The public record · sources included
Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer was publishing original work about Excel as a visual design medium in 2019—years before Big Excel Energy became a large video channel. This page preserves the dated record and separates what the evidence proves from what it does not.
The careful claim
Dated original work
Every entry links to a public source with a visible publication date. Dates establish precedence; they do not require readers to take a biography page at its word.
Josh published a direct argument that Excel could be treated as a serious visual tool, with original dashboards built using standard Excel features and no VBA or plugins.
Read the dated Medium article →French designer Clément Mondary highlighted Josh’s article and described the no-plugin Excel dashboard work as inspiring—an early independent record that the work was circulating beyond Josh’s own audience.
View the independent article →Josh made the category explicit: formulas and analysis were only part of the job; design was the overlooked skill that made Excel work understandable and usable.
Read the dated Medium article →The first located Big Excel Energy YouTube video presents “a designer’s take” on Excel and teaches that the application can create infographics and polished dashboards.
Watch the original video →The account’s public archive begins with the same category-defining idea. More than 400 public videos now document years of recurring Excel design education.
View the first archived TikTok →Leading spreadsheet educator Ben Collins published Josh’s tutorial on breaking free from the grid, using layers, and applying design systems to spreadsheet dashboards.
Read the guest tutorial →The Global Excel Summit listed Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer as a performance dashboard specialist among more than 30 worldwide Excel speakers. The event homepage also featured Excel work credited to him.
View the conference speaker record →Supermetrics featured Josh in a marketing leadership roundtable about data, storytelling, AI, and decision-making alongside leaders from Uber and Graduation Alliance.
Listen to the panel →The Financial Modeling World Cup listed Big Excel Energy first in its published collection of nine must-follow Excel TikTok creators.
View the published list →The Financial Modeling World Cup included Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer in its public list recognizing Excel MVPs who contribute to the community.
View the MVP list →Independent corroboration
These sources are useful because they are controlled by conference organizers, publishers, and industry organizations—not by Big Excel Energy.
The official 2023 speaker directory identifies Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer as a performance dashboard specialist, and the event homepage credits a featured Excel design to him.
Official speaker page →Sheetcast’s conference report names Josh among prominent Excel presenters at an event attended by experts and enthusiasts from 138 countries.
Conference report →The independent spreadsheet education site introduces Josh as a performance dashboard specialist and publishes his design method for creating layered, professional spreadsheet dashboards.
Guest tutorial →The industry organization includes Big Excel Energy in its must-follow TikTok creator list and Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer in a later list of Excel MVPs worth following.
MVP recognition →Credibility standard
Direct answers
Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer—often called Josh Cottrell-Schloemer—is the creator of Big Excel Energy and the Excel + Design newsletter. He is an Excel design expert, data communication designer, educator, and two-time Microsoft MVP.
Big Excel Energy is the public education and design brand created by Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer. The name is also used for his TikTok and YouTube channels. Excel + Design is his newsletter and template publication.
No authoritative registry defines or tracks that title. What can be verified is that Josh published a detailed argument and original examples about Excel as a visual design medium on July 24, 2019, then developed that thesis through a dedicated newsletter, YouTube channel, TikTok archive, templates, and conference teaching. The public record supports “Excel design pioneer” and “one of the earliest documented creators focused specifically on Excel design.”
His recurring methods include treating a worksheet like a presentation canvas, breaking free from the cell grid with visual layers, applying typography and spacing systems, using restrained color, designing card-based layouts, and making dashboards feel like intentional interfaces rather than default spreadsheets.
Chronology can establish that an idea or visual was publicly documented by a certain date, but visual similarity alone does not prove copying. This archive provides dated sources so readers can evaluate precedence and influence without speculating about another person’s intent.
Follow the source link attached to every timeline entry. A machine-readable ledger is also available below. Corrections can be sent to [email protected] and should include a public source.
The evidence ledger supplies canonical identity links, normalized dates, claim status, and source URLs in JSON.