Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication using various patterns of data and reference signals are described. For example, in a system that supports operation using different duration transmission time intervals (TTIs), a base station may initiate communication with a user equipment (UE) or between two UEs, and UEs may communicate with the base station or with one another using an indicated pattern of data and reference signals. The base station may send a downlink control message indicating a transmission pattern selected from a set of patterns. UEs may identify the pattern based on the indicator and decode a sequence of data and reference signals based on the pattern. In some examples, the sequence may include a set of TTIs, which may have a shorter duration than other TTIs.