Hey! 👋
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!
what roots me to the core of this land? — issue #62
In 2013, I went to Japan for the first time, desperate for a break from stressful Singapore. But the non-stop bustle of Tokyo, with the near-identical welcoming chirp of sales people in every shop, made me feel more overwhelmed and overstimulated. Turns out what I needed wasn’t more city.
Growing Roots Through Our New Year’s Dinner Party
This past January, we hosted our new year’s dinner party, which has now become an annual tradition. When we organised the first one in 2023, we had wanted to gather our community in person for the first time at our office. As an organisation whose work—and, for that
Endings — issue #29
Dear notes from equator subscribers, Thank you for being our pen pals. Although our exchange is usually one-way, we’re grateful to have a sliver of your attention and time, whether this is your first or twentieth letter from us. The past year has left me adrift, much like I’
Meet the Community! Andrea Lau, data visualization specialist
Andrea Lau is a data visualization specialist; she is the co-founder and one of the directors of Small Multiples, Australia’s leading data…
Humans of Kontinentalist: Arnold
Hey Arnold, what’s your role at Kontinentalist? I’m a full-stack developer. I’m responsible for maintaining our website and content management products and converting designs — such as web page styling and layout, or stories — into clickable buttons or components. I also help Rifqi, our dev lead, manage our
A practical guide to colouring data viz
There are lots of resources out there explaining things like colour theory, but knowing the theory and executing are 2 very different…
Off the gr
I can’t write anymore because of social media. Okay, more like, I don’t write anymore because of social media.
We don't need crystal balls to foretell our future — issue #28
For most of us, the future is a scary place. We're on a one-way ticket there, but we don't know where we're headed—or when we'll reach our station. It's unknowable by definition, and it's unnerving. I'
Meet the Community! Ashris Choudhury, India in Pixels creator
Ashris is a software engineer who studied architecture at university, before going to MIT Media Lab and Hindustan Times, and is currently…
Tips on creating illustrative visualizations
We produce many cultural data stories at Kontinentalist. As such, we may take a more illustrative approach for various reasons, such as…
Humans of Kontinentalist: Bianchi Dy
A researcher in data visualization, artist, and programmer, Bianchi has been helping us bring to life countless stories with her manifold talents! An incessantly curious person, we pick her brain about all sorts of interesting things. Check out our chat with her and her portfolio. What have you been doing
A cheeky guide to working at Kontinentalist
Job hunts are called hunts for good reason. They’re tedious, and when you’ve been at it for a while, stalking for good game and summoning…
Have a little faith — issue #27
I grew up with a staunch atheist father, but went to a Catholic school where prayer was an everyday routine. As a teenager, it was hard for me to square the two experiences. Today, I still describe myself as an atheist if I have to—but I also increasingly find
Meet the Community! Jack Zhao, data visualisation specialist
Jack Zhao is a data visualisation specialist, co-founder and one of the directors of Small Multiples, Australia’s leading data…