Cluster

Why Cluster Exists

Data visualization research should not occur in a vacuum. Somewhere, someone had to explain a chart to a skeptical stakeholder, fix a dashboard at 11pm before a board meeting, or figure out how to make a D3 chart accessible with a deadline in six hours. Data visualization practice is at the heart of our field. It needs a place in our conference.

Cluster invests in questions that stem from doing. Practice is not a theory-based application layer, it’s where half the field’s best questions come from. The theme of this year’s Practitioner’s Summit is based on a simple bet: if you get the right people in the room – practitioners with their real problems, academics with their research questions – and give them space to talk, the connections, ideas and solutions write themselves. This Summit isn’t here to create a list of solved problems or research that’s already completed. We want to build a community where all sides of the field can come together and solve those problems and answer those questions together.

What to Expect

Keynote: Data Viz Isn’t a Chart You Drop in at the End

Cluster will kick off the morning with a quick, 10-minute keynote from Sophie Sparkes discussing how practitioners can make the case for data visualisation as a design discipline, not an afterthought. Sophie is a Data Experience Designer and PhD researcher at the Diverse CDT, City St George’s University of London, with over 13 years in data visualization practice.

PolicyViz Podcast: Live

Welcome to a live episode of the PolicyViz Podcast! Hosted by Jonathan Schwabish and featuring Yannick Assogba, Amber Thomas, and Doug Elmendorf, will explore what it’s like to work in this field right now, including the data visualization job market, freelancing, and AI’s impact on how we practice vis. Come for the conversation, stay for the audience Q&A.

Lightning Talks

Featuring nine compelling lightning talks from a wide range of practitioners, come discuss data vis challenges, unsolved problems, and wishes for the future. These lightning talks are designed to spark conversations that will carry on through catered lunch afterwards.

Check out our speakers and their talk titles below!

Freelancing FAQ session

Getting into vis practice as a freelancer, in-house specialist, or design agency in the private sector, isn’t well documented. How do you incorporate? How do you pay taxes? Where do you get health insurance? What tools are worth purchasing and which are worth skipping? This interactive session—built from input by the community—is dedicated to demystifying these questions. We will explore how people built their own businesses and what their paths looked like, and host an open floor for the questions you don't usually get to ask a room full of people who've done it.

In-Person Data Exploration

Throughout the day, we'll have data visualizations on display for attendees to explore and interact with. We will also have live feedback stations where you can react to work in progress, leave a note, or vote with a sticker. It’s a lower-stakes way to engage than a formal Q&A. Wander over between sessions and add your two cents to someone else's board, or come with a project you want reactions on.

Deadline to submit is Oct. 30, 2026

Who Cluster is For

Anyone doing visualization work outside a pure research role. We welcome freelancers, contractors, instructors, in-house data viz teams, journalists, consultants, product designers, analysts, and students. Plus, we hook directly into the IEEE VIS conference to connect with researchers who want their work grounded in what practitioners actually run into. If you've ever had to defend a chart to someone who didn't ask for one, this is your room.

Details

• Date: November 11, 2026
• Format: One day, in-person, at the IEEE VIS conference this fall
• Lunch: Catered
• Full day schedule: Cluster's core program runs from 8:30am until 3:30pm, with VISion talks from 3:30-5pm, the IEEE VIS conference banquet at MIT Museum at 6pm, and a shared 8:00pm keynote with the VISAP program at the MIT Metropolitan Warehouse
• Cost / registration: Details for one day, two day, and full conference costs on IEEE VIS's Registration Page