Outlier is a conference hosted by the Data Visualization Society that brings together all corners of the data visualization community, from artists to business intelligence developers, working in every tech stack you can imagine and in other media, like physical art and sound, that stretch our vision of what we can do with data. Attendees stretch their creative thinking, and learn from practitioners who they may not otherwise connect with.

Outlier is designed to be inclusive, diverse, and creative, with opportunities for inspiration and learning. We run a public call for speakers, which attracts not only well known thought leaders, but also people you may not have heard of who are shaping the field. We provide a virtual option and provide several ticketing options, so that everyone anywhere in the world can join. Attendees suggest and facilitate their own sessions through the unconferences. They also network and build long-lasting connections.

At Outlier, we want to nurture the field of data visualization design by finding ways to challenge how things have always been in our field and reshaping the face of data visualization by bringing in more diverse and global community members. All this makes Outlier both a celebration of our community’s talents and a glimpse into future data visualization developments.

Anyone interested in the visualization field can apply to speak. Watch our 2024, 2023, and 2022 talks to get to know our previous speakers.

Your talk can range from a quick lightning talk, a standard 20 minute presentation, or a longer-form workshop in the language of your choice (if it’s not English, we ask you to pre-record it). Presentations can be pre-recorded. Afterwards, we will host an optional Q&A in English.

No, you can apply as a team of up to 3 people.

Outlier speaker application questions follow a three-part structure:

• About you: we ask you to fill in some basic details like your name, email address, timezone, social media tags, and bio.

• About the talk: here we dive deeper into the objective, target audience, title and subject area of the talk.

• Your expertise: we ask you to share relevant work, a video of you speaking and to describe what diverse perspectives you’ll bring to the event.

The evaluation committee carefully reviews each application and selects the best candidates based on proposed talk quality and Outlier values. You can read more about the speaker selection process here.

Yes, we would love for you to apply. If you get selected, you will have the option to be paired with an experienced mentor who will help you prepare the talk.

If you are not comfortable presenting in English, please let us know in the application form. If selected, we will discuss with you the best options to pre-record your talk.

All selected Outlier main stage speakers will receive an honorarium to cover the costs of putting together and recording their talk. Unfortunately, we are not in the position to cover accommodation or travel expenses.
All speakers get a free ticket to Outlier. If you already bought a ticket, we will reimburse you.

Workshops and interactive sessions can be delivered in either 20 or 40 minutes and range from hands-on drawing, quizzes, white boarding, data cleaning, coding, development in an open source tool, etc.

Yes, all conference talks will be recorded and all in-person talks will be livestreamed online. All conference recordings will be published at a later stage on our Youtube channel.

Yes, on top of the DVS code of conduct, we ask you to follow a few additional rules during the conference. Why is that? The events committee strives to be as transparent as possible, which includes ensuring the participants are aware of when something is a sponsored talk. Additionally, we want to maintain an inspiring and engaging space that isn’t cluttered with recruiters and corporate messages.

While we may have attendees who run their own businesses, are involved with startups, or are hiring managers who are actively recruiting, Outlier is designated to be a space for attendees to come together without needing to swat away pitches.

We might have sponsored sessions and we will have sponsor booths, at the virtual platform and our venue, were sponsors can present their materials and/or products. Reach out to DVS Partnerships if you want to become a sponsor.

Here are some examples of what is not considered as a pitch for non-sponsored events:

• Casually mentioning that you have a book coming out as part of your introduction or as a side-note.

• A tool user hosting an educational workshop on getting started with the tool with the purpose of educating and sharing skills.

• Recruiters reaching out to participants who have volunteered their information as someone who is currently searching for a job and wants to connect to recruiters.

• A hiring manager hosting a session on something totally unrelated to recruitment.

And here are examples of what is considered as a pitch:

• Hosting a session specifically to promote your book, with the book being the focus of the session.

• Someone who works at a software company hosting a demo/workshop around the software for the purpose of converting people to the tool.

• Recruiters randomly reaching out to attendees.

• A hiring manager hosting a session for the purpose of recruitment.

The in-person event will have a photographer. We are aware that not all people like having their photo taken. Please make sure you let us know beforehand if that is your case. If you want to take a photo of a group of people, please ensure that you first ask for their consent.

A lighting talk is a 7-minute pre-recorded presentation on a topic and in the language of your choice. If you wish to, you can also host a 3-minute live Q&A about a topic.

We want to showcase many talented individuals in data visualization and provide more platforms for everyone. If time and budget allowed, we would have loved to have selected many more conference speakers. It might also be the case that you want to talk about a topic but feel that 20 minutes is too long. Lightning talks are a great alternative way to get involved and share some of your most exciting insights and/or projects.

We ask you to keep the following in mind when recording and submitting the video:

• You must be a ticket holder to present a lightning talk.

• The talk should focus on a topic related to data visualization.

• The video must be five minutes or less in its entirety.

• The talk should not contain any offensive materials and must abide by the Data Visualization Society Code of Conduct.

• Do your best to create a quality video.

• Lighting talks cannot be promotions or advertisements for any commercial purpose.

The Outlier team will select lightning talks from the speaker applications to check if they fit the Outlier values and criteria (see above). After the initial screening, applicants will be contacted informing them about the decision.

No. Unfortunately, we can only pay speakers and not those submitting lightning talks.

An unconference (or unconf, for short) is a 1-hour long session that can be hosted by anyone in attendance. As long as you have a ticket to Outlier, you can host one or multiple unconference sessions, virtually or in-person.

For the most part, whatever you like! You can host a session in any style or format you’d like. See some examples below.

• Talk

• Panel

• Discussion

• Q&A / AMA (Ask Me Anything)

• Hands-on learning session (e.g., workshop, hackathon, sketching contest)

• Fun / Misc (e.g., games, music, etc.)

You can submit your sessions on The Outlier app one week before the conference. The Outlier app will be available to download on your mobile when unconference submissions go live. You can also visit our agenda (on the app/and on the website) to see what unconference sessions are already there. On the agenda, choose if it’s a virtual or in-person session, pick one of the available unconference slots, and add the details of your suggested session. An Outlier team member will then be notified, approve your session, and add it to the agenda along with the meeting room information (in-person) or link (virtual).

We encourage people to collaborate and work together. Is someone else already planning to host a discussion you’re also super keen to lead? Reach out to them! Perhaps they’ll want to join forces!

Unlike a traditional conference session, unconference sessions have less of a clear distinction between prepared speakers and audiences. Even if you present a talk, we hope you choose to leave room for discussion and questions. Everybody is encouraged to participate and contribute something interesting, whether through leading a session or sharing insights as participants.

For in-person unconferences, Outlier can only provide the room and internet access. If you need other materials, you have to bring them yourself.

This is totally up to you (as long as it does not violate the Code of Conduct, of course), so we suggest whatever you’re excited about! We imagine a lot of the sessions will be focused around data visualization topics. However, we also encourage people to plan sessions around topics that are only minorly tangential to data visualization, as well as topics that have nothing to do with data visualization. We believe that two people connecting over non-dataviz topics (e.g., animal welfare, hiking, etc.) or non-dataviz activities (e.g. yoga, games, etc.) is also a really great thing and we want to encourage that.

Some session topic ideas:

• Start an interesting debate or discussion about deep issues (e.g., a discussion around the data visualization around election polling)

• Organize or suggest a panel on a popular topic

• Lead a workshop on your favorite tool

• Host an AMA; share your expertise!

• Host a game, lead a yoga session, or some other fun activity

• Give an informal talk on something you’re excited about

• Share your obscure hobby!

• Tell us about a niche area of dataviz you’ve fallen into

• Share a live-coding session

• Whatever else you can think of!

No! Unconference sessions tend to be a bit more off-the-cuff. But, if you have slides you want to share, feel free to bring them along.

We do not allow sales or product pitches. See more on this in the code of conduct section above.

Unconferences will not be recorded. If you are in Miami, you can decide to join unconferences virtually or in-person. If you are joining online, you can choose between the virtual ones.

You are encouraged to move around freely and as often as you like. Don’t feel the need to stay for an entire session. Move in and out as out of sessions as you please. Explore!

• Watch all Outlier 2025 talks.

• View the Outlier 2025 photo gallery.

REIMAGINING

Connect. Inspire. Empower.

Join the world’s leading data visualization practitioners at Outlier 2025 where we’re redefining how our global community creates, connects, inspires, and empowers. This isn’t just a conference—it’s a catalyst for innovation, sparking new ideas, collaborations, and breakthroughs that transform how we communicate and inform through data.

Immerse yourself in cutting-edge insights, connect with pioneers and rising stars, and walk away with the tools and inspiration to elevate your journey. Whether you’re pushing creative boundaries, shaping the future of storytelling, or driving meaningful impact, this is where your next big idea begins.

Don’t just visualize data—reimagine what’s possible!

• Watch all Outlier 2024 talks, or browse talks by topic.

• View the Outlier 2024 photo gallery.

• Watch all Outlier 2023 talks.

• View the full Outlier 2023 photo gallery.

Watch all Outlier 2022 talks.

Watch all Outlier 2021 talks.