Otto Ottinger

Otto Ottinger

Managing Director & Data Visualizer

John “Otto” Ottinger is a data visualizer, specializing in the visual design of complex data systems. The founder and Managing Director of the Datalabs Agency, a data visualization & consultancy firm, Otto works at the intersection of user experience (UX) design, visual analytics, and storytelling. He started his career as an editor and interactive designer at National Geographic, in Washington, DC.

There he learned the same information design and storytelling techniques that he teaches in his workshops. Now in his role at Datalabs, Otto has gone on to design software, dashboards, infographics, and data tools for clients like Nestlé, Mercedes-Benz, Bupa, BlackRock, Adidas, eBay, Marriott, CommBank, and HCF, among others.

Power BI Responsive Report on a Tablet - World Map

Image of an PowerBI Energy Report on an iPad

Image of our Marketing Analytics Report in Microsoft Power BI

Image of an Example Dashboard in PowerBI on a Tablet

Image of a Tablet, an Ecommerce Dashboard for Developed in Power BI

A photo of our dashboard design consultant, Otto Ottinger

Data agency client of Datalabs, the United Nations

Data agency client of Datalabs, Intel in San Francisco

First off, let’s get this out of the way — I’m writing this. This page will now be in the first person. Otherwise, reading this would become unbearable.

As for my delivery of keynote addresses and company workshops, I think I do a few key things well.

• The design of the presentation is top-notch. I can’t help but love design;

• The story that forms the speech or workshop agenda is well-thought-out. Often it’s only after

my third or fourth draft is written that I declare, “Eureka! That’s the story!”

• The information is what the audience is craving. I listen to my clients, understanding what they need to know and most importantly what they don’t know they need to know comes from years of experience and an empathetic ear;

• The entertainment factor is high. I enjoy what I do when I’m presenting. My speeches and workshops are visual feasts, well-paced, and personable.

Visualising Economic Data

Sydney, Australia

Data Viz & Storytelling

Hong Kong, SAR

Power Of Infographic Design

Canberra, Australia

Visualising Big Data

Sydney, Australia

Data Journalism

Doha, Qatar

Data Viz & Storytelling

Melbourne, Australia

Data Visualization in Finance

Hong Kong, SAR

Data Viz & Storytelling

Washington, DC

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As you can see from the topics and speech titles above, what I do is interesting to a wide range of industries. Everyone uses and communicates data. And I love to customize my work, blend my thinking with the expertise that sits on my client’s side. I get to be a jack-of-all-trades, working (however briefly) in very technical areas of expertise and learning new skills as I go.

I can then convert those new skills back into the training and presentations that I give at conferences, company off-sites, or corporate retreats. A typical brief that I often receive from a client for this line of work goes like this:

Otto Ottinger's Chief Marketing Officer Presentation Keynote Conference Presentation Slide

I want to reward my employees, have them learn something new. I want it to be incredibly useful to what they do on a day-to-basis. I want them to have fun learning it — after all, this is a reward for a long year or a successful quarter

Image of a client who hires a guest or keynote speaker

CXO or Senior Manager

Perspective on the need for a guest speaker or workshop facilitator at a company off-site or annual retreat

Two things that I value when I’m hired to come to speak:

• Access. I love to understand the context of why I’m showing up in your company’s lobby or swanky retreat. Let me know what the challenges are and I’m keen to hear the aspirational reasons. So access to information is key for a curious person, like myself. And access to data is nice, as well. I want my time in front of your staff to be hyper-relevant to their current experiences. If we can work through a data problem collaboratively in a facilitated workshop or I can design custom data visualizations using your division’s KPIs — all the better!

• Out-of-the-box thinking. Solving big problems, visualizing fast-moving changes, or changing the way employees think and see data are what I like to tackle. My thinking is concentrated on design and visual communication. And I have extensive experience in visualizing and presenting business data. Out-of-the-box thinking is utilizing a skillset foreign to your team’s experience, like data visualization & storytelling, and trusting it can give you that quantum leap in the areas that you need it.

Training & Workshops

Team Workshop: Infographics & Report Design

Step by step instructions for great infographic design.

Team Workshop: Intro to Data Viz & Storytelling

Our introductory workshop is perfect for all skill sets.

The best part about running a data agency is the breadth of clients and industry challenges to work with. By “breadth of clients” I mean it runs the gamut of Fortune 500, NASDAQ, and ASX 200 (Australia’s equivalent). Plus, this agency takes me to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. This leads me to my second favorite part: “Industry challenges.” These same companies — no matter if they work in banking, energy, manufacturing, or education — have similar problems.

The data couldn’t be more different. However, what gets put to me is always a similar challenge.

This one challenge I classify and place into three “buckets”: lack of simplicity, lack of creativity, or inability to communicate visually.

So over my 16+ years as a data visualizer, I’ve developed what could be called a data design philosophy and methodology to tackle these three challenges. To me, data visualization paired with visual communication is a human-to-human art form. Along with my data visualization style, this is what gives a Datalabs Agency piece of work a distinct look and feel.

This same philosophy is also why clients around the globe come to me.

Image of a Smartphone Showing Map Distance Calculations in the United States & Canada

Mobile App Showing 3d Globe & Ocean Topography

Atlas Design on a Mobile, Showing Europe & African Countries

Cartographic App Showing Sydney Shoreline & Ocean Currents

Image of a Mobile Development of a Cartogaphic Journey Planner

Global Sales Analytics

Stuttgart, Germany

Revenue Dashboards, APAC

Hong Kong, SAR

Silicon Chip Manufacturing

San Francisco, California

Visualizing Procurement Data

Herzogenrauch, Germany

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I started visualizing data back at the National Geographic Society back in the late 1990s. A lot has changed since then. I took what I learned there — visual storytelling and infographic design — and applied it to my new world and new company Down Under.

I was one of the first to bring infographics to Australia. The problem was it was too early. No one at that time understood the power of that type of visual data and storytelling. Believe it or not, “What is an infographic?” was a typical question.

Fast forward to the present day, infographics are everywhere. And infographics are everywhere in terms of quality and sophistication. Bad ones outnumber the good.

Long ago, I moved up the “food chain” and stopped selling and designing infographics for clients. I like to learn and challenge myself for the ‘next thing.’
This came with the massive growth of business intelligence and dashboards.

I was at the first Tableau roadshow in Melbourne, Australia. The speaker from Tableau asked the audience of a thousand or so attendees, “Who here is currently using our product?” Roughly one in ten hands went up. I spent the rest of that presentation changing my generic dashboard design page, sprinkling the keyword “Tableau” liberally about it.

Since then, Microsoft Power BI has overtaken Tableau, both in client interest and in functionality. I now design in both.

In the early days of the BI revolution when I was consulting with Marriott Hotels in Hong Kong, I saw a need for data visualization style guides. Too many dashboards are created without a design philosophy, without a common design language, and without the proper attention to color theory, typography, grid systems, and user experience (UX) design. Since then, my data visualization style guides are in operation inside great companies such as Mercedes-Benz in Germany, Intel in San Francisco, BlackRock in New York, and Telstra in Australia. I do more every year, expanding the range and depth of what they cover.

What’s next in data visualization? I think you know where this is going: Artificial intelligence or A.I.

Where am I going with the Datalabs Agency? Yep. Same answer.

Image of an infographic with an array of numbers

A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be. I have determined that the puck has a 93% chance of being at coordinates -23.796, 1.038 in exactly 3 seconds.

ChatGPT & A.I. Wayne Gretzky

The future of attributable quotes on the Internet

Some of My Favorite Data Products

Data Visualization Style Guides

Data visualization comes in many forms, so do our style guides.

Animated Data Videos

Give an old report a new life as a video explainer.

Since 1996, I’ve been running my illustration, animations, and comedic writing under the pseudonym, Oddtoe. I thought to keep this link between my various identities (John Ottinger vs. Otto Ottinger vs. Oddtoe) a secret — kinda like a Banksy situation. Truth is I’m too lazy to keep up a ruse like that. So consider this my unmasking.

Since the pandemic in 2020, Oddtoe has taken on new forms. Gone is my pen-and-ink style of illustration.

I picked up an iPad Pro and experimented heavily with digital caricature and imaging compositing. I’m loving the result and the new tools in this new pipeline of work.

Oddtoe as a business pairs up nicely alongside my agency, Datalabs. As part of my parent company, Data Arts, Oddtoe is taking on studio animation and 3d design projects.

And of course, my interest in storytelling is across both brands.

Babbling to Baobabs

Melbourne, Australia

Tucker Tick Comic

Washington, DC

Oddtoe Comic Panel

Melbourne, Australia

Oddtoe TV

Los Angeles, California

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Three-dimensional modeling is what sets up the imagery and animation I create as Oddtoe. Dimensional data is the underlying and reusable asset for character designs and background art.

From an OBJ or FBX model, the value proposition of the studio I run is that visual stories can be told at scale. Generative AI is certainly taking a role in ideation. And with a background in data, I’m able to run a full-scale animation and design firm with limited overhead. You’ll see in the spread of art and design that I can do, a near-full range of what I’ve always been itching to produce, but doesn’t fit as neatly in a data visualization agency.

The Top 100 Comedians of All Time Will Be Bots. What do I mean by that? In terms of my personal preference, I'm curious to see what generative A.I. will come up with. A million more comedians cracking jokes. More jokes, more laughter. And more laughter in the world isn't a bad thing.

Oddtoe

About the role of generative AI in comedy

Entertainment & 3d Design

AI Animation Studio

Take a look at the possibilities of AI in animation.

Creative Roboticist

Our metal friends will need some designing.

Otto Ottinger is adata visualizer.digital cartographer.data animator.3d artist.

Infographic Numbers

Infographic numbers are just numbers without a story and an audience to explain them to. First and foremost, it’s essential to understand the story behind the numbers. Numbers alone may seem dry and detached, but when imbued with context and meaning, they become powerful storytelling tools.

So get inspired and get curious about this ever-evolving art form.

Articles

Data Viz Instagram

September 15, 2023 by Datalabs in Articles

10 Data Viz Guys & Gals to Follow on Instagram Want constant #inspo on your #insta? Follow these awesome data visualizers to keep you motivated. 1. Mona Chalabi Mona Chalabi

Examples of Information Visualization: 6 of the Best

August 31, 2023 by Datalabs in Articles

July 27, 2023 by Datalabs in Jobs at Datalabs

Case-study: Victoria University Dashboards & Infographic Reports

July 22, 2023 by Datalabs in Articles

Department of Education and Training Child Care Subsidy Estimator

July 17, 2023 by Datalabs in Articles

July 17, 2023 by Datalabs in Articles

Founder & Managing Director of the Datalabs Agency

Some of the notable brands Otto has worked with...

Otto Ottinger’s Clients of Note

Australia, Europe, & the U.S.A.

KEYNOTES & SPEECHES

Always start off with a humblebrag...

A Keynote Speaker with Humor and Awesome Design

Examples of Past...

KEYNOTE SPEECHES

Examples of Past...

Workshops at Company Retreats

Public, Guest, or Keynote Speaker

CXO or Senior Manager

Team Workshop: Infographics & Report Design

Learn the methods to designing professional infographics.

Team Workshop: Intro to Data Viz & Storytelling

Learn the fundamentals and advance to the next level.

The Design of Visual Analytics & Complex Systems

DATA VISUALIZER

Establishing a Data Design Philosophy with the Datalabs Agency

Australian/American Data Visualizer

Examples of Past...

DATA VISUALIZATION DESIGN

“Inventions” in Data Visualization Throughout the Years

ChatGPT & A.I. Wayne Gretzky

Data Visualization Style Guides

Want to work with professionals on your company’s data?

Animated Data Videos

Make a motion graphic with your report data.

2006

ART & ILLUSTRATION

Pseudonyms aplenty...

Otto Ottinger or Oddtoe

Examples of Past...

KEYNOTE SPEECHES

Humor, 3d, & Characters

Oddtoe

AI Animation Studio

Generative AI animator and comedic writer

Creative Roboticist

3d design & prototyping for the R&D & entertainment industries

Data Visualization, A.I., & All Things Visually Creative

Articles by Otto Ottinger

Infographic Numbers

Data Viz Instagram