Kia ora / Hi. My name is Kat Greenbrook.

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I live in New Zealand, work as a Data Storyteller, and am easily annoyed by unclear data visuals.

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I spent the first ten years of my career in different analytics roles—Reporting Analyst, Insight Analyst, Data Scientist. But the deeper I delved into data, the more disheartened I became. I saw such a disconnect between data and business teams. It was frustrating to work hard on building an analytical model to have it not be used. So, I hatched an escape plan and got a degree in graphic design—"maybe, I could be a graphic designer?"

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But the universe had other ideas. It countered my decision to leave the data space, with the rise of the data visualisation field. And this is a field I leaned into—hard. I saw data visuals as a way to engage others with analytics—"maybe, if my data looked good, it would get noticed?"

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And it did get noticed, at least for a few minutes. My visuals grabbed initial interest, but this faded when the design appreciation wore off. I learned good design alone won't make data resonate with others. Something was missing… and that something was the magical buzzword “story”.

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In 2016, I established the data storytelling company Rogue Penguin (before you ask, yes, there are real penguins in New Zealand). Rogue Penguin exists to help business professionals communicate data insights.

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My book, The Data Storyteller's Handbook, is the result of hundreds of data storytelling workshops, along with years of refining content and techniques. It represents the very best of what I've learned and witnessed.