Week 11

A tensely exciting week spent drafting an essay on what makes a data experience visceral, almost residing in the 3D workshop, working on my data installation, and catching some time in between to do some coptic binding.

For my essay on creating emotionally engaging and visceral data experiences, I have been studying Dr. Karin von Ompteda’s practice of Data Manifestation and seeking out potential directions for my own practice.

As part of my ongoing investigation into plastics, I’m looking into the role of fast fashion in polluting our environment, particularly the costs associated with producing, consuming and disposing synthetic clothing.

Ideating: concept development

I began to broadly sketch out ideas for depicting individual elements of the narrative. I then considered visual language and possible semiotic references such as “piling,” “choking,” “endless,” and so on.

Refining ideas

In line with my motivation to make the experience more emotionally engaging and memorable for my audience, I chose to give my data a physical form. Writing my essay on visceral data experiences allowed me to revisit my project and consider ways to enhance the message and the outcome through emphasis and omission, and give it design authorship.

I investigated ways to transcend the psychological boundaries of scale, time, geography, and philosophy as articulated by Dr Karin von Ompteda in her Data Manifestation practice.

Design direction

I gathered examples of works that evoked the endless and piling nature of the fast fashion problem. To help my audience relate to the context, I considered using symbolic, indexical references such as cloth and plastic itself. I sketched different ways to juxtapose the data in order to better depict the comparison in quantities of clothes produced and discarded.

Iterations: critical making

I began working on the physical sculpture at the 3D workshop. Choosing twine as a symbolism for time, I experimented with different ways to depict the data elements in my outcome. At this stage, I shared my progress with my course leader & peers to gather feedback.

To beat the anxiety of approaching term hand-ins, I spent time doing some mindful and relaxing coptic binding.

Looking forward to production next week!