PROJECTING A NEW PERSPECTIVE
This week’s lecture finds us diving deeper into the significance and impact of information design including the relevant ethical responsibility and potential for manipulation and misuse of data.
CENSUS
Dating back to 1086AD with the Doomsday book that outlines detailed resources of residences within Britain, census data has been informing governments, organizations, and populations as to who, what, where, and how we are as a people, groups and subgroups, ideologies, demographics, migration, political and sexual orientations and our overall identity.
With the introduction of data behemoths such as Google and Facebook, when combined with the suspect abuse of power among current global leaders, it would be an understatement to say that people are afraid of Big Data, moreover, what is done or not done with our data. Data is used to tell stories of advantage and disadvantage, to influence, to persuade, and to create movements. All of which could be seen as potential misuse given context.
That said, data is also important for us to see the often unseen, serve the underserved, and shed light onto the darkness.
Banu Cennetoglu uses data to simply display and acknowledge the lives lost through migration.
SURVEY
In addition to the straightforward geospatial relationships between latitudes and longitudes, mapping and using survey as a way to express data can be used to inform public welfare, animal migration, military force and impact, crime, potential forest fires, space, and more. I worked for National Geographic in the Publishing Division, specifically for National Geographic Maps from 2005 until 2011. It was a truly expansive and impressive part of my career. I worked along cartographers to help National Geographic audiences learn across a myriad of subject matter. Some of my favorites include a bird migration map and a map of the universe (both shown below).
ANALYSIS
Forensic Architecture is an agency that specializes in using data for social justice. Data scientists, architects, filmmakers, sound engineers, and designers collaborate across discipline to recreate, theorize, or detect injustices in the world. They have helped victims to tell their stories, as well as shed light on the “why” of tragedies. For example, they are using crowdsources smartphone videos recorded during the Grenfell Tower fire to plot a 3D experience with the hopes of providing greater insight into how such a horrible tragedy could have occurred as well as provide a place for people to connect and share their experiences. With the call for new material, which can be submitted on a special website, the Grenfell Media Archive, Forensic Architecture aims to collect around 500 videos, as well as the testimonies of survivors and other eyewitnesses, which can help to create a coherent narrative of the events.
FORECASTING
Christopher Sanderson, Martin Raymond, co-founders and the team at The Future Laboratory, use data to forecast trends across a myriad of industry, subjects, and audiences. Their aim is to help brands and organizations find their way through a competitive landscape by being adequately informed, empowered, and inspired by the relevant data. Using a technique called “cultural triangulation,” the convergence of interrogation, observation, and intuition, The Future Laboratory helps people to find out what’s next and identify future needs.
ENGAGE
By experimenting and exploring the different ways and means to understand and digest data, there is a greater opportunity for engagement, context, and clarity. Finding new expressions that reveal a bigger, more robust picture can bring people together, as well has provide a wider perspective and sense of understanding. For example, the We Are Here project, by artist Jeremy Deller uses actors in era-appropriate costumes to reenact and remind audiences of the World War II soldier experience and sacrifice. This creates an interactivity and engagement that reading a text or reviewing an infographic outlining death tolls across a population. This creates a sensory experience, one that is dimensional, living, and breathing.
REFERENCE:
DiSalvo, Carl (2012), ‘Chapter 2: Revealing Hegemony: Agonistic Information Design’ in Adversarial Design ,(Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press).
Falmouth University (2018). Projecting a New Perspective | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)
Forensic Architecture research agency at Goldsmiths, University of London (2018), What is Forensic Architecture? 17 July. (Accessed: 7th December 2018)
Kafka, G. (2018, March 27). Forensic Architecture Is Investigating the Grenfell Tower Fire. Retrieved from https://www.metropolismag.com/ideas/forensic-architecture-grenfell-tower-fire/
It’s Nice That (2018), Nicer Tuesdays: Offshore Studio , 12 June, (Accessed: 7th December 2018)
Website Services & Coordination Staff, & US Census Bureau. (1994, March 1). Metro Area Density Moving Outward From City Hall. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/054/