Drawing with Data: Reclaiming Joy Through Data Art

I think we can all agree—sometimes, the best thing you can do with data is nothing productive at all.

Lately, I’ve been opening Tableau not to track sales or monitor KPIs—but to create. To play. To make something visually interesting that has no strategic outcome, no business goal, and no deeper insight. I’ve started making what I can only describe as data art.

What Is Data Art?

For me, data art is the act of turning Tableau into a sketchbook. It’s drawing with data instead of pencils. It’s experimenting with shape, layering, color, and form—not to communicate an insight, but to chase a feeling.

Sometimes I use real data. Sometimes I invent random values or generate coordinates. I’ve used polygons, paths, dual axes, and map layers—techniques typically used for performance dashboards—to explore geometry, pattern, and abstraction.

There’s no story to tell. And that’s the point.

Why I Needed This

This practice brought me back to the why behind my love for data: curiosity, exploration, and creation. In the process, I’ve picked up technical skills—more confidence with table calculations, mark layering, creative uses of geometry. But even more than that, I’ve found joy again. Joy in experimenting. Joy in not having to explain myself.

We don’t talk enough about how important that is in our field.

Polygons, Bauhaus, and a New Way of Seeing

At some point, I started seeing the world a little differently.

Now when I scroll through Pinterest or walk through a gallery, I pause and think: I bet I could make that in Tableau.

I learned about Bauhaus art and fell in love with its bold geometry and balanced design. I started noticing texture, movement, and symmetry in unexpected places. And then I’d go try to replicate them—with nothing but data points and formulas.

I don’t think I’ll ever look at art the same way again.

Join Me: A Weekly Data Art Challenge

This creative outlet has been so fulfilling, I’ve decided to make it a weekly practice—and open it up to anyone who wants to join.

Each week, I’ll choose an image that inspires me—something I find on Pinterest or see in the world—and I’ll create a Tableau piece in response. If it sparks something in you too, come create with me!

• You can find all the inspiration images in this shared folder:👉 Weekly Image Prompts

• Share your creations with the hashtag #DrawWithData so I can see them and celebrate your work.

No need for a deep message. No pressure. Just creation for the sake of it.

What’s Next?

Here’s the image that inspired me this past week:

Here’s what I created:

And up next? This image has my curiosity sparked:

Let it inspire you. Take it in your own direction. Make something strange, beautiful, or wildly unfinished. Just let yourself create.

Create for No Reason

We spend so much time creating to perform, to prove, to deliver value. Let this be a space where we create to connect—with ourselves, with art, and with possibility.

Let’s draw with data. Let’s make things that aren’t meant to be explained. Let’s build joy—one pixel at a time. #DrawWithData