VizChitra 2025: India's first community-driven Data Visualization conference

As data visualisation evolves, it’s easy to feel boxed in by conventional tools and templates. But look closer, and you’ll see our everyday environment is already full of ingenious ways to visualise information. This session is an invitation to rediscover the joy of observing, experimenting, and building visualisations from first principles — designing experiences where form naturally follows function.
From sundials and thermometers to compasses and earthquake scales, everyday objects use simple, natural encodings like length, angle, position, and shape to solve real-world problems. Long before modern dashboards, they turned data into intuitive visuals that seamlessly blended function and beauty.
By understanding these fundamentals, we can move beyond standard chart libraries and start crafting bespoke, expressive visualisations that truly fit our stories. This session will inspire participants to observe more closely, experiment freely, and embrace creative accidents — reimagining data design through the hidden lessons in our daily surroundings.

Key Takeaways

• Discover how everyday objects function as natural data visualisations.
• Learn the core visual encoding methods: length, position, angle, area, etc.
• See how these fundamentals empower custom, experimental visual design.
• Gain inspiration to move beyond default charts and think creatively with data.
• Embrace observation, playfulness, and happy accidents in the design process.

Target Audience

• Data visualisation practitioners, designers, analysts, and anyone curious about storytelling with data.
• Creators who feel limited by default chart libraries and want to explore bespoke design.
• Anyone looking for fresh perspectives on how we understand and communicate information.

Krunal Palande is an independent information designer who finds inspiration in the everyday objects around us. With over a decade of experience in data design, he explores how natural forms and functional designs can unlock new, meaningful ways to visualise information. When he’s not teaching data+design at NMIMS Mumbai, Krunal works with organisations to craft custom data experiences that go beyond the ordinary.