Data Objects: Design Principles for Data Physicalisation

Abstract

This paper describes the principles, methods and strategies for the design of everyday objects that embody data -or Data Objects. The work presented in the paper connects the fields of industrial design and data physicalisation to introduce the concept of using data as a design material. To support the creative synthesis of Data Objects the paper provides a literature review, methods and guidance on the creation of Data Objects alongside examples -and possible opportunities, challenges, and future scenarios -for the practice, use and the study of Data Objects.

Imagining Data-Objects for Reflective Self-Tracking

“…Common among those examples is that personal data is self-organized in unique ways to provoke meaningful reflections. Data-objects [40] are physical representations of data at the intersection of data physicalization [16] and industrial design. Data-objects provide a platform for data curation and experimentation through an experience-centric approach [25] to data.…”

“…For instance, people's spreadsheets may allow them to engage in self-reflections, but only in retrospect. Data-objects [40,45] are artifacts that represent contextually-relevant data, offering the opportunity for exploratory engagements in the context where data was captured. As an approach to self-tracking and data physicalization, the concept of data-objects opens up a whole gamut of opportunities and challenges.…”

“…As an approach to self-tracking and data physicalization, the concept of data-objects opens up a whole gamut of opportunities and challenges. Some of them have already been articulated by previous work [17,40,45], yet those challenges do not adequately show people's needs and how data-objects can be implemented into people's everyday life. Through our study we offer a reflective view on the three-way interplay between people, data, and artifacts, which opens the ground for further explorations of data-objects.…”

“…Besides personal visualizations, people's selfdriven need for exploration has been addressed also through physical representations of data [3]. Data physicalizations such as physical data sculptures or sonifiations of data [3,27,40,17], invite people to reflect on data in alternative ways. This exploratory engagement happens at a distance from the actual living experience where the data was captured.…”

Prácticas artísticas en la época del dataceno. Data Biography: rastros digitales para la exploración biográfica de la identidad personal

“…Con «HRs in photos» nos encontramos ante una instalación que transforma en elementos físicos la información digital, desde una perspectiva similar a la denominada fisicalización de datos o visualización física, una practica basada en una reciente área de investigación, consistente en la representación física de los datos, gracias a los avances en la fabricación digital, las interfaces tangibles activas y las pantallas que cambian de forma (Sosa et al 2018). De manera similar a la visualización de datos, la fisicalización de datos tiene como objetivo ayudar a las personas a explorar, comprender y comunicar sistemas de datos complejos, pero en este caso mediante la representación física, no digital, de los mismos.…”