The Patient Behind the Data
- Date
- November 2026
- Client
- Personal project
- Deliverables
- Eight story-and-data explorations; exhibition concept
- Data source
- Clinical studies and patient surveys
- Tools used
- Adobe Illustrator, Miro
Clinical data can reveal patterns, but rarely shows what those patterns feel like in someone's life. The Patient Behind the Data explores how data visualizations and first-person clinical stories can sit alongside each other to give a fuller picture of care.
The project brings together eight stories drawn from clinical encounters and pairs them with relevant data on diagnostic delays, incorrect diagnoses, treatment, and patient experiences. The aim is not to suggest that a chart explains an individual story, but to help people move between the wider pattern and the human experience, and notice what each can and cannot tell us.
Pairing stories with relevant data
I organized the eight stories around the moment or insight each could communicate. For each one, I explored possible data sources and considered whether the data genuinely added context.
Making the limits of the data visible
I checked who was included in each study, what percentages used as their denominator, and whether categories overlapped. For example, a rare-cancer survey included 1,541 respondents recruited through patient advocacy. The 14% takeaway is a rounded calculation from two reported percentages, not a figure published directly by the study.
Designing and documenting visualizations
I compared visual approaches, drafted charts, and documented sources, definitions, and limitations so it is clear what the data can support and what it leaves out.
Connecting two perspectives without conflating them
I developed a proposed two-sided card format, with data on one side and a person's story on the other. The sides complement each other without implying that one proves or fully explains the other.