Boring Charts, Better Insights | Lonneke Opsteegh

Lonneke Opsteegh shares how her background in medical science and
psychology shapes her unique, human-centered approach to data
visualization and BI. Her message: Clear, standardized dashboards
beat flashy design – if you want people to truly understand
data.00:36 From Brains to BI: Lonneke’s Unexpected Journey into
Data02:21 Quit Your Job for BI? Here’s How Lonneke Did It
Overnight04:11 Science vs. Business: Where Is Data Actually More
Personal?06:48 Why Pie Charts Fail: The Science Behind Better
Visuals09:12 Can Dashboards Adapt to Personality Types?17:36
“Boring” Dashboards Are Better – Here’s Why23:28 Data Is Never
Neutral: Why Dashboards Are Always Biased29:09 Real Creativity in
BI Isn’t What You Think


What happens when a medical scientist with a PhD in
rehabilitation turns to data visualization and BI? You get
dashboards that not only look clean – but make sense, fast.


In this conversation, Lonneke Opsteegh explains why she pivoted
from academia to freelance BI consulting and how her diverse
background in neuroscience, psychology and human movement science
shapes her work. She argues strongly for standardization,
consistency, and cognitive simplicity in dashboard design. Her
view: Dashboards shouldn't impress with visuals – but with
insights.


She challenges the myth of objectivity in data: “Every chart is a
message.” And she shows how creativity isn’t about wild visuals,
but about finding smart, functional ways to help different users
– with different personalities – understand the same data.


From visual ethics to cognitive design and user-centric BI, this
episode is packed with insight and strong opinions from a rare
mix of science and practice.


If you design dashboards, analyze data, or want to communicate
insights more clearly, this episode will inspire you to rethink
what "good" BI looks like.


Artur König: https://www.linkedin.com/in/datakoenigartur/


Lonneke Opsteegh:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lonneke-opsteegh-statstories/