About r42 – data visualization design

The last mile in your data pipeline is where the data meets the audience. Metrics have been collected, cleaned, and analyzed — now you need to make them talk. r42 specializes in this final step, and we go the extra mile: we don't just place data into charts, we design reports that communicate clearly, respect your brand, and are built from the ground up when off-the-shelf tools aren't enough.

What we do

Data visualization on the web

The web is where you reach a wide audience. It lets people explore data through interaction and animation. We create data stories that are easy to understand and engaging to explore.

Web-based dashboards

Most dashboards live inside BI tools. Web-based dashboards, on the other hand, give you more control over the experience, especially on mobile devices. Modern tools make them faster to build than before, while keeping them secure and easy to maintain.

Custom visuals for Power BI and Data Studio

Power BI and Data Studio are different BI platforms, but both offer a limited selection of native visuals. r42 has created dozens of custom visualizations for Data Studio and eight certified Power BI visuals, available today in Microsoft AppSource.

Explore Power BI visuals

Data visualization style guides

Without a solid data-design foundation, reporting becomes inconsistent across an organization. We build data style guides to prevent that. They define which visuals to use, when to use them, and how color, layout, and best practices work together to improve reporting quality.

The pillars of data viz

Communication

Data visualization is more than choosing the right chart. r42 designs reports that encode your data into formats your audience can actually read and act on. We control how information is layered, labeled, and sequenced, so every section guides the reader toward a clear conclusion, not just a collection of numbers.

Brand

Every report carries your brand. r42 makes sure all visuals follow a consistent theme, color system, and layout, so your reporting feels like a coherent system. And when standard chart types fall short, we build visuals from the ground up using libraries like d3, SveltePlot or Vega/Deneb, giving you full control over how your brand shows up in data.

Technology

Most teams already know their tools. r42 works within your existing stack, whether that's Power BI, Google Data Studio, or web-based platforms, and extends it. Certified custom visuals on the Microsoft Marketplace, advanced charting with Deneb, or custom web frameworks when the project goes beyond BI tools: we bring capabilities your stack doesn't offer out of the box.

Process

Data engineers and analysts know the data. Report readers need to act on it. r42 bridges the two, working with the people who prepare the data and the people who use it, so the final output is accurate, clear, and ready for the audience.

Our story

Ralph Spandl founded r42 over 20 years ago as a web agency, building websites for major Canadian brands like CN, Transat, and Laurentian Bank. After years in web development, he moved into data visualization.

For over three years, he worked with Supermetrics, developing a library of custom visualizations for Google Data Studio and Power BI.

In 2025, Ralph returned to r42 and dived into Power BI reporting, developing a family of custom visuals now certified and available on the Microsoft Marketplace. Built on a modern web stack, these visuals led him deeper into web-based data visualization, working with frameworks like Svelte, SveltePlot, d3, and Vega.

Ready to go the extra mile?

You know your data. You know your audience. We'll walk that last mile with you — and make sure what they see is worth the journey.

Let's talk