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/