Dénnys Eduardo Mejía Bardales

Country: Guatemala

Organization and Position: My job as Innovation editor in Plaza Pública consist of constant research, the goal is to find new ways to tell our stories to our readers. To do this I take advantage of my knowledge in infographics, animation, and data visualization. Sometimes when a story is too complex, I have created games to explain it better. I lead the Innovation Department, and my team is comprised by other two engineers. Together we focus our efforts to develop technology solutions for the newsroom and our readers.
Favorite digital tool and why: I don’t have only one preferred digital tool and it is because to develop projects, I require the combination of several. However, I can mention Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Muse, and Adobe Edge Animation for the production of web elements. For maps and data I use CartoDB and Google Fusion Tables, for charts I use Infogr.am, for timelines and for interactive storytelling I use Timeline JS and Storymap JS, and finally for data visualization I use Tableau.

Project Proposal: My project purpose is to implement visualizations that helps to understand complex networks of power and relationships between different power players. This is a project that we are currently developing in Plaza Pública. This project is called “El laberinto del poder” (The Labyrinth of Power) and aims to show the networks of power that exist between companies, business owners, and politicians. Project also seeks to show the profiles of important people in Guatemala, and as a second phase in El Salvador and Honduras. This project aims to link different databases of the three countries in the Northern triangle and to give readers information to help them understand how power moves in the area.

Proudest Professional Accomplishment: One of my most important professional achievements is Plaza Pública, the digital medium in which I currently work and of which I am co-founder. From the beginning the visual narratives were my responsibility, as well as the graphic identity of the media and the web page. As the project has evolved, so have I, always trying to integrate new challenges to the agenda of the Innovation department.

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