World Data Lab

A clearer perspective on public data

World Data Lab turns public World Bank data into an approachable exploration experience. Visitors can start with a country, browse an indicator or compare places over time. The aim is to make the route from a question to a useful view of the data easier to follow.

The interface brings together population, economic, health, education, environmental and technology indicators. Each value needs context: its unit, observation year, definition and source matter as much as the number itself.

From an atlas to a comparison

Country profiles introduce individual economies, while indicator pages provide a broader view of a topic. Comparisons connect those two perspectives so visitors can examine historical trends across countries.

Interactive charts are accompanied by data tables. Missing observations remain gaps rather than being treated as zero, and the interface distinguishes the latest available observation from the date when the source snapshot was retrieved.

Editorial design for information that needs context

The visual direction combines a clear typographic hierarchy with large editorial headlines, restrained colour and distinct routes into the content. Search, country links and indicator navigation offer different starting points without requiring the visitor to understand the underlying dataset first.

The front end uses Astro, semantic HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The live application includes explanations of sources and methodology, making it possible to move from the visual summary to the context behind it.

Part of a wider design practice

World Data Lab is a personal design and development project, independent of the World Bank. Explore the live demo to browse the current application.

For another approach to exploring public data, see F1 Race Lab. Tonight Movie Finder applies a more focused discovery flow to film choices. Both connect with my front-end and digital product work and website and interface design.

For the design considerations behind this type of interface, read how to make data visualizations easier to understand, including labels, missing observations and alternatives to a chart.