Turning a decade of data into a clearer public story

Client

Information is Beautiful / World Data Summit

Sector

Competition / Data Visualisation / Public Communication

Overview

Created for the World Data Visualisation Prize 2023, this project brought together ten years of data spanning healthcare, climate, economics and manufacturing to build a single visual story people could understand. Developed in collaboration with Linaka Greensword, the final infographic drew on data from sources including NASA, the IPCC and the World Bank to highlight both positive progress and areas of decline or slower growth.

The Challenge

The challenge was not simply to visualise a spreadsheet, but to find a meaningful story within a large and initially fragmented set of data. The source material alone did not present a clear message, so the work required deeper research, interpretation and comparison to understand what each metric meant, where the gaps were, and how different data points related to one another. The aim was to turn raw information into something an audience could engage with quickly and meaningfully.

The Approach

I approached the project through research and concept development first, spending the majority of the process identifying patterns, testing relationships between metrics and shaping the narrative before moving into the final visual. Additional research helped contextualise the supplied data and strengthen the story, allowing clearer links to emerge between areas of progress, stagnation and decline.

Once the core narrative was defined, I translated it into a colourful, illustration-led poster designed to make the information feel more accessible and memorable. Every visual decision was made in service of the story, with the design acting as a communication tool for the thinking behind the data rather than decoration on top of it.

The Outcome

The result was an award-winning infographic that turned a complex, multi-source dataset into a more engaging and understandable public-facing piece. Exhibited at the World Data Summit in Dubai, the work demonstrated the value of careful research, interpretation and concepting in making technical information land more clearly with an audience.