At this year’s WebExpo in Prague, one of the talks that stood out most to me was Nadieh Bremer’s session titled “Creating an Effective & Beautiful Data Visualisation from Scratch.” With no prior experience using d3.js, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I was mainly curious about how data visualisation could be approached from a design perspective. But what Nadieh shared was much more than a technical intro, it felt like a live deep dive into creative thinking, problem-solving, and visual storytelling.
What set this talk apart was its format. Rather than giving a traditional slide-based talk, Nadieh did a live coding session. She started with a completely empty browser window and built the data visualisation from the ground up using d3.js. This format made the talk feel refreshingly honest and grounded. It was engaging to watch her work through the logic in real time – narrating each decision as she went, pointing out potential issues, and offering insight into how she solves problems as they arise. This transparency made the whole process feel approachable, even though I was unfamiliar with the tool.
What I appreciated most was how she balanced the technical with the creative. It wasn’t just about writing functional code; it was about shaping something visually appealing and meaningful. Nadieh showed how, with a bit of imagination, SVG can be used in unconventional and expressive ways. The result wasn’t a generic bar chart or pie graph – it was a visually rich and thoughtfully composed visualisation that clearly communicated the underlying data while also looking beautiful.
Her message about simplification really resonated with me. I often struggle with the tendency to include too much information in my designs, believing that more content adds value. Nadieh’s approach showed the opposite: that complexity can be made understandable through clarity, and that thoughtful visual design can make even dense data feel intuitive. She emphasized that effective data visualisation doesn’t just display information – it tells a story. And when done well, it can communicate more with less.
Beyond the content, I also want to mention how well-structured and calm her presentation style was. Live coding can be stressful to watch (and probably to do), but she created a relaxed atmosphere that made it easy to follow along. Even when something didn’t work immediately, she explained why and showed how to fix it – normalizing the trial-and-error nature of coding.
Overall, this talk was a highlight of WebExpo for me. It was both inspiring and informative, offering practical insights into a tool I hadn’t encountered before. It made me want to experiment with data visualisation myself and gave me a clearer sense of how design can play a crucial role in making complex information understandable, and even beautiful.
