Dataviz Speedrun: what you could build in 83 minutes

This week, I ran a small dataviz experiment that I'm excited to share with you.

It all started when I stumbled upon a chart by Yanika Borg. It was excellent! Great design, a compelling story, and smart annotations.

But there was one small frustration.

Static charts can be limiting

As soon as I saw the chart, I wanted to dig deeper.
What's going on with that outlier?
Is there a country that ranks high in some cases but low in others?
And… where is France?

That's the core limitation of static charts. They are fantastic for storytelling, but they do not let the reader explore the data further.

Dataviz speedrun

So I decided to build an interactive version myself. I used D3.js and React, with some help from AI via Claude Code. To make things more interesting, I timed every step of the process.

The result surprised me.

It took me 83 minutes to reproduce the chart, add a smooth hover interaction, and build a search bar.

Here's a GIF of the final result. You can read the full story, play with the interactive chart, and explore the code in this dedicated post.

Play with the interactive version

What this says about AI and dataviz

I've been thinking a lot lately about how AI is reshaping the dataviz landscape.

My current theory is that most practitioners will gradually move toward more powerful tools than the ones they use today. For many, that probably means switching to React and D3 since it is the end game of dataviz. They offer unlimited flexibility and control.

This little experiment shows how accessible bespoke, interactive charts have become. Just a few months ago, this would have taken me several hours.

Learn this!

I built this experiment using the exact workflow I teach in my course about d3.js.

This is such an exciting moment to be in dataviz. Learn the foundations of the web and D3, and with AI's help you can build things you were only dreaming about a few months ago.

PS: I'm thinking about giving a free talk about "Dataviz in the AI era" on the 20th of February. If you would like to join, please drop me an email and type "interested". I'll gauge the interest!

PPS: What's the thing you would love to build, but are limited with your technical skills? I can give you hints, and perhaps bonus lessons in the course!

All the best,
Yan