrian Refugee Information Visualizations
Winner, Otto Neurath Award for Outstanding Social Relevance
Northeastern University
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Bader
Winner, Jury Award
Short Documentary Competition
Emirates Film Competition
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Bader
Special Mention
Gulf Film Festival, Student Short Film Competition
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Bader
Winner, Best Film Made in Qatar
Doha Tribeca Film Festival