About the Book
How can we give data physical form?
And how might those creations change the ways we experience data and the stories it can tell?
Making with Data: Physical Design and Craft in a Data-Driven World provides a snapshot of the diverse practices contemporary creators are using to produce objects, spaces, and experiences imbued with data. Across 25+ beautifully-illustrated chapters, international artists, designers, and scientists each explain the process of creating a specific data-driven piece—illustrating their practice with candid sketches, photos, and design artifacts from their own studios.
The author website, featuring updates and more information about the projects behind the book, can be found here: https://makingwithdata.org/.
Featuring influential voices in computer science, data science, graphic design, art, craft, and architecture, Making with Data is accessible and inspiring for enthusiasts and experts alike.
Table of Contents:
1. Handcraft - Introduction by Sheelagh Carpendale and Lora Oehlberg. 1.1 Snow Water Equivalent by Adrien Segal. 1.2 Life in Clay by Alice Thudt. 1.3 V-Pleat Data Origami by Sarah Hayes. 1.4 Anthropocene Footprints by Mieka West. 1.5 Endings by Loren Madsen. 2. Participation - Introduction by Georgia Panagiotidou and Andrew Vande Moere. 2.1 Cairn by Pauline Gourlet and Thierry Dassé. 2.2 SeeBoat by Laura Perovich. 2.3 Let’s Play with Data by Jose Duarte and EasyDataViz. 2.4 100% [City] by Rimini Protokoll (Helgard Haug, Stefan Kaegi, and Daniel Wetzel). 2.5 Data Strings by Daniel Pearson, Pau Garcia, and Alexandra de Requesens. 3. Digital Production - Introduction by Yvonne Jansen. 3.1 Chemo Singing Bowl by Stephen Barrass. 3.2 Wage Islands by Ekene Ijeoma. 3.3 Data That Feels Gravity by Volker Schweisfurth. 3.4 Orbacles by MINN_LAB Design Collective (Daniel F. Keefe, Ross Altheimer, Andrea J. Johnson, Mahdieh Mahmoudi, Patrick Moe, Maura Rockcastle, Marc Swackhamer, and Aaron Wittkamper). 3.5 Dataseeds by Nick Dulake and Ian Gwilt. 4 Actuation - Introduction by Pierre Dragicevic. 4.1 Tenison Road Charts by David Sweeney, Alex Taylor, and Siân Lindley. 4.2 LOOP by Kim Sauvé and Steven Houben. 4.3 AirFIELD by Nik Hafermaas, Dan Goods, and Jamie Barlow. 4.4 EMERGE by Jason Alexander, Faisal Taher, John Hardy, and John Vidler. 4.5 Zooids by Mathieu Le Goc, Charles Perin, Sean Follmer, Jean-Daniel Fekete, and Pierre Dragicevic. 5. Environment - Introduction by Dietmar Offenhuber. 5.1 Perpetual Plastic by Liina Klauss, Moritz Stefaner and Skye Morét. 5.2 Dataponics: Human-Vegetal Play by Robert Cercós. 5.3 Solar Totems by Charles Sowers. 5.4 Staubmarke (Dustmark) by Dietmar Offenhuber.
About the Author :
Dr. Samuel Huron is an information designer and associate professor in Design of Information Technologies in the Social and Economical Science department of Télécom Paris at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, and part of the CNRS Institut Interdisciplinaire de l'Innovation. His research addresses how humans create visual and physical representations of abstract information to think, collaborate, learn, analyze, explore, and design new data representations, systems and information artefacts. He leads the design studio at Telecom Paris and he is part of the Interact and Diva teams. He worked as the lead designer of the research institute of the Pompidou Center. His approach is grounded in fifteen years of experience in interactive media industries where he worked with a broad range of civic, cultural, and corporate clients. Prior to his research career, he worked in new media art with projects including video art labels on art installations, video mixing, and live performances. For his PhD on Constructive Visualization he was awarded the IEEE VGTC Pioneers’ "Best Doctoral Dissertation Award". He is an alumnus of University of Calgary, ENSAD, INRIA, Université Panthéon Sorbonne.
Dr. Till Nagel is a Research Professor of Visual Analytics at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. His interests are in information visualization, interaction design and data literacy. He heads the Human Data Interaction Lab, which investigates new ways of supporting different target groups with interactive data representations. A major focus of his research is around the themes of urban data and mobility visualizations, and in the democratization of visualization tools. He was the general chair of the IEEE VIS Arts Program 2018 and 2019. He is a member of the VISAP steering committee, of the advisory board of the Mannheim Smart City initiative, and is associated with the Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University. Dr. Nagel has a background in media and computer science, and received his PhD at the Human Computer Interaction group at KU Leuven. He was a visiting scholar at the MIT Senseable City Lab in Boston and Singapore, a postdoctoral fellow at the FHP Urban Complexity Lab, and a guest professor at Burg Giebichenstein University of Arts and Design. His work has been exhibited at Venice Biennale of Architecture, Shanghai Design Exhibition, DMY Berlin, and featured in The Guardian, Esquire, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and many more.
Dr. Lora Oehlberg is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Calgary. Her research addresses how technology can better support creativity, collaboration, and curiosity in a range of domains, including interaction design, electronic fashion, improvised digital fabrication, physical data representations, improvised theatre, and healthcare innovation. She leads the Curio Lab, and is one of the faculty leaders of the Interactions Lab, a human-computer interaction research collective. She is currently the director of the Computational Media Design graduate program, and part of the University of Calgary’s Makerspace community of practice group. In 2018 she was awarded a Peak Scholar of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Knowledge Engagement from the University of Calgary for her work in "People-Centred Technology for Creativity and Collaboration". She was an Inria Silicon Valley postdoctoral fellow with the InSitu group at Inria Saclay. She has a PhD and MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
Dr. Wesley Willett is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Calgary where he holds a Canada Research Chair in Visual Analytics. His interests span information visualization, social computing, new media, and human-computer interaction, and his research focuses on pairing data and interactivity to support collaboration, learning, and discovery. At the UofC, Dr. Willett leads the Data Experience Lab and is a member of the Interactions Lab, the university’s human-computer interaction research collective. He is also faculty in the university’s Computational Media Design and Data Science programs, and was awarded the Faculty of Science's 2019 Excellence in Research Scholarship Award (Early Career). In 2019 he served as General Chair for IEEE VIS 2019, the premier academic conference for visualization and data analytics research.
Review :
"A mind-blowing collection! With the rich visual process descriptions, the creators invite us into their workshops and let us look over their shoulders. You will discover both an exhibition of wonderful data-inspired works as well as the backstories of each of these pieces. Whether hand-made, machine-controlled, or through natural processes, all the chapters show fascinating and bespoke creations of data objects. A much needed collection highlighting what is happening at the frontiers of art and sciences in this new field of data design."
-- Giorgia Lupi, partner at Pentagram and author of Dear Data
"What a much-needed book! Till, Sam, Lora, and Wes show us that data communication can be so much more than just visualization. There is a whole exciting world of data physicalization waiting to be explored, and the authors open the door for us and lead us through it with intelligent commentary. The book takes us to visit different artists, who explain their approaches and tools – from copper pipes to paper, from wood to electronics. It's a hugely inspiring tour. Reading this book will make you want to experiment with data in the realm of the physical."
-- Lisa Charlotte Muth, data vis designer and writer at Datawrapper
"This book has fresh inspirations from innovative artist-inventors who open up new possibilities for anyone who has data that tells a story. The screen is no longer the goal or the limit; freeing designers to explore more dimensions and shape deeper experiences to reach people with important messages about their health, communities, and climate. Data physicalizations break free into new dimensions where playful imaginations can use water, plastic, wood, or stone to fabricate data stories for public installations and private reflections. This book makes me want to turn on the laser cutter and restart the 3D printer to fabricate something startling, informative, and eye opening."
-- Ben Shneiderman, Professor, Computer science, University of Maryland, USA
"A collection of recent and diverse data-driven physical artifacts and sensorial experiences. Projects are beautifully illustrated and described in jargon-free language packed with practical information elucidating the design process, from the tools used to the context of their conception. Making with Data is an invaluable resource for educators and practitioners alike. It broadens our perspective of representing data by engaging all our senses."
-- Isabel Meirelles, Professor, Faculty of Design, OCAD University, Toronto, Canada
"“Designing with Data” is one of today’s key mantras. What next? Perhaps “Making with Data”, as argued by professors Huron, Nagel, Oehlberg and Willett. This timely book explores new ways data is penetrating our living environment and is crossing the boundary between the physical and the digital. Innovative fabrication methods lend materiality to data, as designers experiment with the use of laser cutters and 3D printers to transform maps and charts into tactile models and artworks. A compelling read for any data enthusiast!"
-- Carlo Ratti, Director, MIT Senseable City Lab, USA
