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Welcome to Kawan—our vibrant community of data heads and storytellers. We’re all about improving data literacy and sharing nuanced stories about Asia. Come hang!
Rethinking design beyond the algorithm— issue #69
With AI and data analytics offering personalised experiences, it seems technology is now a few steps ahead of us. Machines are anticipating our needs and making people feel seen. Yet it cannot replace what makes us human. Can we design with this in mind?
Simulating what it feels to be a Kpop fan
Our latest story The Physical Phenomenon explores why physical albums remain so popular in the K-pop industry despite the rise of digital streaming. This behind-the-scenes looks at the motivations behind the writing, illustration style, and data visualisations created for the piece.
Humans of Kontinentalist: Avel
It’s cliché, but we learn from our interns as much as they (hopefully) learn from us. One such was Avel, a design intern with us during…
Have you eaten rice? — issue #14
The first time I tried Korean tteok-bokki, I hardly knew whom I was eating it with. We'd just moved into our new house, and it was one of our first meals together—the same week Singapore's COVID-19 lockdown closed all our favourite dine-in restaurants. My housemates
Conducting a virtual data storytelling and visualisation workshop
With a bonus peek into our writers’ dietary habits.
Humans of Kontinentalist: Hiang Ling
Hey Hiang Ling! Tell us a little bit about what you do in Konti.
Thoughts on Making the Migratory Bird Map
One of my work goals of 2020 is to work with Mapbox GL JS and Scrollama JS to create a decent scrolly-driven map. Born to fly: The life…
Noticing is an act of love — issue #13
How much do you know about the everyday objects around you? As a history major, one of my favourite topics is cultural and material history. So common are the things that we use and see everyday that we rarely think of their pasts, and how simple objects can connect multiple
Recommending our favourite Asian movies with dingbats
When Parasite won Best Picture for the 92nd Academy Awards, I, along with my friends and the Asian Twitter community, was euphoric. We…
Humans of Kontinentalist: Lee Hoon Hee
We caught up with our lovely editorial-marketing intern, Hoon Hee, over the phone to bring you this edition of HOK!
Can data speak for Mother Earth? — issue #12
"Trees have long been trying to reach us. But they speak on frequencies too low for people to hear." —Richard Powers, The Overstory Remember when the lockdowns began in March? Amidst panic, we still found it in ourselves to marvel at how COVID-19 was helping the environment heal.
How COVID-19 has changed the data storytelling landscape
We’re at the midway point of 2020 and, quite unbelievably, the world has been brought to its knees by the invisible yet pervasive COVID-19…
Designing data visualisations for social media
As Kontinentalist’s Multimedia Designer, one of the things I’m in charge of is creating social media assets as teasers for our stories…
Humans of Kontinentalist: Kenneth Wee
Before you read this interview, there are some basic facts you need to know about Kenneth: 1. He is a penguin 2. Coffee flows through his…