70Signal
Score
I
Its Nice ThatOctober 22, 2026

Mona Chalabi on making sense of the unmeasurable

Mona Chalabi, a multi award-winning illustrator, discusses her journey from working at the UN to creating infographics and the challenges of representing data in journalism. She also shares insights about her first book, 'Ten Lives: How What We Have Shapes Who We Are', which combines memoir, reportage, and data visualization to explore themes of class and inequality. Brand strategists can take note of how Chalabi effectively uses visual storytelling to communicate complex social issues, enhancing brand narratives.

◎ EmergingdigitalstrategyPenguin

Its Nice That: The multi award-winning illustrator joins our US editor-at-large Elizabeth Goodspeed on the New York Nicer Tuesdays stage to talk about everything from her first job at the UN to how she first got into creating infographics and the difficulty of working with data in journalism when the world can never truly be measured to a decimal place.

Finally the author gives us an insight into the story behind her first Penguin-published book: Ten Lives: How What We Have Shapes Who We Are, a unique blend of memoir, reportage and data visualisation and a reimagining of how we talk about class and the top 1 per cent, which took her six years to write and design.

Intelligence PanelSignal score: 70 / 100
Primary Signal
Emerging
Building momentum — trajectory being tracked
Brand Impact
Medium
Impact score: 60/100 — moderate relevance to positioning decisions
Novelty
Moderate
Novelty: 70/100 — iterative development of an existing theme
Action Priority
Soon
Flag for the next strategic review cycle
Scoring Rationale

Mona Chalabi's unique approach to visual storytelling and data representation in journalism offers valuable insights for brand strategists, particularly in enhancing brand narratives through complex themes.

60
Impact
weight 35%
70
Novelty
weight 30%
80
Relevance
weight 35%
Brands Mentioned
PPenguin
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