A Dataviz Crash Course (Without The Crash Out)

Data visualization is not a mysterious talent but a series of decisions. This session focuses on when you actually need a chart, what to visualize, how to frame a title and how choices around chart type and colour shape what people take away. You will sketch quick first-pass visuals on paper so the emphasis stays on questions, relationships and intent and not software.

It’s designed for anyone new to the skill who wants to include charts in their work but feels stuck or overwhelmed ranging from students and early career professionals to journalists and researchers. Through real examples, “make your worst chart” exercises and a shared critique, you will build a practical decision checklist you can carry back into your own workflow. The workshop is conducted by Prakriti Bakshi, a data journalist with The Secretariat who has spent years piecing together complex data into clarifying stories.

Prakriti is an independent data storyteller. She uses words, numbers, and visuals to clearly communicate complexity.

Most recently, she worked as a data journalist at The Secretariat, where she wrote stories that analysed the impact of policies on people, profit, and planet. She has also worked as a data storyteller with Revisual Labs, an information design agency, translating dense information and messy ideas into sharp narratives.

Prakriti earned an MSc in Computational and Data Journalism from Cardiff University and trained in slow, thoughtful journalism with Tortoise Media (now The Observer). She believes data storytelling is a necessary skill in an era of 47-second attention spans and has honed her craft by obsessing over the many small decisions that make a good data story.