Hello R-users,

On November 20th we had the pleasure to host the 9th MilanoR meeting in Mikamai! Lots of you participated with passion and enthusiasm and we’re so glad of the outcome. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts! This time the meeting focused on a thrilling and very useful subject: Data Visualization. This post is thought for you who participated and want to look through the materials again, and for everyone who could not make it.

As you know, MilanoR meetings have a defined structure: two talks and the free buffet. But this time the structure was different! After the speech from our sponsors, we had an introductive talk, a presentation by Andrea Cirillo and then four lighting talks, of 5 minutes each. But don’t worry: the free buffet and networking time were still there!

The introductive talk was hosted by Mariachiara Fortuna, from MilanoR; she gave us a brief overview of the history of Data Visualization with R, how it changed in time and how it probably will change, as well as what actually is Data Visualization with R now and how can we use it. This presentation will give a framework the R world of dataviz, form Shiny to ggplot2, to htmlwidgets and more. 

Dataviz with R Overview 

by MilanoR – Mariachiara Fortuna

When it was Andrea Cirillo’s turn to seize the stage, we were transported in the middle of the world of Data Visualization. Have you ever dreamt of giving the colors of the Mona Lisa to your graphic? You can do it now, with Andrea’s package paletter! Paletter takes the colors from your chosen image and optimizes them to give you the perfect graphic palette. You can download the presentation and the package itself with the links down below. QUI

Automatically build the perfect palette for you plot with paletteR  +  paletteR package

by Andrea Cirillo

It was then the turn of the Lightning talks! Stefano Biffani explained the process of getting from modeling to visualization itself, with a great example: the fertility of bunnies! The second talk was from Stefano Barberis, who showed us how to map data with R using Google Earth and the package plotKML.

From modelling to visualization 

by Stefano Biffani

Interactive maps and spatial visualizations with R 

by Stefano Barberis

Nicola Pesenti introduced to us Highchart, a wonderful library to create interactive charts and plots. We highly suggest to give a look at it! At last, Moreno Riccardi put an end to the meeting with his testimony of the use of Data Visualization in his work. Moreno is a data scientist working with the famous ESP MailUp and uses Shiny to monitor costumers’ behavior and prevent the abuse of the platform.

Interactive plots with Highchart  +  Highchart examples

by Nicola Pesenti

Shiny in a Data Science app lifecycle

by Moreno Riccardi

During the buffet and the networking time we had the chance to see many smiling faces. It’s wonderful to see so many people brought together by a shared passion.

Of course none of this could have been possible without our sponsors: Quantide, a provider of consulting services and training courses specialized in R who supports MilanoR meetings since its first edition (here the Quantide’s presentation at the meeting), and Open Search Network, a headhunting company focused on Italian Data Digital Experts who has chosen to support us for the first time.

Our many thanks also go to Le Madeleine Catering, to our photographer Alberto Morici and of course to Mikamai, which once again hosted our meeting with no charge at all.

We really had fun and if you had too, please stay in touch with us: many other dates and meeting occasions are coming! Our next event will focus on the fascinating subject of personalized healthcare with R [R-Lab#5, hands on code, on January 16th in Mikamai – Subscription should open here in a few days, if we manage to not sink into the Christmas funnel of things to do xD]

Until then, thanks again and happy holidays!