An unconventional timeline illustrating the scale of the tragedy through the number of earthquake victims in 2023

On this page, I decided to talk about the earthquakes that occurred throughout 2023. There’s a saying that seismologists can very accurately predict where an earthquake will occur and its magnitude. The only thing they can’t determine is the exact moment it will happen. I chose not to create a classic timeline. Instead, I arranged the months as 12 axes radiating from the center, placing the earthquakes sequentially along each month’s axis. The size of the black circle represents the number of fatalities, while the ring around it corresponds to the number of people injured.

I cut the circles themselves out of maps from a geographic atlas, and the center of each circle corresponds to the point on the map where the earthquake’s epicenter was located. There is one exception, though: the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which claimed an immense number of lives. The number of victims from this earthquake was incomparably higher than the others. For this reason, I went beyond the boundaries of my sketchbook page, attaching this circle in a way that allows it to unfold, so one can both see and feel the enormous scale of the tragedy.

To implement my approach, with the center of the circle accurately reflecting the epicenter, I didn’t have a suitable map and ended up using a world map. In a way, this decision reflects reality, as this tragedy truly shook the entire world.

A proportional area chart illustrating the number of people forced to breathe air with varying levels of PM2.5 pollution

In this visualization, I wanted to highlight how many people are forced to live and breathe polluted air. The calculations provide a general overview, as I used the population figures of countries with a specific PM2.5 pollution index—it's clear that pollution levels vary significantly within each country.

For the visualization, I used material from masks that I had left over from the COVID period. I cut diamonds into the page, with areas proportional to the approximate number of people, and covered them with layers of mask material. For each subsequent level of pollution, I added another layer of mask material, achieving a darker color that represents the level of pollution while also simulating how many layers one needs to wear on their face to protect against harmful particles. The visualization should, of course, be viewed backlit.

The shape of the diamonds refers to stained glass, which also alludes to the idea of seeing the world through a dusty window—or not seeing it at all, being limited in one’s opportunities due to living conditions.

A woven circular diagram classifying birds listed in the Red Data Book of Moscow, showing the threat level to their populations

On this page, I wanted to reflect on how the ever-growing metropolis affects our neighbors—birds that live within it. As some species gradually disappear, others take their place. And some species, fortunately, are recovering. This is a visualization of birds from the Red Book of Moscow.

I created this visualization using threads of various colors. Each color represents the fate of a species: from black threads symbolizing extinct species, to the lightest shades representing those impacted by the influence of the metropolis but with minimal danger, and yellow threads representing species that have recovered and are no longer in danger. I cut a circular window into the page, within which the visualization is woven. The blue background is transparent, emphasizing the lightness and airiness of the composition.

The image evokes multiple associations: the blue sky, in part the nets woven by humans to catch birds, a hint of bird plumage, and perhaps even dreamcatchers, often adorned with feathers.

This piece is not just a meditation on the fragility of urban nature but also a tribute to the resilience of life, unfolding silently and delicately against the overwhelming pace of the city.

An embroidered waffle chart showing the level of threat to various animal populations

I’m a huge admirer of Reuters Graphics, and working on a piece inspired by them was both an incredible joy and a creative challenge for me. I decided to pay tribute to the stunning visualization "Populations Decline" from the remarkable "On the Brink" project by Julia Janicki, Katy Daigle, Sudev Kiyada, and Anurag Rao.

In my eyes, the original visualization is an exquisite piece of work. I was deeply inspired to reimagine and reinterpret it for my personal sketchbook — exploring how it could be translated into a physical, tangible format. My goal was to preserve the elegance of the original while infusing it with my own artistic approach.

The result is a cross-stitched visualization, carefully crafted with threads of different colors. By maintaining the core concept and design, I hope I added a layer of tactile dimension, turning data into something you can both see and feel.

A shiny heatmap visualizing cloud cover for each day of 2023 in Moscow, both during the day and in the evening

On each page of my project, I experimented with the physical properties and possibilities of various materials. When I came across these shimmering sequins, I immediately felt they were the perfect medium to tell the story of Moscow’s sky—how often it’s clear or cloudy throughout the year.

For this project, I used publicly available meteorological data for school students—daily and evening cloud coverage observations for 2023. Based on this data, I developed a custom color scale for the sequins: from golden for clear skies to deep purple for completely overcast days. Each sequin was carefully stitched, with every piece representing a specific cloud coverage level. The result shimmers in the light, and you can interact with it by moving the slider on the image to truly see the sparkle.

This interplay of light and reflection conjures up images of puddles on Moscow streets, mirroring the sky above—puddles that many of us fondly remember being a child jumping into after school.

An airy range plot of monthly temperature extremes in Moscow in 2023

This was the first page where I decided to step beyond the flat surface and experiment with depth and layers. Moscow is often seen as a cold city, and I wanted to challenge that perception by visually exploring the monthly range of minimum and maximum temperatures throughout 2023 in a unique way.

Rather than simply drawing a graph, I chose to embody the data by physically carving out the coldest parts—areas of the temperature range that fell below zero degrees Celsius. I also included sections above zero that still felt "cold" to us—those just shy of what we typically perceive as warm during the summer months. This decision reflects how our perception of temperature shifts over time, influenced by the changing seasons and our expectations during different times of the year.

To add a sense of lightness and depth, I placed a soft blue background beneath the cutouts—a non-literal suggestion of air.

A sparkling "bead" diagram or map representing the population by gender in European countries

On OECD Data Day, I wanted to present Europe’s population in a way that felt unique and meaningful. Instead of traditional charts or graphs, I turned to glass beads as my medium. Each bead represents approximately one million people—a subtle homage to Otto and Marie Neurath’s approach to making data more accessible. Bronze beads symbolize women, while deep blue beads represent men. The countries are arranged schematically rather than geographically, creating a design that highlights the most populous nations in a visually striking and unexpected way. The shimmering beads catch the light beautifully, giving the visualization a sense of movement and life.

An interactive folding population pyramid displaying extreme societal situations and their impact on the world

It’s no secret that population pyramids do more than simply visualize the demographics of a country. They capture its history, its economic state, and countless other facets that shape its identity. For this piece, I wanted to express this idea by creating a single visualization that contrasts and connects different worlds: Western Africa in deep blue tones, Western Europe on the delicate texture of sheet music, and the World as a whole, represented in gold.

I stitched together the strips representing each age group with golden thread, running delicately down the center, while leaving the ends free to move. This physicality adds an interactive element to the piece: the strips can be folded and layered, allowing viewers to compare the stark differences between the pyramids of two extremes—Western Africa and Europe—as well as the balance represented by the global median.

An "earring-shaped" dot diagram illustrating marriage rights in countries across various regions of the world

A spiral cumulative bar chart highlighting the number of countries where women have the right to vote

This page was born out of the desire to tell a story filled with hope and positivity. I wanted to honor the memory of Hans Rosling and his inspiring book "Factfulness", which reminds us to look at the world with a balanced perspective. While acknowledging that challenges persist, I aimed to highlight a steady and optimistic trend: the progress in the number of countries granting women the right to vote.

The timeline begins at the center and unfurls like the petals of a flower, extending year by year. Milestones—years divisible by five—are marked with beads. While this design may not be the most conventional way to present a timeline, it beautifully captures the dramatic surge that followed World War II. The visualization itself has a sensory charm—I used pages from "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen, a writer I deeply admire for not only for her timeless novels but also for her personal story. In an era where women were rarely recognized in literature, she forged her own independent path, becoming a pioneer and one of the first great female novelists.

The piece almost invites you to experience it with your senses—the delicate rustle of the repurposed book pages, the intricate details of the design—all of it transforms raw data into something personal, touching, and quietly poetic.

A flowchart displaying the width of a light beam to represent the share of renewable energy resources in total energy consumption

This was, perhaps, the most technically challenging page. It took me considerable time and multiple attempts to design it in a way that kept the page physically flat while still achieving the effect I envisioned. The process required patience, experimentation, and problem-solving to strike a balance between design and functionality.

What makes this visualization truly unique is that you can’t fully experience it just by looking at the page. To reveal the data, you need a dark room and the glow of an electric candle. Light itself brings the visualization to life, telling the story of energy consumption across regions. The thickness of each beam of light indicates the share of renewable energy in the total electricity consumption. It’s a piece that not only communicates data but also invites the viewer to interact and immerse themselves in the experience.

An interactive pie chart showing the share of mobile devices in different regions of the world

That day, I challenged myself to transform a notebook page into a touchscreen. By moving a pie chart segment with a finger in alignment with the markers on the page, the visualization could dynamically shift, allowing the viewer to explore the market share of mobile devices in different regions of the world. It was a small experiment in merging tactile interaction with digital data, turning an ordinary page into something more meaningful, alive, and connected to the stories numbers can tell.