The Shape of Data: Designing the amorphous and ephemeral.

Data is arguably the most influential asset produced and consumed today. In the wake of the data explosion, new ways are being found of raising questions and solving problems that are changing how science is practiced, how economic value is generated, or how policy is defined. The design community has the power to positively impact people’s experiences when using data in knowledge-building, opinion-shaping, and decision-making.

‍

But data is formless and boundless by nature. To be successfully perceived, understood, and handled by people, it first has to be shaped into a tangible object that conforms to our human capabilities and limitations. This can take the common form of tables, charts, or maps. But designers don’t have to limit themselves to visual representations. Instead, to make data universally accessible, inclusive, and intuitive, designers turn data into physical artifacts, audible compositions, embodied interactions, and spatial experiences.

‍

This presentation takes the audience on an inspirational journey through a wide range of visualizations, sonifications, and physicalizations of data. Examples will demonstrate how haptics, proxemics, kinesics, or vocalics can be used to translate data attributes into perceivable stimuli. Together, we discover the surprising ways how design empowers people to interact with this amorphous, ephemeral, and essential material.

‍