#tangibledataconversations

[designcreativetechnologies]

Nuclear Space Debris and Lawnmowers

So, I got curious about the risk of space debris and particularly radioactive material. Whilst it is true that on average one fragment of space debris re-entries Earth every day, the risks to humans and even to future space missions is negligible. There are some angles to consider, but overall I'm not finding any real grounds to justify any worries about space debris. Here are two good and easy sources:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/science-magazines/does-accumulation-space-debris-earths-orbit-pose-significant-threat-humans-space-and-ground

https://www.nasa.gov/news/debris_faq.html

Here are a few things that are much more dangerous than space debris:

- Coconuts

- Mosquitoes

- Beds

- Hippos

- Lawnmowers

"Sauces":

https://bigthink.com/stephen-johnson/british-statistical-society-reveals-stat-of-the-year-from-a-surprising-source

https://www.brainjet.com/random/2352990/9-unexpectedly-high-death-statistics-you-wouldnt-believe/

https://www.oddee.com/item_98002.aspx

[jackhealybct]

A Congregation for Congregations

Today’s speed dating and ideas sharing had more than it’s fair share of enlightenment. It was awesome seeing all the different ways people had already looked at the brief, but also how easy it could be to compare and contrast my ideas and how they could be changed or worked with. While I had my specific idea of using catapults, it was more the idea of using play and interactivity to tell a story that I was interested in, and where it seemed most important to take my ideas when I was looking at other groups. Once we’d done the speed dating and I’d heard ideas a plenty and offered mine, I was happy to get into the process of grouping up and looking at other people with similar or compatible ideas or processes. Interestingly someone I had talked to at the very start of the meet and recruit we did at the end had different ideas and we decided to part ways, however found our way back together once we’d found people with ideas we both found compatible. As for how my idea linked into the idea for the group I ended up with, the idea of using Puppets to get the feel as well as the look of the story had interested me when I’d heard it so when someone pointed out how it was similar to how I wanted to use play/interaction I was more than happy to combine efforts and I’m looking forward to contributing to this ideas process.

[gabriellebct]

Tangible Data Conversations - Conceptual Designs

24/08/18

This week started out a bit slow for me. I felt uninspired and a bit confused as to what we were being asked to do. I was continuing on with the domestic violence data from last week, trying to make more prototypes, but I wasn’t particularly interested in the data so that led to a lack of productivity. 

Erin had been researching space junk and I found myself really intrigued. I personally have never heard much about this issue and I’ve noticed it’s never really in the news nor is it an issue that people actively discuss. The gist of it is is that there is an increasing amount of space junk orbiting Earth, particularly in the Lower Earth Orbit. Not only can these pieces of space junk collide with satellites, causing a lot of monetary damage, they also collide with each other, separating into even more pieces, exponentially increasing the amount of space junk in orbit. The Lower Earth Orbit is becoming extremely crowded with space debris, making it increasingly difficult to organise safe launches. I think it’s a really important and relevant issue for everyone as it is going to jeopardise space travel for future generations.

The activities that Ricardo ran were very helpful to hear other peoples opinions and insightful to hear what other people are doing. Upon discussion with others, I came to the realisation that using light in some way is probably too literal for this project. We may still prototype with this but ultimately we would rather not be that literal. Looking back at the brief, we are meant to “map data onto a physical object”. Today we began brainstorming everyday objects that we would like to relate to our data. Since we have still been researching quite a lot, we have not yet picked the specific data we would like to map, whether it’s comparing the amount of space junk to the amount of functioning satellites, comparing the amounts of space junk from different countries, or even a trajectory of how the space junk will increase, we are still not sure. One idea of mine that I particularly liked was a lego model of a rocket that could be disassembled to show the multitude of space debris pieces it could become, and perhaps showcasing through colour code the ratio of which countries these pieces originate from. Here is a rough design:

Now that I have a data set that I’m really interested in, it is much easier to design concepts and will be easier to actually start prototyping them. 

[eliashere-blog]

Is there any other shape or means of translating the data onto the ring? 

Besides ring,what object could be used to encapsulate the data whilst supposedly delivering the same grim effect? 

What other shape could be made used of to apply onto the ring?

[eliashere-blog]

Low Fidelity Prototype

After trying out different object, I decided to go with the ring. Taking the idea of an object to commemorate an event, and twist it into something that would remind you of unpleasant event instead. Ring always have intricate detail on the outside to add aesthetic, but instead I want to add spike within the ring to directly inflict pain onto the wearer, a gentle reminder of unpleasantry and possibly, to re-create a fraction of pain that suicidal victim went through.

[eliashere-blog]

Prototyping Data Object

I chose the data set of suicidal rates categorised into different age group and genders of 2013. Upon further study, i came across many different spectrum of feeling that would correlates directly to the the concept death which involves lonely, desertion, abandonment, emotional pain and scars. After that i set out to find object of inspiration that would directly insinuate death and pain, even by a fraction, which include different objects like noose, knife, chair, coffin, decay, etc, and different color that might suggest the right tone for the object.

[sherringbct-blog]

Conceptual Designs

During the middle of week two I was struggling to extend my low fidelity models and decide on an object. This lead me to forming a group with Jake (because we had both been experimenting with spaghetti) and Amy (because we had similar statistics, I had been working with 1 in 3 and she was working with 1 in 5). We decided to use Amy’s data set which was on workplace bullying in New Zealand where 17.8% of New Zealanders surveyed in 2013 reported experiencing workplace bullying in the last six months (https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/83618177/New-Zealand-has-worlds-second-highest-rate-of-workplace-bullying)

Soon after grouping it was challenging for us to settle on an object that we could use map data on as we didn’t really have firsthand experience of workplace bullying or working in similar workplaces ourselves. To overcome this, we started with looking at a stereotypical office and office supplies, things like stationary and chairs which lead us to business wear and ties.

We thought about using a chair to represent our data. This could be done by removing 17.8% of either the seat or the back rest of a chair making it uncomfortable for the user. We could also change the length of each leg to make the chair unstable. The chair could be used to represent a workplace which looks stable from the outside however when users interact with the chair and sit on it they will feel the inequality due to the difference in the height of each leg.

We also decided to experiment with neckties as they are a common accessory of office wear and associated with uniform. The Romans used neckwear as part of their uniform as a symbol of belonging to a particular group and it is said that a reason why ties are worn today is for the purpose of hiding buttons on a shirt.

In order to come up with more ideas the three of us split up to each make a model that mapped the data on a paper necktie. I wanted to play with the idea the tie hiding something as its intended purpose.

The concept behind my tie was the one we decided to use a our final object with 17.8% of the back covered in pins. I want to extend the idea of the hidden data with covering 17.8% of the back of the tie in coarse sandpaper. Over time and use this would distress the tie and show how working in an unhealthy workplace will effect an employees performance and presentability.

[sherringbct-blog]

Data Physicalisation

Above is a data sculpture that represents the national statistics of water usage in the United States over 50 years from 1950 to 2000. The large cannon in the middle represents how much water is used and each of the three sections represents a specific category of used water.

Before looking at what data this sculpture showed, I thought it looked like a cascading waterfall due to ridges and the convexed shape of the table legs. An aerial perspective of this would show a map of the Colorado River, while I think this is an effective sculpture I don’t think it would fit its intended purpose of being a table as it would be unbalanced due to the lack of support on the outer edges of the table.

This sculpture demonstrates the use of a combination of data by showing the percentage of water usage in different categories as well as being a three-dimensional map.

This image shows a large scale data sculpture that visualises live wind patterns. Aluminium panels are hinged to move freely in relation to its surroundings creating ripple like patterns.

I like that this installation provides a multisensorial (sight and sound) visualisation of an otherwise invisible natural weather pattern which creates a conversation between man mad objects and nature. The randomness of this installation allows it to constantly change.

Above is one of seven interactive art installations in a series called “The Long Run”. These represents the cost of healthcare in the UK for seven different age groups which is shown through the time taken for a marble fall in each sculpture.

I like that this sculpture is interactive and uses time as one of its mediums. This provides a personal experience for the audience as if they are the marble going through the different bottlenecks and expenses that are involved with healthcare. Making it a marble run allows for a wider audience, younger children can interact with this by watching the marble go through each run. As they move up to the older age ranges they will notice that their marble will take longer to reach the bottom due to the increase in the cost of healthcare. For some the concept of time will be more understandable compared to the concept of money.

This is an example of a project that required many iterations and user testing as they had to match the time taken for he marble to go through each run with the statistics.