The World Game Workshop used a giant (basketball court size) world map to display population growth, distribution, and density, energy use, food and a host of other global variables and problems. 100 people were placed on the map, located where humanity is currently in the world, each one representing 1% of the global population. They were then placed in charge of their region and given the responsibility of solving the world’s problems. Sources: Post by Medard Gabel, Executive Director, […]

The idea of a tree is an autonomous production process which combines natural input with a mechanical process. Solely driven by solar energy, it translates the intensity of the sun through a mechanical apparatus into one object a day. The outcome reflects the various sunshine conditions that occur during this day. Like a tree the object becomes a three dimensional recording of its process and time of creation. Source: mischer’traxler studio (2008) The idea of a tree – a semi-autonomous […]

These shiny porcelain spheres visualize how risky a person is. The project was created by Nikita Rokotyan and the team during the 72U creative residency program in 2015 led by Maria Scileppi. Thirty-eight guest speakers were asked to complete a survey consisting of 12 questions related to 3 different types of risk: financial, social and physical. Their answers were analyzed and mapped onto a sphere to visualize a person’s willingness to take certain risks. The individual spheres were then […]

This work by the chinese designer Yisha Cai explores meteorological phenomena using digital data, conception and production tools. Especially interested in data visualization, Yisha Cai collected rain data through sensors and an arduino device. The data were then processed to generate a 3D model. The cylindrical clay tornado form was generated by code in a digital platform. It was subsequently printed in porcelain by a 3D ceramics printer. The accompanying glass globe form was shaped as a […]

Using open source NASA GISS data, british model maker and designer Matthew Stewart created a sculpture which communicates the temperature rise of the globe compared to 50 years ago. With the data’s lat/long variable, Matthew Stewart represented temperature increase with length of protruding rod – the greater the difference, the longer the rod. Made of 3,204 pieces, assembly had to be perfect to ensure the lattice structure held its form correctly, & so the data was represented accurately. […]

Zoltán Sylvester is a research scientist in the field of geology and a world-known sedimentologist, stratigrapher, and modeler. He is a co-PI of the Quantitative Clastics Laboratory (QCL) at the University of Texas at Austin in the United States. Zoltán Sylvester works especially on river meandering over time and how to precisely track how a river – that can sometimes erase its own sedimentary deposits – has moved and changed its path over time. The 3D prints Zoltán Sylvester made so far (with […]

Weave is a project that aim to raise the awareness of invisible barriers faced by immigrants navigating Dutch public systems through data physicalization. People can pick a thread corresponding to their country of origin, and thread individual responses to each question. Upon finishing, they can wear the special glasses that unveil a deeper meaning of each question. The project employs metaphors to help interpret the discursive artifact. The more challenging options are placed higher to […]

Carbon Scales is a low-tech data physicalisation of carbon emissions acribed to different phases of food production - agriculture, processing, packaging, and transport. People use Carbon Bits (i.e., 80-100g blocks made from wood, screws, bolts, and a binding agent) to touch and make sense of carbon emissions and place these bits on each platform of Carbon Scales to try and guess the emissions it takes to make and transport a specific food product. Source: Lindrup, M. V. A., Menon, A. R., & […]

A handmade bead bracelet visualizing temperature changes in Arkhangelsk city over several decades. Inspired by the Warming Stripes method, each 2 rows encodes a year: red beads for warmer-than-average years, blue for cooler ones. The project involved translating historical climate data into bead colors and weaving them into a tangible artifact—a physical timeline of local global warming. Related: Also see our entry 2013 – Temperature Scarves and Afghans, as well as our entries about data […]

Travels on the Wind is a tangible data visualization of a decade of travel. Each year is represented by a vertical thread with rings and beads encoding data about trip duration, region, season, transportation, accommodation, and companions. The piece was handcrafted over several months using 3D-printed elements, jewelry findings, and UV epoxy resin. Suspended from driftwood, it is both a personal story and a physical expression of data art. Sources: Project’s website Information is […]