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Flow 2: Visualizing Information in Graphic Design.

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datA floW
V i s u a l i Z i n g I n f o r m at i o n
in Graphic Design

The eight comprehensive chapters in Data

Flow 2 expand the definition of contempo-
rary information graphics. Wide-ranging
examples introduce new techniques and
forms of expression. In addition to the in-
spiring visuals, interviews with The New
York Times’s Steve Duenes, Infosthetics’s
Andrew Vande Moere, Visualcomplexity’s
Manuel Lima, Art + Com’s Joachim Sauter,
and passionate cartographer Menno-Jan
Kraak as well as text features by Johannes
Schardt provide insight into the challenges
of creating effective work.
datA floW
V i s ua l i Z i n g I n f o r m at i o n
in Graphic Design
 Foreword 4
DATAPROCESS 10
Interview
Andrew Vande Moere & Manuel Lima
⁄ › P.28 ⁄

DATAblocks 52
DATAcircles 80
DATAcurves 102
DATAlogy 126
Interview
Steve Duenes
⁄ › P. 140 ⁄

DATAnets 162
DATAmaps 188
Interview
Menno-Jan Kraak
⁄ › P. 214 ⁄

DATAesthetic   228
Interview
Joachim Sauter
⁄ › P. 250 ⁄

INDEX 269
ImprInt 272
Foreword

•
 FOREWORD 6 7 FOREWORD

Within just a few years, the once unglamor- consumption, wacky film plots, emotional Twitter
ous task of giving form to abstract data has messages, there are even web applications to track
become a favorite among designers. This and visualize our sex lives. Often beautifully de-
book serves as evidence. Published a signed, the purpose of many projects can be ques-
mere 18 months after its predecessor, tionable, thus criticisms have often been voiced:
Data Flow 2 is filled to the brim with “ These are just visualizations for visualization’s
interesting, innovative and in- sake ” and “ There’s an overemphasis on style .” In-
spiring examples of creative deed, we see a lot of projects that could be accused of
data visualization. this, and some are featured in this very book. But as
legitimate as these critiques might be, we shouldn’t
forget that the overall quality of information visu-
alization has leapfrogged in the last few years. We
may see more visualizations that focus too much on
“ looks ,” but thanks to the sprouting interest of de-
signers, we also see less llegible, crude diagrams,
unpleasant to the eye, made by people who might
know lots about the data, but don’t have the means
to communicate them properly.

The purpose of visualization

The enormous increase in interest shouldn’t come is insight, not pictures.
as any surprise: information visualization is an ideal
challenge for graphic designers. Trained to commu- Experiments – be they of a visual nature or in inter-
nicate precisely through visual language and experi- active design – are vital to thriving innovation, and
enced in creative problem solving, designers can put since information visualization is just growing out
all their skills to use. It just did not happen earlier of its baby shoes, we should embrace it. As this dis-
because large amounts of data were only available cipline is maturing, best practice will prevail. There-
in the elitist spheres of science and business. Even if fore, the selection shown here is broad by intention.
they had been easily accessible, incomprehensible From individual student projects to comprehensive
scientific data sets or boring business stats are usu- commercial commissions, from amusing topics to
ally turn-offs for most creative folks. These days more serious ones, from handiwork to software-
however, we have all kinds of data on our hands. based approaches, many different facets of the field
We can pick almost any topic we are interested in are covered. Some examples do not even try to con-
and retrieve corresponding data. We can record our vey information in a way that is easily understand-
own data with GPS devices, pedometers and other able to everyone. They use data for artistic purpos-
sensors, access huge databases from governments es, to express and address emotions. Of course, the
and other institutions, or use the petabytes of data borders between art and design are blurry.
generated in social networks. As important as experiments are, and with-
That is exactly what designers, program- out denying the merits of data-based art, we should
mers and even artists have been doing in the last be aware that the field of information visualization
Previous page
few years. There seems to be almost nothing that is far more than a creative playground. It is an in-
Orange Alert USA
Diana Cooper has not been turned into a graph. Personal beer dispensable instrument to cope with the massive
⁄2005 ⁄Acetate, acrylic, felt, neoprene, paper, foam core,
corrugated plastic and map pins ⁄ 203 × 168 × 108 inches ⁄
Photographed by Bill Orcutt at Postmasters Gallery, NYC ⁄
 FOREWORD 8 9 FOREWORD

amounts of data we are confronted with. Every designer becomes an author, not just the narrator.
click on a website leaves a digital trace and as soon Every visualization is an interpretation. By select-
as sensory devices are ubiquitous, even our physi- ing the data and choosing how to display it, a mes-
cal movements will be translated to ones and zeros. sage is formed. This might seem trivial, but it is
We are just at the beginning of an era of recorded quite a shift for graphic designers. Previously, they
data. To make sense of it, to turn it into informa- worked with material which already had a mes-
tion which will lead to knowledge for us, and for sage – texts or pictures. By working with data how-
future generations, is a tremendous call. With the ever, the designer makes the statement. The ability
urgent problems our society and our planet are to misinform or even tell straight lies by the means
facing, data visualization can be an effective tool of visualizations entails a huge responsibility.
to spur us into much-needed action. Information
can change people’s behavior. Making that infor- Information visualization
mation visible, easily understandable and enjoy- is too powerful and important
able to use, is probably one of the most interesting to be left only to designers.
challenges designers have ever encountered.
To live up to this task, a few things are to be In this respect, designers can learn a lot from jour-
considered when approaching an information visu- nalists. Researching, reviewing, analyzing and con-
alization. ⁄1⁄ A good guiding principle (which 1 textualizing facts to devise a message are part of
An interesting read is the
should be printed in large letters over the desk Information Visualization their daily work. That is one of the reasons we in-
Manifesto
of every information designer) comes from Ben on visualcomplexity.com. terviewed Steve Duenes, who manages the graph-
An interview with Manuel Lima,
Shneiderman, a pioneer in his field: “ The purpose of the author of this manifesto, ics department at The New York Times. ⁄ see interview › PP. 140, 141 ⁄

can be found on page 28

2 visualization is insight, not pictures.” A vi- ⁄2⁄ We also talked to Menno-Jan Kraak. ⁄ see interview › PP. 214,  215 ⁄

Using vision to think (1999)

Stuart K. Card, Jock D. Mackinlay, sualization’s function is to facilitate understanding. The Dutch cartographer also knows How to Lie with
Ben Shneiderman
Form has to follow this function. This does not mean Maps ⁄3⁄ and is well aware of his responsibil- 3

How to Lie with Maps

that aesthetics are not important – they are. Some ity when making maps, which are used in (some- is an acclaimed book
by Mark Monmonier,
researchers, among them Andrew Vande Moere, times critical) decision making. In terms of visual- demonstrating how maps can
be manipulated – for better
who is interviewed in this book, have de-
⁄ see interview › PP. 28, 29 ⁄ izing, designers can learn from cartography. After or worse.

tected correlations between the aesthetic qualities all, this ancient discipline was using graphics to
of a visualization and how well it is understood. represent information long before there was such
a thing as graphic design.
Every visualization These are just two examples of other disci-
Is an interpretation. plines which incorporate an element of visualiza-
tion. There are many more – programming, science
However, it is not only aesthetics that help to in- and statistic to name a few. Information designers
crease the information flow. Narrative is a very must broaden their horizons and collaborate with
powerful tool as well. “ I try to write stories in an these related professions. In our complex world,
appropriate and interesting way, ” says Joachim where everything seems to be interlinked with
Sauter on his approach, knowing that ev-
⁄ see interview › PP. 240, 241 ⁄ everything else, interdisciplinary, or even better,
eryone is a sucker for a good narrative. Employing transdisciplinary work, is a necessity. Information
this, information can be conveyed more effectively. visualization is too powerful and important to be
The relevance of storytelling hints at another im- left only to designers – or to any other profession
portant issue that should be taken into account: the for that matter.
DATAPROCESS

•
Dataprocess 12 13 Dataprocess

When certain phenomena or aspects of a prob- psychological processes to food production chains,
lem are better explained by images than words, from how-to instructions to anatomical studies of
the designer has a large number of instru- movements, the examples in this chapter cover a
ments at hand: flowcharts, landscape wide range of different topics, which are explained
diagrams, schematics­ and technical in a sequential arrangement.
illustrations – to name just a few. A flow chart however, does not have to
This chapter shows various ways look like a dull gathering of bare rectangles and
to represent workflows, shed arrows. By flicking through the next pages, it be-
light on complex processes, comes obvious that these kinds of diagrams allow
demonstrate functions, lots of opportunity for representational illustra-
and depict sequences. tions. Take Jude Buffum’s visualization about the
1 processing of animal parts ⁄1⁄ as an exam-
Heritage Beast
Jude Buffum ple. An abstract depiction of the issue would not
⁄ › P. 25 ⁄
have the same impact. Not only do the images of
a cow or pig remind us that all this is about living
creatures, but they also make words obsolete. The
visualization speaks the universal language of im-
agery, understood by everybody.
But images are not always sufficient. Some
processes are better described verbally. That does
not mean the flow chart cannot be designed ele-
gantly however, as Katrin Schacke proves. ⁄2⁄ 2

STANLEY
Carefully edited, it can even tell a story about the the open question magazine
Katrin Schacke
subject between the lines. With a good portion ⁄ › PP. 40, 41 ⁄

of witty humor, Joshua Covarrubias asks simple

yes / no questions to determine the chances of be-
3 ing featured on thesartorialist.com. ⁄3⁄ With-
Oh Snap !
Our Step-By-Step Guide To Getting out spelling it out, the idiosyncrasies of this fash-
Shot By The Sartorialist
Joshua Covarrubias ion blog are revealed.
⁄ › P. 39 ⁄
Not all examples in this chapter are about
sequences though. Like Salottobuono’s illustra-
tion for a magazine, these visualizations dissect
objects, breaking them down to their basic parts
and principles. ⁄4⁄ What is usually hidden is 4

Abitare / Research
now revealed. Information is achieved by unfold- salottobuono
⁄ › P. 36 ⁄
Often the information to be visualized is not just a ing a whole into pieces and layers. The art of these
bunch of values in a database that can be compared technical illustrations is to focus on the relevant
or connected. As soon as time and dependencies details: by highlighting the important and reduc-
come into play – when data follows a path – the ing dispensable information, by amplifying the
flow chart becomes the diagram of choice. From signal and fading out the noise.

Previous page
The Seed
Johnny Kelly
⁄ › P. 35 ⁄
 15 Dataprocess

1
Housing Poverty – This is living !
DensityDesign
Mario Porpora, Pietro Righi Riva,
Luca Francesco Rossi
and Maddalena Vismara
Poverty and social exclusion are tightly con-
nected phenomena: economic conditions
often go along with specific housing and
environmental situations. This map defines
the contributing actors in urban planning
and reveals the involved hierarchies, respon-
sibilities, needs, bureaucracy and budget
streams. ⁄ Scientific supervisors and academic faculty:
Paolo Ciuccarelli (Associated Professor Politecnico di Milano),
Marco Fattore (Prof. in Statistics, from Università Bicocca di
Milano), Marco Maiocchi (Prof. in Networks, from Politecnico
di Milano), Alessandro Casinovi (Graphic Designer), Salvatore
Zingale (Prof. in Semiotics, from Politecnico di Milano) ⁄

2
Thermohaline Belt
DensityDesign
Guido Tamino

3
Boiling Ocean
DensityDesign
Michele Graffieti
⁄ › P. 22 ⁄  Scientific supervisors: Donato Ricci ⁄

1 3
Dataprocess 16 17 Dataprocess

2 3

1
Food & Poverty – The Choice
DensityDesign
Lorenzo Fernandez, Davide Passini,
Azzurra Pini and Shreyas R Krishnan
Visual communication and design can be
powerful tools in effecting social change. This
particular project focuses on food distribu-
tion and access in Italy – and makes us
question the way we shop. ⁄ Scientific supervisors
and academic faculty: Paolo Ciuccarelli (Associated Profes-
sor Politecnico di Milano), Marco Fattore (Prof. in Statistics,
from Universitˆ Bicocca di Milano), Marco Maiocchi (Prof. in
Networks, from Politecnico di Milano, Alessandro Casinovi
(Graphic Designer) Salvatore Zingale (Prof. in Semiotics, from
Politecnico di Milano) ⁄

2
Micro Schematic
3
Anatomie Gummi Bär
4
Pneumatic Anatomica
Jason Freeny
Jason Freeny’s anatomical sketches strip the
virtual flesh of tasty snacks, childhood friends
and kiddie cuties for an in-depth look at the
leisure industry.

1 4
 Dataprocess 20 21 Dataprocess

Previous page
La fattoria dei pesci
Francesco Franchi
⁄ › PP. 90, 207⁄ What a catch: Francesco Franchi’s
“fish factory” explores the state of the world’s
oceans from a human-centric point of view.
In light of intense overfishing, the diagram
analyses fisheries and aquacultures accord-
ing to region, utilisation and species. ⁄ Illustra-
tor: Laura Cattaneo ⁄

50 Years of Exploration
5W Infographics
“ One small step for a man, one giant leap
for mankind ” ? 50 Years of Exploration
charts the history of humanity as a space-
faring species and also includes failed mis-
sions. ⁄5W Infographics, Samuel Velasco, Sean McNaughton ⁄
 Dataprocess 22 23 Dataprocess

1
Boiling Ocean
DensityDesign
Lucia Pigliapochi
Boiling Ocean explores an oceanogra-
pher’s view of the nonlinear impact of global
warming. By contrasting current ocean con-
ditions with a hypothetical future based on
Vincenzo Artale’s projections, the resulting
map underscores the increasing importance
of Mediterranean convection and the criti-
cal maritime interdependencies that could
trigger a future ice age. ⁄Scientific supervisors:
Donato Ricci ⁄

2
Human blood circulation
from Visual Aid
Draught Associates

3
How To Please Elise
Christoph Niemann
A simple, visual guide to Pour Elise and
other piano favourites.

4
Cyclopedic Magazine for health
TUBE Graphics
Tube Graphics’ medical exposé reveals why,
in anatomical terms, back pain is human
destiny and when we should go for relevant
check-ups.

4
Dataprocess 24 25 Dataprocess

1
Von der Weide auf den Teller
Golden Section Graphics
As part of an investigation on the spread of
the BSE, Von der Weide auf den Teller
(from field to plate) follows the journey of
palatable meat – from cattle to slaughter
and end consumer. ⁄ Jan Schwochow ⁄

2
Taster’s Choice
Jude Buffum
From initial aroma to brain stimulation;
broken down into basic anatomy and physi-
ological processes, this magazine illustration
explores how different flavours – sweet, salty,
sour, spicy, and the savoury taste of umami –
tickle our taste buds and pleasure centres. ⁄ Art
Direction: Brian Johnson at Minnesota Monthly ⁄

3
Super Foods
Jude Buffum
The equation is simple – what goes in de-
termines what comes out ! An exercise
in cause and effect, Buffum’s Super Foods
illustration for the American Taekwondo As-
sociation investigates the nutritious input
that makes – or supports – a healthy body
and takes the sting out of science with a
touch of spirited naivety. ⁄Art Direction: Jill Adler
(MSP Communications) ⁄

4
Shattering Records Not Dreams
Jude Buffum
For a prime example of team dynamics, this
illustration on an athletic comeback places
the star centre stage, yet highlights the
supporting players – from coach to health
professionals, cheerleaders and nutritionists
– that put him back in play after a spell
of injury. ⁄Art Direction: Hilary Robynne Fitch (SOBEFit
Magazine) ⁄

5
Heritage Beast
Jude Buffum
Ever wondered what happens to all those
odd bits and pieces that don’t make the
cut for prime rib or steak ? A regular
contributor to newspapers and magazines,
illustrator Jude Buffum has clever simplifica-
tion down to an art – without cutting out
any vital information. His remarkably
unbloody demystification of the rendering
1
industry takes the yuck-factor out of this
emotionally charged subject and reveals just
where those offcuts might end up, from pet
food to sushi, soap and cosmetics. ⁄ Art Direction:
Joe Kimberling (Los Angeles Magazine) ⁄

6
5 Are Your Engineers Talking to One
Another When They Should ?
Jude Buffum
As every model builder knows, it is easy to
take something apart – and a lot trickier
to put it back together again. Playing
on this ubiquitous truism, Jude Buffum’s
deceptively simple and simplistic explosion
graphic visualises the science, technology
and engineering expertise required by the
aerospace industry. After all, highly engi-
neered products are a lot more complex
than they appear – and invariably rely on
excellent communication between the differ-
ent experts involved. ⁄Art Direction: Lindsay Sweeney
(Harvard Business Review) ⁄

2 3 4 6
 27 Dataprocess

1
Modern Industry
Adam Hancher
Modern Industry highlights the impor-
2 tance of effective communication through
the analogy of a circuit diagram. In industry
and electronics, once a single connection
breaks, the entire circuit – or productivity
chain – will fail.

2
Sprint/Nextel
Rafaël Macho
The things that connect us: Sprint/Nextel
explains how telecommunications networks
send mobile communications through the
airwaves or pipe data to our homes. ⁄ Super-
fad: Kevin Batten, Justin Leibow ⁄

1
 Dataprocess 28 29 Dataprocess

Manuel, on your blog you published the Infor­ the same worry has recurrently emerged in dif-
Andrew Vande Moere Manuel Lima mation Visualization Manifesto, consisting of 10 ferent stages of civilization, there is unquestion-
aspects to consider when approaching a visual- ably something unique to our day and age. Some
was born in Belgium, trained in Switzer­ works as a senior user experience designer ization project. What prompted you to write this might say that information overload is foremost
land and now lectures at the Univer­sity at Nokia’s NextGen Software & Services in manifesto ? ⁄ M L ⁄ There were several a problem of design. But how will design cope
of Sydney in Australia. He­ maintains London. Like Vande Moere, he is also­dili­ motivations behind the manifesto, but the two with the prospect of an ordinary laptop storing
the popular blog infosthetics.com. As gently observing and documen­ting ­the main ones relate to the broad overuse of the term every book ever written or every song ever pro-
this beautiful neologism suggests, field of information visu­alization on “ visualization ” and the lack of a theoretical duced ? While new methods will need to be de-
Vande Moere’s main inte­rest his website vi­su­alcomplexity.com. framework able to accommodate the field’s re- vised, and old paradigms shifted, information
lies in the exploration of “in- Again, “ nomen est omen”: cent growth. Even though some might argue this visualization will still be one of the best-equipped
formation aesthetics ,” a the visualization of com- is a time for flourishing unguided innovation, disciplines to answer the call. ⁄AVM ⁄ The

domain only few are re- plex networks is a topic some direction can still be pursued. This mani- notion of “too much” or “too little” is too relative
searching as thorou­ Lima frequently talks festo can be seen as a simple step in that path. to the actual context to make a useful observa-
ghly as he is. about at confer- tion about. What we find useless today might be
ences around You are proposing to differentiate between “  in- of invaluable significance tomorrow for some-
the world. formation visualization ” and “ information one else. It is one of the characteristics of intel-
art .” ⁄ M L ⁄ Information visualization ligence to store gathered knowledge for later
and information art already exist as separate generations, which by itself is based on data in
fields of practice. Having proposed a set of 10 some way.
considerations on the context of information
visualization, I simply considered the use of a Is information visualization just another drug
different term for those projects that didn’t that feeds our information addiction, or the
How do you explain the popularity that infor- for a growing number of people to depict them pursue any of them, hence the suggestion of cure to cope with it ? ⁄AVM ⁄ It can be

mation visualization has gained recently  ? in whatever way they feel appropriate. Social “ information art .” both. It can solve our data hunger by allowing
⁄AVM ⁄ I think there are many different networks, with their complex structures and us to discover exactly what we were seeking or
reasons for the increase in popularity which abundance of shared content, are another driv- But aren’t some of the most interesting visual- wondering about. But at the same time, and
seem somehow to have resonated in a synchro- er for information visualization. As is main- izations we’ve seen lately somewhere in the mid- actually mostly while using the visualization
nous way in the last years. In particular, I be- stream media: The New York Times, WIRED, dle between those two categories? itself, it can provoke completely new questions
⁄ M L ⁄

lieve that because designers have become en- CNN, just to name a few, have embraced an as- It depends on your definition of “ interesting ” we were not aware of before. ⁄ M L ⁄ I like

gaged in the topic, the field of data visualization sortment of new methods for displaying infor- and “visualization”. If by interesting you imply to think of it as an addictive cure to data glut,
has become both more approachable for devel- mation, contributing to a conscientious aware- emotional appeal, astounding beauty, or an in- which might explain why so many people have
opers as well as for end-users, convincing oth- ness for the extended reach of the discipline, clination for popularity, these are all qualities become enamored with this realm.
ers of its true potential. With this move- far beyond the familiar pie charts. that can be embraced by information visuali­
ment, the field has become less reserved for Another important factor is the democratiza- zation, but they are not the only ones. The field’s Where do we need more information, especially
experts, and has been opened tion of visualization tools. Ten central aspiration resides on explanation and in the form of visualization ? ⁄AVM ⁄ We

up as a medium in its own years ago the retrieval, analy- unveiling, which in turn leads to discovery and have an urgent need to use visualization for
our ability to generate
right. This seems trivial but it sis and visualization of large insight. ⁄AVM ⁄ There is no question that socially relevant purposes, ranging from mak-
and acquire data
is quite a revolution to change complex datasets were only there is a need to diffe­rentiate between diffe­ ing people aware of world problems to helping
has by far outpaced
the claim that data visualiza- at the reach of a few. Now we rent ways of representing abstract data, to set people to eat healthier: putting information in
our ability to make sense
tion is solely for finding valu- observe a profusion of open- the expec­tations with users, but also to deter- people’s hands when and where it counts, with
of that data.
able patterns in highly spe- source initiatives that are mine more usable criteria of good and bad visu- the purpose of helping. For instance, it has
Manuel Lima
cialized, colossal, complex, contributing to a wider acces- alization. However, I feel the distinction between been scientifically proven that providing peo-
multi-dimensional datasets, sibility of the field, bringing “ information visualization ” ple with a simple, direct vi­
towards a more medium-oriented function of people from many other areas without requir- and “ information art ” is too sualization tool like a pedo­
We have an urgent need
democratizing the access and exploration of ing a deep knowledge of programming. All much along the already much- meter helps them become
to use visualization
socially relevant data for a large but lay audi- this, combined with our unprecedented greed debated lines of utility versus more aware of their activity,
for socially relevant
ence. ⁄ M L ⁄ In my view there are a couple for factual data, and an immense appetite for art. Instead, I believe the and ultimately motivates peo-
purposes.
of key reasons for the current outburst of in- the universally quantifiable entity, has led to real inno­vation is happening in ple to be more physically ac-
Andrew Vande Moere
formation visualization. First, computing stor- the massive increase of popularity of informa- the combination of the two, tive than any other traditional
age: in the face of contemporary technological tion visualization. ⁄AVM ⁄ I’d like to add which I have named “ infor­ method. Similarly, one can
accomplishments, our ability to generate and a few more reasons: We have seen much more mation aesthetics .” Ultimately, such informa- only imagine when real-time, smart energy dis-
acquire data has by far outpaced our ability to cross-disciplinary education in the last years – tion-aesthetic appli­cations use aesthetic engage- plays would go beyond simply displaying num-
make sense of that data. Meaningful informa- designers learning computing skills and IT ment to increase the information flow, and thus bers, and become more compelling and in­
tion is not a given fact, and particularly now, students using design-oriented approaches. make the visualization – when seen as a tool – sightful about revealing our sustainable usage
when our cultural artifacts are being measured The immediateness of visualizations is also an more useful, more memorable, more engaging, patterns. ⁄ M L ⁄ I also believe that in-

in terabytes and petabytes, organizing, sorting important stimulus. Developing a visualiza- or more educational. In fact, I think it is exactly formation visualization can be an instrumental
and displaying information in an efficient way tion nowadays has a direct result that is poten- those visualizations that accomplish this equi- part of changing people’s behavior. It can ulti-
is a crucial measure for intelligence, knowledge, tially understandable for a large audience. librium, that are currently receiving the media mately advance our ability to persuade govern-
and ultimately wisdom. Secondly, data Also, the many visualization challenges that attention mentioned in your first question. ment officials and lawmakers, while also con-
has never been so widely accessible at such a are still open and require urgent attention­ – tributing to a responsive public awareness for
minimal cost. We see more and more compa- such as visual search, visual shopping, smart “Information overload” is an expression we oft­ sustainability. Our tools are not only a source
nies, governments, and institutions opening up energy metering displays and so on – are stirring en hear these days. Is there such a thing as “too of discovery and insight, but also conscientious
their datasets to the general public, allowing interest in the field. much information ” ? ⁄ M L ⁄ Although actions.
 31 Dataprocess

1
Visuelle Programme 2.0
projekttriangle
Liu Xuejing
Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe
Martin Grothmaak’s seminars at H f G
Karlsruhe pursue the creation of programmes
and rules for the generation of new visual
means of expression. Student projects in-
clude taxonomy of text messaging in the
guise of fern fronds or the dilution and dis-
persal of calligraphy ink over time. ⁄ Lecturer:
Martin Grothmaak ⁄ Course Title: Visuelle Programme 2.0 ⁄ Vi-
sual Codes 2.0 ⁄ www.visuelle-programme.de

2
Smart Surfaces and their Application
in Architecture and Design
onlab
Self-cleaning windows, light-emitting wall-
paper, curtains that generate electricity: the
latest developments in material engineering
suggest a wealth of new applications for
smart surfaces in architecture and design.
Yet what goes on below the surface of those
complex new technologies ? While the scien-
tific explanations might go over our collec-
tive heads, Onlab’s linocut schematics take
the black box magic out of the equation
and peel back the layers to reveal the com-
ponents, processes and production methods
at work underneath. In their strict sim-
plification – due to the linocuts’ inevitable
crudeness – the images focus on the core
principles and demystify the patented fine
print for a clear, no-nonsense explanation
of the materials’ future potential for design-
ers and architects alike. ⁄ Art direction: onlab, Nicolas
Bourquin, Thibaud Tissot ⁄ I llustrations and linocuts: onlab, Ni-
colas Bourquin, Marte Meling Enoksen, Maike Hamacher, Mat-
thias Hübner ⁄ Project coordination: onlab, Judith Wimmer ⁄

next page (LEFT)

I Hate Mosquitoes
Christoph Niemann
⁄ › PP. 85, 107 ⁄ A quick flowchart on those pesky
creatures.

next page (RIGHT)

CRYONICS POCKET GUIDE: Sign up,
2
Cryopreservation and Vitrification
Tutu
Canned human, anyone ? Tutu’s handy Cry-
onics Pocket Guide investigates the idea
of cryonics and its place in modern science,
culture and society.
1
Dataprocess 34 35 Dataprocess

1
The Seed
Johnny Kelly
From tiny pip to flowering tree and juicy fruit,
The Seed follows the trials and tribulations
of a humble apple seed on its two-minute
animated voyage through the human food
chain and nature’s life cycle. Com-
missioned by Adobe, the short film blends
stop-motion papercraft with illustrated 2D
animation and a healthy dose of software
wizardry. ⁄ Story and direction: Johnny Kelly ⁄ Production
manager: Jo Bierton ⁄ 2D animation: Michael Zauner ⁄ 3D
animation: Eoin Coughlan ⁄ Paper modeler: Elin Svens-
son ⁄ Assisted by: Anna Benner ⁄ Stop frame DOP: Micolaj
Jarosewicz ⁄ Stop frame animation: Matthew Cooper ⁄ Com-
positing: Alasdair Brotherston ⁄ Music: Jape Sound ⁄ Supervisor:
Mike Wyeld Foley ⁄ Artist: Sue Harding ⁄ Executive producers:
Charlotte Bavasso, Chris O’Reilly ⁄ Producer: Christine Ponze-
vera ⁄ Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners ⁄ Creative direc-
tor: Keith Anderson Associate ⁄ Creative Director: Tony Stern ⁄
Associate Creative Director: Frank Aldorf ⁄ Art director: Johan
Arlig ⁄ Copywriter: Steve Payonzeck ⁄ Art director: Karishma
Mehta ⁄ Copywriter: Gregory Lane ⁄ Interactive Producer:
Stella Wong ⁄ Art Buyer: Jenny Taich ⁄

2
Brushing teeth Poster
3
How to use it ?
Benjamin Dennel
A colourful manual on the use of a tooth-
brush, Benjamin Dennel’s “ How to ” blueprint
investigates both the human learning pro-
cess and the representation of movement
in space. His methodology of brushing
transforms the ups and downs of a den-
tist’s recommendation into a linear timeline
of the proposed motions. Beautifully
executed – in the colour of healthy gums
and teeth – Dennel’s newly minted visual
nomenclature translates the various swoops
and swishes into a new, universal language
and to a number of different media.

1 2 3
 Dataprocess 37 Dataprocess

1
Abitare / Research
salottobuono
Italian architects Salottobuono are experts
at taking things apart – and breaking them
down into their basic parts and principles.
Their unwavering diagrammatical analysis
exposes weak points, critical nodes and
discontinuities in products and structures.
As co-editors of the research segment
of Italian architecture and design review
Abitare, they now take a peek behind the
scenes and below the hood of innovative
projects and techniques developed in their
native country. Stripped down all the
way, layer by layer, these true-to-scale, no-
nonsense depictions throw new light onto
the latest creations and reveal the structure
and machinations beneath.

2
Manual of decolonization
salottobuono
Salottobuono designed several “ strategies of
subversion ” for Israeli residential settlements
in the West Bank and included them in their
Manual of Decolonization: a generic
toolbox for post-occupation scenarios. The
manual investigates to what extent evacu-
ated structures could be adapted to new
usage scenarios and provides a detailed
architectural representation of possible
solutions. Rather than a single unified
proposal of urban planning, the project sug-
gests thorough transformations on an archi-
tectural scale. Although there are hundreds
of thousands of Israeli built structures in the
West Bank, the number of typologies are lim-
ited to variations on single-family settlement
dwellings and concrete prefab military bar-
racks. The portrayed “ fragments of pos-
sibility ” constitute a semi-generic approach
that could be modified to other evacuated
areas. ⁄ Decolonizing Architecture, Barbara Modolo, Pietro
Onofri, Armina Pilav, Manuel Singer, Alessandro Zorzetto ⁄

1
 39 Dataprocess

1
LUNCH CRUNCH:
Where does the Food crisis
come from ?
Tutu
An information-rich overview of the food in-
dustry, Lunch Crunch explores the lesser-
known facts around the global food crisis.

2
Oh Snap !
Our Step-By-Step Guide
To Getting Shot By The Sartorialist
Joshua Covarrubias
Famous New York street fashion photogra-
pher and overall style maven Scott Schu-
man – aka The Sartorialist – snaps the latest
trends on the public catwalk. So how do
people attract his eye ? Covarrubias’ tongue-
in-cheek flowchart takes us through the re-
curring themes and predictable hot buttons
of this suave global trend hunter. ⁄ Written by
Christene Barberich & Piera Gelardi ⁄

3
How to Try a Terrorist
Fogelson-Lubliner
All paths lead to prison ? Find out for your-
self and pick your own route in this op-ed
illustration and flowchart diagram for The
New York Times. ⁄ Art Direction: Brian Rea (The New
York Times) ⁄

1 2 3
 41 Dataprocess

1
STANLEY
the open question magazine
Katrin Schacke
⁄ › PP. 182, 183 ⁄ Stanley – the open question
magazine aims to fill in the blank spots of
human knowledge, and highlight those left
to be explored. Focusing on the 100 most
significant unanswered questions in the
realm of science, every issue summarises the
current state of knowledge or ignorance on
one particular remaining mystery. In her
overview of Stanley topics, Katrin Schacke
attempts to draw a landscape of knowledge
– an undertaking at least as ambitious as
the quest for answers itself. Divided into ma-
jor disciplines, from astronomy to medicine,
the diagram visualises their interrelations
and emphasises those elusive moments of
wonder that continue to act as sharpening
stones for human ingenuity.

2
samuel beckett – obergeschoss
still closed
jung + wenig
Promotional posters for a series of Samuel
Beckett in Berlin – Obergeschoss still
closed (upstairs still closed) performances
at Literaturhaus Berlin.

1 2
Dataprocess 42 43 Dataprocess

1
Static Movements
Piero Zagami
Lightning-fast and lethal ! With just a quick
kick or flick of the wrist, a martial artist
can defeat his opponent. As part of
his conceptual study of human movements,
London-based graphic designer Piero Zag-
ami reveals the tricks of the trade in this
frame by frame dissection of a master’s fluid
motions. Printed on transparent paper, his
aesthetic experiment freezes the powerful
movements of seasoned performers into a
tangible series of incremental actions.
At the same time, Zagami invites the user
to experiment with layers, adding complex-
ity to these discrete states of being. Taken
to the extreme and overlaid to excess, the
separate, dissected movements re-merge
into organic shapes and dissolve in a web
of tangled abstraction.

2
Neu
Wege zum Fortschritt
Martin Gorka
⁄ › P. 96 ⁄ Neu – Wege zum Fortschritt
(new – paths to progress) uses a street atlas
format to reconstruct how new thoughts and
inventions have spread through the world.
Time, for example, maps society through dif-
ferent ages while a chapter on networking
depicts the proliferation of internet hosts
between 1981 and 2006.

3
Gesture
Élodie Mandray
Dispensing with unnecessary flourishes,
Élodie Mandray’s “ gestural graphics ” reduce
1
a range of sports to their bare essentials –
and from four dimensions (space / time) to
the two of a page or screen. To this end,
Mandray picks apart high-speed footage of
professional athletes frame by frame, and
plots the pertinent positions of hand, feet
and sporting equipment (i.e. golf club, dis-
cus, tennis racket) over the course of the
discipline’s defining moment.

2 3
 Dataprocess 44 45 Dataprocess

1 2
Salticus Spider’s courtship display Metropolis
Clio Chaffardon Twopoints.Net
Some animals go wild during mating sea- More and more designers take cues from
son. Take the salticus spider for example, its nature – the original blueprint of successful
frenzied courtship dance is a thing to be- design. Expanding on this important trend, a
hold – and hard to document in a scientific feature in New York-based design magazine
manner. Clio Chaffardon took it upon Metropolis explores examples of great de-
herself to record and “ re-transcribe ” the spi- sign in the world that surrounds us, includ-
der’s mating ritual in a series of separate ing the evolution of behavioural pathways.
booklets. Subdivided into the dimensions of Whether single file, amorphous swarm
sound (blue triangles), ground contact or or arrow-shaped flight pattern, the article’s
“ leg work ” (black dots and lines) and air illustrations highlight examples of tried and
vibrations that amplify the sound (yellow tested crowd formations and the underlying
and orange shapes), the dance becomes a design principles of a swarm, flock or trail.
thing of severe beauty, stripped of its original Following the lines of least resistance, natu-
meaning. An accompanying poster re- ral elegance and efficiency prevails.
unites the elements of arachnid seduction in
a colourful, yet formalised notation devised
by the artist.

1 2
 Dataprocess 46 47 Dataprocess

1 3

1
Poker Drawings II (3rd place)
2
Poker Drawings I (8th place)
Torgeir Husevaag
The winner takes it all ? In the case of
Torgeir Husevaag’s poker drawings, it is the
process that matters. Here, victory becomes
just another aspect of overall group and
game dynamics. Based on an online
poker tournament where ten players vie for
the pot, these sketches play to their own
set of rules. In order to visualise the group
dynamics between bold, strong chip lead-
ers and more timid participants, Husevaag
draws the path of bets and calls, losses,
victories and eliminations, colour-coded by
type/amount and connected by dotted lines.
Governed by this self-imposed index of
signs and symbols, Husevaag’s illustrations
plot the interactions and interdependencies
of the different player nuclei – including that
of the designer himself. ⁄ Poker Drawings II (3rd
place) ⁄ 2008 ⁄ Ink on paper ⁄ 52 × 48 cm ⁄ Poker Drawings I
(8th place) ⁄ 2006 ⁄ Ink on paper ⁄ 50 × 63 cm ⁄

3
Tempest 1
4
Quantum 1
5
Long exposure photographs
of 80’s era arcade games
Rosemarie Fiore
5 A labour of love and hands-on documenta-
tion, New York-based artist Rosemarie Fiore
decided to play several popular 1980s arcade
games (Tempest, Quantum and Gyruss) all
the way through to their final level. By re-
cording each complete game in a single,
long-exposure photograph, she created a
number of discrete kinematic maps of the
games’ governing structure and play.
4
Still resonating with their era’s characteristic,
pixelated video game aesthetics, Fiore’s one-
frame documentations of an entire game distil
the overall process, the hours of play required
to complete each level, into a single repre-
sentation that exposes the games’ hidden
logic like a digital Rorschach test. ⁄ Tempest 1⁄
2001 ⁄ Digital C-print 48 × 72 in. (122 × 183 cm) ⁄ Quantum 1 ⁄
2002 ⁄ Digital C-print 36 × 40 in. (91.5 × 101.5 cm) ⁄ Long ex-
posure photographs of 80’s era arcade games ⁄
2004⁄ Photo: Michael Ferris Jr. ⁄ Courtesy of Priska C. Juschka
Fine Art ⁄

2
Dataprocess 48 49 Dataprocess

1
Perpetual Storytelling Apparatus
Benjamin Maus and Julius von Bismarck
The plot thickens and the story unravels:
Julius von Bismarck’s and Benjamin Maus’
Perpetual Storytelling Apparatus
transforms forgotten patents into a never-
ending flow of associative serendipity.
Their customised drawing machine parses
popular bestsellers into patent drawings by
analysing a database filled with information
on seven million patents, linked by more than
22 million references. To this end, the
artists’ algorithm eliminates “ filler words ” in
the novel (i.e. “ and ”, “ to ”, “ for ” etc.) and uses
the remaining phrases – in chronological
order – as the basis for patent searches.
Once key patents have been identified, the
programme establishes relevant links, based
on references to older patents – so-called
“ prior art ”, to construct a linear storyline.
In this printed chain of ideas, new visual
connections and narrative layers emerge
from the blend of contemporary plot and
3
technological achievements. The result is a
beautifully meandering tale that evolves all
the way down the paper scroll – yet remains
as cryptic and impenetrable as many of the
patents themselves. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ Customized drawing ma-
chine, custom software, roll paper ⁄

2
remote sonar drawing device
David Bowen
A wave of friendship across the world or
an exercise in (mis)understanding ? Bowen’s
multinational telepresence robotic installa-
tion sparks interaction and interpretation.
At the Laboral Centro de Arte y Cre-
ación Industrial, Gijón-Asturias (Spain) and
the Visualization and Digital Imaging Lab,
University of Minnesota (USA) identical so-
nar sensor arrays and drawing arms chart
the movements of people through (gallery)
space. All sensory information is transmit-
ted in real time to the opposite location’s
drawing device, where a piece of charcoal
attached to the machine translates the
visitors’ recorded actions into a set of skit-
tish gestures. From passive passers-by
to deliberate hand waves, the experiment
thrives on the interplay of movement and
dynamics, but most of all the mutual ex-
change of interest and attention between
both locations. ⁄ 2008 ⁄

3
growth rendering device
David Bowen
In David Bowen’s closed system of growth
and emulation, nature and technology, each
element “ feeds ” on the other. While the sys-
temic set-up provides the plant with light and
nutrition, the plant in turn responds by grow-
ing. As a reaction to this growth, the device
takes measure of the plant’s development
1 and produces a faint shadow – a raster-
ised inkjet drawing – of its latest progress.
Ever-moving and unconnected to the outside
world, the system automatically shifts the
ream of paper after each drawing and thus
signals a new growth and measurement cy-
cle. The project itself is open-ended and
the final outcome not predetermined. ⁄ 2007 ⁄
2
 51 Dataprocess

LEFT PAGE
Tree Drawing
Hawthorn on Easel#1
1
Oak on Easel#1
2
Larch on Easel [four pen]#1
Tim Knowles
Tree Drawing is a series of sketches pro-
duced by tying drawing implements to tree
branches and then letting nature (and the
breeze) take its course. Just like our own sig-
natures, each drawing reveals a lot about the
qualities and characteristics of its “ author ”:
from the light touch of a willow’s relaxed,
flowing line to a hawthorn’s stiff, scratchy
and neurotic marks. ⁄ Copyright the Artist ⁄ Tree
Drawing Hawthorn on Easel#1 ⁄2005 ⁄ C-type print
and ink on paper 790 × 620 mm + 790 × 620 mm ⁄ Oak on
Easel#1 ⁄2005 ⁄ Detail Diptych C-type Print & Ink on pa-
per 790 × 620 mm + 790 × 620 mm ⁄ Larch on Easel [four
pen]#1 ⁄2005 ⁄ Drawing Detail Diptych C-type Print and Ink
on Paper 780 × 980 mm + 780 × 590 mm ⁄

3
Windwalk #2
Seven walks from Seven Dials
Tim Knowles
“ The answer, my friend, is blowing in the
wind … ” A lesson in direction and mis-
direction: Tim Knowles looks to the elements
for an element of chance in our increasingly
regulated lives. Akin to scientific experimen-
tation, guided by external forces, his projects
seek to reveal the invisible powers in the
world around us and the nature of hidden
systems. To this end, he relies on devices,
mechanisms, systems or processes beyond the
artist’s own control. In his series of wind-
walks for example, it is a helmet-mounted sail
that points the way and serves as a guiding
arrow for seven perambulations through Cen-
tral London, recorded by GPS and a device-
1 2
mounted camera. Starting from the city’s
historic Seven Dials structure — the starting
point of seven streets ­— Knowles repeats his
chance-driven experiment until each of the
Dials had been walked down. ⁄2009 ⁄ Copyright
the artist ⁄

3
DATABLOCKS

•
Datablocks 54 55 Datablocks

Rectangles are the most popular shape in infor- of its many good qualities. One that makes it a per-
mation visualization. They are not just applied fect match for information visualization is its effi-
in the classic bar chart or in sophisticated cient use of space. When stacking blocks, nothing
tree diagrams, but also in many other is wasted. Every millimeter, every pixel (also a rect-
ways, as this chapter shows. From angle) can be used to the utmost. Many projects fea-
bars to squares to cubes, the next tured on the following pages are extremely dense,
pages are filled with diagrams showing lots of information in a compact space,
that use areas, elements or without losing clarity. Haohao Huang’s mammoth
masses to divide and com- project of mapping his family’s history is just one
pare data – in all their 1 example. ⁄1⁄ A myriad of numbers are put
Mapping time based on genEalogy
rectangular glory. and historical study into a tight grid, before being color-coded by hand,
Coloring stage
Haohao Huang resulting in an impressive mesh of compressed in-
⁄ › PP. 74, 75 ⁄
formation.
A titan of efficiency is the treemap. This
rather new method in the history of information
visualization is enjoying increasing popularity
and has even found its way into mainstream me-
dia. By definition, no space is wasted. Tiles fill the
whole area, covering everything with datablocks.
A broad overview is provided at a glance, as can be
seen in Moritz Stefaner’s visualization of informa-
tion flow in science. ⁄2⁄ Rectangles also play 2

well-formed.eigenfactor
nicely within the grids imposed by their surround- visualizing information flow
in science
ings. Sheets of paper have right angles, monitors Moritz Stefaner
⁄ › P. 66 ⁄
do too. Within the screen estate, on most websites
for example, HTML and CSS put content into box-
es. Bars and squares align to those outer borders –
and to each other – suggesting harmony, stability,
and clarity. Caroline Fabès’s color-coded typeface
3 system ⁄3⁄ makes perfect use of that.
L’aventure des écritures
Caroline Fabès In their poster for the art and culture
⁄ › P. 61 ⁄
award of Lucerne, Cybu Richli and Fabienne
Burri add another dimension by placing blocks
of data in a 3D grid. ⁄4⁄ Different but relat- 4

Daten des Kunst-

ed datasets are visualized, forming an intriguing, und Kulturpreisträgers
und der Anerkennungspreisträger
intricate structure, while the rigid, rectangular der Stadt Luzern 2009
C2F: Cybu Richli & Fabienne Burri
Everywhere we look, we see rectangular structures. grid gives the viewer orientation. This points at ⁄ › PP. 68, 69 ⁄

In windows, doors, floor tiles, tables, cereal boxes, another quality of the rectangle: its clear geom-
Lego ™ bricks, and buildings. The rectangle is the etry guides our eyes and suggests simplicity on
most used shape in numerous domains, because complex issues.

Previous page
Paper mask
Johnny Kelly
 Datablocks 56 57 Datablocks

1
Meeting Structures
(Overlegstructuren)
Luna Maurer
Meeting Structures (Overlegstructuren)
allows a peek behind the scenes of gallery
routines and administration. Over the course
of six months, the museum’s meeting agenda
took over the public floor in the guise of
colour-coded strips of tape. Charting
the progress of art and bureaucracy across
time and space in a walkable floor instal-
lation, the exhibit reveals the multi-faceted
organisational constellations between artists
and funding, local government and commu-
nication designers at play in a medium-sized
art institution.

2
Illinois:
Visualizing Music
Vocal Album Grid
Jax de León
⁄ › P. 170 ⁄ In a further facet of his Illinois:
Visualizing Music project, Jax de León
translates Sufjan Stevens’ songwriting gems
into a colourful notation. Akin to the
booking system of a theatre, de León’s
method reflects the nerdy pleasure of colour-
ing predefined spots on a grid. Here, each
square represents a single second, colours
indicate lyric subjects and grey areas vocal-
free passages. Squares are split into sections
for multiple voices, while other marks refer to
backing singers or non-word expressions like
“ooh” and “ahh”. Although the pixelated
outcome cannot convey the song’s subtext,
the emotions carried by each individual note,
it provides an overview of the singer’s perfor-
mance – his rhythm, cadences and moments
of silent contemplation.
1 2
 Datablocks 58

1
The Sharp Project
four23
A long-standing Manchester landmark, the
monolithic cuboid of the Sharp Building
stood empty for a number of years. With a
£5m refurbishment on the horizon, the city
wanted to transform the retro behemoth into
a brand new digital media production hub
for the city and beyond. Tasked with cre-
ating a visual identity, four23 joined forces
with local legend Peter Saville to develop a
suitable reflection of the new life in this stern
structure. Inspired by the world of computer-
generated arts, they alit on a logo in flux,
an encrypted representation of the build-
ing’s real-time buzz. The resulting visual
identity – generated from parameters like
creative throughput in megabyte or output
mapped against distance from bar – shifts
and develops over time to represent a cre-
ative community that never stays still or
remains the same.
3
2 Aleatory Compositions
Cinema Redux Hoagy Houghton
Katy Foster Aleatory Compositions is a book of
A tricky brief asked Katy Foster to condense sheet music – written by people unaware
an entire film into a single image. Her chosen of this fact. Houghton’s involuntary allies cre-
favourite, rock epic Almost Famous, fea- ated their pieces by filling a blank grid with
tures almost 50 different songs. Foster’s vi- seven colours, shading the squares which-
sual representation distils the movie’s entire ever way they liked. A colour scale translated
soundtrack into one colourful diagram where their visual compositions into musical notes,
each shade represents a specific song and resulting in a wide range of random chords
white space denotes music-free passages. and abstract melodies.
2 3
 Datablocks 60 61 Datablocks

1
16m 28s
why not smile
Hoon Kim
16m 28s calls time on inequality. Named
after the length of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
seminal “ I Have a Dream ” address, it un-
tangles the rhythm and melody of the human
rights champion’s stirring speech. Trans-
posed into a colour spectrum (from red = loud
through to purple = silent) to reflect King’s
evocative intonation, 16m 28s facilitates
interpretation by adding a supplementary 3
layer of sensory input to the text. Thus, L’aventure des écritures
even a paper copy of King’s speech moves Caroline Fabès
beyond the pure, written content – and into In Caroline Fabès’ “ typeface adventure ”,
the realms of passion and rhetoric. each letter is replaced with a differently
coloured square, while punctuation marks
2 cover the greyscale spectrum. This particular
Poésie de supermarché example applies the code to a pedagogic
Caroline Fabès text found in the National Library.
In her exploration of the mundane “ poetry
of supermarkets ”, Caroline Fabès processed 4
photographic evidence from the stores into L’image du texte
graphics. Deleting all text references, she Caroline Fabès
focussed on the dominant colours of product L’image du texte is a code based on un-
packaging and then retranslated this visual folding each letter of the Zofage typeface.
information into words according to her own The resulting font is applied to an article on
L’aventure des écritures colour code. the image of text by Emmanuel Souchier.
2 4
 Datablocks 62

1
Conversation + Synesthesia
Shaheena Pooloo
Synaesthesia – in this case the colour vari-
ety – causes a brain to associate colours with
specific letters or numbers. Conversation +
Synaesthesia recreates the exchange be-
tween Pooloo and a synaesthetic friend in
a map of corresponding colours.

2
Poetry on the Road 2007
Boris Müller and one /one
Since 2002, Boris Müller has been putting
Poetry on the Road with a range of visual
themes for an annual international literature
festival. The only rule: all graphics are gener-
ated by a computer programme that turns
text into image. Once you have cracked the
code, the piece of poetry is yours ! ⁄ Team: Boris
Müller, Florian Pfeffer, Andrea Schaffors ⁄

1 2
 Datablocks 64 65 Datablocks

1
Visueller Atlas des Spitalalltags
Visualisierung organisatorischer
und kommunikativer Abläufe
im Patientenprozess
Hahn und Zimmermann
The research project Visueller Atlas des
Spitalalltags (visual atlas of hospital rou-
tines) visualises four typical patient interac-
tions at Inselspital Bern in order to facilitate
the analysis of these organisational and
communicative processes. ⁄ Project management:
Barbara Hahn, Christine Zimmermann, Hochschule der Künste
Bern, Forschungsschwerpunkt Kommunikationsdesign ⁄ Co-
operation partner: Inselspital Bern, ärztliche Direktion, Fachs-
telle für Qualitätsmanagement, Annekäthi Bischoff ⁄

2
Statistics Strip in the exhibition
“ Work. Meaning and Worry ”
ART+COM AG
⁄ › P. 106 ⁄ As part of the exhibition Work.
Meaning and Worry at the German Hy-
giene-Museum Dresden, ART+COM turned
graphs, charts and diagrams into wall-
mounted strips of statistics. Protruding out
into physical space and our personal comfort
zones, these facts and figures refuse to be
ignored. As a continuous theme, the
1
long black aluminium thread guides visitors
through the exhibition. At strategic points
along the way, it opens up into pertinent
graphs and charts. The greater the numbers,
the bigger the display on the wall – some
charts reach over three metres in height.
The data strip is complemented by several
interactive media stations where visitors
can get involved and see for themselves
how changed parameters create different
outcomes. 100 interviews add a personal
perspective to these naked figures. ⁄ Curating:
Praxis für Ausstellungen und Theorie ⁄ Concept and Design:
ART+COM ⁄

2
 Datablocks 66

1
Wable
Physical Interaction Lab
See the writing on the wall ? Akin to a physi-
cal bar chart, the web table or Wable mir-
rors personal feeds from web applications
such as Facebook, Flickr or Last.fm and
changes according to the user’s internet ac-
tivity. ⁄ Photo: Joel Stockman ⁄ Illustration: Linn Granlund ⁄

2
well-formed.eigenfactor
visualizing information flow
in science
Moritz Stefaner
well-formed.eigenfactor presents in-
teractive visualisations of emerging patterns
in scientific citation networks. To this end,
Stefaner measures the importance of individ-
ual journals – their Eigenfactor score – as
well as citation flow and hierarchical clus-
tering. The resulting information highlights
different aspects of scientific reporting.

3
LifeMap
Ritwik Dey
Tasked with mapping his own life, this exam-
ple of healthy navel gazing takes us through
the artist’s life, education and ever-broad-
ening interests. ⁄ Created at Parsons The New School for
Design, New York ⁄ Teacher: Dmitry Krasny ⁄

2 3
69 Datablocks

Daten des Kunst-

und Kulturpreisträgers
und der Anerkennungspreisträger
der Stadt Luzern 2009
C2F: Cybu Richli & Fabienne Burri
Dedicated to the winner of the Arts and Cul-
ture Award as well as the Honorary Award
recipients of the city of Lucerne 2009, this
towering graphic underscores the sheer
wealth and breadth of the three winners’
projects and skills. The first data sphere
highlights the complexity of Lucerne’s court
organ, played by organist and composer
Wolfgang Sieber with five manual and one
pedal works. Its 5,949 pipes are subdivided
into 84 registers. The second data cube
displays the number of projects – and their
inherent data – of Honorary Award winners
C2F who completed 250 + graphic projects
since 2003. Last, but not least, the dia-
gram shows the total number of actors and
performances by theatre ensemble Aeter-
nam since 1994.
 71 Datablocks

LEFT PAGE
Geekiness at any price
Arno Ghelfi
This diagram – or gadget meter – for tech
bible Wired Magazine illustrates the time
it takes for specific consumer electronics to
drop in price (vertical scale) and penetrate
the US market (depth).

1
Medal Exchange
John Grimwade
An exercise in demystification, Grimwade’s
Medal Exchange explores the correlation
– or lack thereof – between a country’s
overall wealth and its international sport-
ing success (measured in number of medals
divided by GDP).

2
Mine’s Bigger
John Grimwade
The title says it all. In their race to scrape
the sky and build the world’s tallest building,
nations vie for the highest vanity structures.
From Old World to New, Mine’s Bigger
delivers a handy score card for the next
game of Top Trumps.
2
 73 Datablocks

1
Flocking Diplomats 1
Catalogtree
⁄ › PP. 94, 168, 224 ⁄ A different representation of
rampant illegal parking practices among
diplomatic staff in New York City; Flocking
Diplomats anchors their collective parking
violations (registered between 1998 and
2005) in the metropolitan landscape.
Of all 143,702 violations committed during
this particular period, 141,369 were suitable
for geocoding, resulting in 16,355 unique lo-
cations. ⁄ Geocoding: Lutz Issler, Aachen, Germany ⁄ Thanks
to Ray Fisman and Edward Miguel for kindly permitting us
to use their data ⁄

2
Glocal Similarity Map
Jer Thorp
Similarity maps illustrate the complex re-
lationships that exist between a single
image and the rest of the Glocal image
pool. Starting from one central image (the
seed), compositionally similar pictures are
connected by a series of lines. This in turn
triggers a second “ generation ” of related
images, resulting in more and more branches
radiating away from the central seed. ⁄ Glocal
Project artists: M. Simon Levin, Sylvia Grace Borda, and Jer
Thorp ⁄ The Glocal Project was a residency at the Surrey Art
Gallery’s TechLab.a ⁄

1 2
 Datablocks 74

Mapping time based on genEalogy

and historical study
Coloring stage
Haohao Huang
Haohao Huang’s Mapping Time offers cryp-
tic insights into a national and family his-
tory – and the artist’s own place within it.
Based on an extensive study of past events
and genealogy, Huang’s 25-metre scroll of
codified history is a labour of love and jour-
ney back in time that covers the entire floor.
Juxtaposing landmark events in politics,
war and the natural environment with his
own personal heritage, the artist visualises
pertinent facts on the timeline in painted
colours and handwritten numbers, with cold
shades indicating “ official” facts and warmer
colours alluding to personal events.
 Datablocks 76 77 Datablocks

1
Lifetime
Kerstin Ballies
Life is short and linear – no matter how
hard we try, we cannot relive those fleeting
moments. So how do we spend those long
mundane stretches between birthdays, vaca-
tions and public holidays ? Lifetime splits the
average German lifespan into 847 months
(or sheets of paper), colour-coded by activity
to visualise the more mundane, and probably
no less enjoyable aspects of our lives.

2
At Random ?
Networks and cross-pollinations
LUST
At Random? Networks and cross-pol-
linations focused on the workshop char-
acter of exhibitions to explore creativity’s
non-linear nature and associative and un-
predictable properties. A prime example
of “ work in progress ” and interdisciplinary
cross-fertilisation, Lust’s paper exhibit invited
artists and visitors alike to get involved. To
this end, all of the paper required before
and during the exhibition – 80,000 sheets
in total – received a re-invented Iris print
and became a dwindling in-gallery paper
sculpture. Besides all posters, invitations
and gallery info material, the paper was also
used for the exhibition catalogue – printed
by the visitors themselves on an adjacent
copier. ⁄ Photo: Nadine Stijns ⁄

1 2
 Datablocks 78 79 Datablocks

2
Pop-up book
Mariano Sidoni
From 2D to 3D and back again, this pop-
up book translates data to less predictable
shapes than tried and tested bars or charts.
Sidoni’s objective was an atmospheric/emo-
tional analysis of his big screen favourite
Artificial Intelligence, brought to life in
a range of complex paper models.

1
Dear Gretchen,
Gretchen Nash
Dear Gretchen, investigates almost 200
letters tucked away and forgotten since the
artist’s childhood. In this confrontation with
her former self, Nash categorises all missives
by word and phrase frequency, sender, date
and personal reflections.
2
DATACIRCLES

•
 DataCircles 82 83 DataCircles

A circle represents a whole. Slicing it into parts fascinating of all shapes. It seems that designers
by moving outwards from the center, we get are fighting hard to re-establish the reputation of
shares of that entity. That’s a piece of cake. their favorite. As if to prove that a circle has more
Because this principle is so easy to under- potential than ending up as a pie chart, we see nu-
stand, the pie chart has become widely merous projects using nifty circular arrangements
used for displaying fractions and that go far beyond splitting a whole into slices.
percentages. This chapter how- Design studio Stamen decided on a con-
ever, has more to offer than pie centric array to visualize the popularity of colors.
charts in their typical varia- Thanks to the spherical layout, much
⁄ see › P. 67 ⁄

tions. We also see clever more information than just the frequency of col-
use of concentric grids or use is conveyed. It also shows which colors are
and other circular complimentary (those opposite) and which have
arrange­ments. A the same saturation (those which are equidistant
well-rounded to the centre). The round shape in Germany’s Top
affair. 1 20 was obviously chosen as a visual refer-
⁄1⁄

Germany’s Top 20
Christopher Adjei ence to the topic: record sales. These illustrations
& Nils Holland-Cunz
⁄ › P. 89 ⁄ however, show that the circle is capable of more
than just looking like a vinyl record. A polar area
diagram – with sectors of equal angle but differ-
ent extensions from the centre – indicates when a
song was in the charts and how successful it was in
each month. This makes it easy to spot if an artist
was popular throughout the year, or just produced
summer hits.
When it comes to representation of time,
circular arrangements are very familiar to us. At
least, they were in pre-digital times, when a clock
ticked round and round in a circle. Maybe Rodri-
Circles may not have the best standing in con- go Machado had that in mind when he visualized
temporary information visualization due to their the crazy, complex plot of the movie Adaptation.
dull incarnation – the ubiquitous pie chart. Often ⁄2⁄ By showing the action of the different 2

Adaptation - Inadaptado
crudely rendered in Microsoft Excel, pie charts are characters on multiple layers of time, the intri- Rodrigo Machado
⁄ › P. 98 ⁄
not only associated with regional managers pre- cate structure of the movie (and the wackiness of
senting boring sales projections, they are also re- screenwriter Charlie Kaufman) becomes apparent.
garded as a poor visualization method for display- Illustrator Christophe Niemann on the other hand,
ing information because it is harder to compare likes it more straightforward. To demonstrate how
areas than lengths (as in a bar chart, for example). bad his dreams are, he chose the much-berated
Aesthetically however, the circle is an irresist- 3 pie chart in its most simplistic form. He
⁄3⁄

I have a dream
ible asset in the designer’s repertoire. Its perfect Christoph Niemann proves that it can indeed be charming, at least if
⁄ › P. 85 ⁄
rotundity and unique geometry make it the most done with water-color and a sense of humor.
Previous page
Adobe Kuler Community Pulse
stamen
Community Pulse visualizes preferred color
schemes on Adobe Kuler, a web-hosted
application for color-theme generation.
 DataCircles 84

1
Liberté Egalité Fraternité
Xavier Barrade
Liberté Egalité Fraternité replaces well-
worn stereotypes with pie charts to expose
popular misconceptions about France and
its political system.

2
I have a dream
Christoph Niemann
⁄ › P. 107 ⁄

2
 DataCircles 86

1
London (ethni)City
Matt Willey
An A1 poster to celebrate London’s cultural
diversity, its unique and vibrant ethnic mix,
using only two colors.

2
Linage of sin in the bible
Anna Filipova
Anna Filipova’s diagram provides a graphic
representation of time – measured in sin.
From the biblical “ original ” to latter day
saints and sinners, her work explores the
correlation between longevity and wrongdo-
ings among characters of the bible. While
lifespan decreases from Adam to Moses, sin
appears to be on the rise.

1 2
DataCircles 88 89 DataCircles

1
Feltron 2008 Annual Report
Nicholas Felton
⁄ › PP. 198, 199⁄ A personal tradition and an-
nual ritual, US data maven and information
graphic designer Nicholas Felton maps out
his past in a series of annual reports.
Akin to an intimate CV, this smart exercise in
navel gazing anchors deliberately non-work
related high and lowlights in a personal time-
line and NYC map. A rich collection of graphs
that reflect the year’s travel, photography,
music, food, drink and reading; his Feltron
2008 Annual Report juxtaposes private
events and select public landmarks. The re-
sult is a rich collation of surprising, astute
insights that dissect the vagaries of Felton’s
existence – and the world around him.

2
Germany’s Top 20
Christopher Adjei and
Nils Holland-Cunz
Germany’s Top 20 records the success of
every artist or band that graced the Ger-
man music charts between 1965–2006. Each
circular diagram, or year, is split into 12 seg-
ments. Separate colours indicate hits, while
points keep tab of each month’s success. Hits
are arranged from the outside in, according
to their highest chart position. ⁄ Created at Univer-
sity of Applied Sciences Mainz ⁄ Mentoring: Prof. Philipp Pape,
Prof. Anna-Lisa Schönecker, Florian Jenett (Processing) ⁄ Data-
source by Markus Tolksdorf, Infinity Charts ⁄

1
 DataCircles 90

1
Più veloce dell'aereo
Francesco Franchi
⁄ › P. 207⁄ From TGV to Shinkansen – across
the globe, bullet trains reach speeds of up
to 350 km/h. This image shows the rail lines
in operation, under construction and being
planned for each continent (including total
length and average speed).

2
Team Diagnostic Survey
Hahn und Zimmermann
How do teams work and function ? For this
study, each team member was asked to eval-
uate 30 aspects of teamwork on a scale from
one to five. Team averages are reflected in
circular segments and may be compared to
the Swiss average. The diagram also allows
for analysis of positive and negative devia-
tions from the norm.

3
Women’s Phone
Social Maps
Hahn und Zimmermann
This visualisation depicts the social net-
work and communication habits of seven
people. Coloured marks reveal their respec-
tive means of communication (face-to-face,
phone, e-mail, mail, skype), while a cold-
to-warm colour gradient defines the rela-
tionship with each communication partner.
⁄ Research project «Woman’s Phone» ⁄ Deutsche Telekom
Laboratories ⁄ Management: Prof. Dr. Gesche Joost ⁄

2 3
 DataCircles 92 93 DataCircles

1
Montag – Freitag 17:30,
Zur Analyse von Soap Operas
Manuel Trüdinger
The medium is the message ? “ Monday –
Friday 5.30 pm, On the Analysis of Soap
Operas ” employs test pattern aesthetics to
convey the (unwritten) rules of television.

2
UNSC/R
Piero Zagami
UNSC/R (United Nations Security Council
Resolutions) aims to structure and facilitate
access to decisions by the UN’s executive
body. A welcome shortcut through the
dense information jungle for students and
researchers, the project applies information
design strategies to the Council’s 1,700 +
documents.
1 2
 DataCircles 96

Previous page (left)

Flocking Diplomats 6
Catalogtree
⁄ › PP. 168, 224 ⁄

Previous page (right)

Illinois: Visualizing Music
Word Usage Circle 11
Jax de León
⁄ › P. 170 ⁄

1
When We Fly
Andrew van der Westhuyzen
Just a minute – in an age where flying has
become almost a reflex, just another mode
of transport, the overall numbers of flights
in the air at any particular point in time has
reached truly staggering proportions.
According to the ACI (Airports Council Inter-
national), in 2008, 4.874 billion passengers
travelled by air on a total of 77 million flights.
This particular view of the aerial net
that spans the earth is based on one-minute
snapshots of the number of passengers and
planes in the air at a given moment in time –
little blips on the global radar that add up
to an impressive whole. ⁄ Technical Director: Hugh
Carrick-Allen, Collider ⁄

2
Neu – Wege zum Fortschritt
Martin Gorka

1 2
 99 DataCircles

1
Adaptation – Inadaptado
Rodrigo Machado
Adaptation (2002) as data: Rodrigo
Machado’s project transforms the film into
an infographic. The resulting map shows
the length of the film, the flashbacks and
flash-forwards within the story, the time each
character appears onscreen and the rela-
tionships between the protagonists.

2
Level Green
ART+COM AG
Car manufacturer VW staged an exhibi-
tion on sustainability at their brand park in
Wolfsburg. Deliberately hands-on, the show
encourages visitors to get involved and find
2
out more about what they can do to pre-
vent climate change and its main culprit, the
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Here, a
large sphere – representing Germany’s com-
bined CO2 emissions – dissolves into a num-
ber of smaller plastic globules. Each of these
bubbles indicates potential savings through
for example, increased fuel efficiency or re-
duced meat consumption. Akin to symbolic
shadows of the hovering spheres, a range of
graphics at the sculpture’s base put tangible
numbers to these reduction measures.
1
DataCircles 100 101 DataCircles

ACP Donor Wheel

Joshua Kirsch
Commissioned by the Arts Council of Prin-
ceton, the ACP Donor Wheel is a perma-
nent donor recognition sculpture for the Paul
Robeson Center for the Arts in Princeton,
New Jersey. The motorised disk displays ap-
proximately 2000 names, loosely grouped
by alphabet. Visitors may press letters on
an adjacent control panel to rotate the disk
into position and highlight all corresponding
names with white LED backlight. ⁄ 2008 ⁄
DATAcurves

•
 DataCurves 104 105 DataCurves

When progressions over intervals of time are Financial data however, does not always have to be
visu­alized, a line graph is often the diagram of presented in a typical line chart, as Anna Filipo-
choice. Stock market trends spring to mind va shows. Because the credit crunch has hit many
when thinking about curved shapes, but as surprisingly and heavily as an earthquake,
the next pages show that they can be she uses the Richter scale to visualize the move-
applied to various other topics. ments of the stock markets. ⁄1⁄ The medium 1

stock market
For example sound, which ulti­ becomes the message. Adrien Segal’s medium of Anna Filipova
⁄ › P. 118 ⁄
mately is a dense, chronologi- choice is furniture. The young designer collected
cal sequence of numerous data about tidal movements as the basis for her
individual data points. 2 lavish table. ⁄2⁄ Line charts were created as
Tidal Datum Tables
Adrien Segal a blueprint for the design, the curves were then
⁄ › P. 124 ⁄
turned into steel and mounted in a walnut table
frame. The resulting wavy sculpture transcends
the underlying data set: without knowing what
data has been used – without even knowing that
any data has been used – the dynamic pattern sug-
gests the theme.
A different kind of wave results when
sound is visualized. Different volumes and fre-
quencies form a curved shape. These can be
turned into beautiful objects as well, as French
design studio NOCC proves with their Objects of
Sound. ⁄3⁄ Jorinde Voigt’s Symphonic Area 3

Object of Sound
4 Var. 4 ⁄4⁄ also deals with the visualization NOCC
Symphonic Area Var. 4 ⁄ › P. 112 ⁄
Jorinde Voigt of sound, but the artist examines the structure of
⁄ › PP. 116, 117 ⁄
a musical piece, rather than its acoustic features.
An intricate, alternative score emerges – a curved
In the wake of the worldwide financial crisis, the shape that resembles part of a helix. An associa-
line chart – a classic in data visualization – expe- tion which might be not too far off: eventually we
rienced a revival. Representing developments of are looking at the DNA of the symphony.
stock values and the overall economic climate, the An interesting question arises: how does a
downward-pointing curve has become an almost visualization change the way we perceive – or per-
iconic symbol. A diagram like the one on the previ- form – music ? In electronic music we can find some
ous page looks threatening to us, although it is un- answers. Because it is created on computers or ma-
clear what it is about. It is going down, it is alarm- chines that have a graphical representation of the
red – it must be bad. Conditioned by a prevailing sound, because the musician is not only hearing the
doctrine of growth, a simple curve like this makes music, but also seeing it simultaneously (e.g. a beat
us think of a crisis, although it could represent pattern in a sequencer), it often sounds more “ de-
crime rates, CO² emissions, or HIV infections. All signed.” Another example of how visualizations
figures we would like to decrease. can deeply change behavior.
Previous page
Models
Xavier Barrade
What goes up, must come down: Barrade’s
directional piece on the vagaries of the stock
exchange provides a physical manifestation
of our bets on the future.
 DataCurves 106 107 DataCurves

1
Extinct
Dongwoo Kim
⁄ Dr George Amato, American Museum of Natural History, Sin
Kim, Sofia Kim, Bairon Garzon, Matt Muzard, Chun Wo Pat,
Alexa Nosal, Richard Reiss, Artist As Citizen, New York Times ⁄

2
Sleep Agony Chart
Christoph Niemann
The suffering of those who toss and turn
at night: according to Christoph Niemann’s
illustration, getting a good night’s sleep is
actually a lot more complicated than one
might think.

3
Statistics Strip in the exhibition
“ Work. Meaning and Worry ”
ART+COM AG
Curating: Praxis für Ausstellungen und Theorie ⁄ Concept
and Design: ART+COM ⁄

1 3
 DataCurves 108

1
NYTimes Threads: India & Pakistan
Jer Thorp
This graph charts the frequency of articles
mentioning India and Pakistan in The New
York Times between 1981 and 2009. At
the same time, the image exposes bias and
weighting – darker lines denote prominent
front-page placement, lighter lines indicate
stories buried further back in the paper.

2
NYTimes Threads: Yankees & Mets
Jer Thorp
Akin to NYTimes Threads: India & Paki-
stan, this diagram reveals the frequency of
references to the New York Yankees and New
York Mets in The New York Times between
1984 and 2009.

3
60 Jahre BRD
Ein rundes Jubiläum
Golden Section Graphics
60 Jahre BRD – Ein Rundes Jubiläum
celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Fed-
eral Republic of Germany with up-to-date
information on economic and population
data – and shows how far the country has
come. ⁄ Katharina Erfurth ⁄
2 3
 111 DataCurves

1
Relationship Matters. A sociogram
investigation
Valentina D’Efilippo
All too often, sociometric diagrams ignore
the fact that their data reflects the lives of
real people. Abstract and unemotional, they
tend to lack the human factor. Rela-
tionship Matters sparks the discussion
on social interactions with a simple, but
vital question: is it even possible to show
the relationships between people, places or
things – not by oversimplification, but rather
through a form that captures their intrinsic
dynamics ? Five different case studies
explore alternate ways of highlighting the
links within the artist’s own social network,
focusing on various aspects of its relation-
ships and interdependencies: time, affection,
space, conversations and emotions.

2
Random Walk
The Visualization of Randomness
Daniel Becker
Random Walk – The Visualization of
Randomness explores the principle of ran-
domness through a variety of visualisations.
In this particular case, Daniel Becker turns
the “ half-life ” phenomenon into a no-non-
sense papercraft exercise. In chemistry,
half-life denotes the predicted time span
after which half the atoms of an unstable
substance will have decayed. In some cases
this might take mere milliseconds, in oth-
ers it takes billions of years. And although
the measure is remarkably correct, no one
can predict which particular atoms will be
affected. Exponential by nature, the
process resembles the continual folding of
a sheet of paper – after each fold, it is up
to chance which of the remaining halves is
folded again. In its randomness, the string of
folds – and atomic decay – always takes a
different turn, as visualised in this particular
illustration.

1
DataCurves 112 113 DataCurves

1
Object of Sound
NOCC
NOCC’s Object of Sound collection en-
compasses a candleholder, a lampshade and
a vase. Each item is shaped according to the
sound profile of its spoken name, which is
1 5 transformed into a 3D approximation of the
depicted object. In this way, each creator
adds a further, personal touch to the object
and imbues it with new meaning.

2
“ I Do ” Wedding Band
3
Church Bell (Cuff Bracelet)
4
Atchoum –sneeze (Brooch)
5
Installation view
Sakurako Shimizu
Church bells, wedding vows, a fleeting
sneeze … Sakurako Shimizu translates perti-
nent sounds into laser-cut waveforms, pre-
served for eternity in durable metal. ⁄ “ I Do ”
Wedding Band ⁄ Material: Silver ⁄ Dimension 7 × 5.5 cm ⁄
Church Bell (Cuff Bracelet) ⁄Material: 18K yellow gold,
palladium ⁄ Dimension 7.5 and 8.5 mm wide ⁄Atchoum –
sneeze (Brooch) ⁄Material: Silver ⁄ Dimension 9 × 3.5 cm ⁄
 Photo: Takateru Yamada ⁄

6
waveform necklace
David Bizer
The Waveform Necklace is a customised
piece of jewellery. Potential buyers submit a
digital audio sample (e.g. a voice recording
or a favourite hookline) to be assembled into
an individual necklace that proudly displays
their recording’s sound wave frequencies.
6
 115 DataCurves

1
trikoton
2
Gelsomina
the voice knitting machine
Trikoton
Communication and fashion define our sur-
roundings and help us to express our indi-
viduality. In an update on the knitting circle,
a social event and a place to swap styles
and skills, Trikoton turns user-submitted voice
signals into individual knitting patterns – as
personal and unique as the human voice
itself. ⁄ Photo: Hanna Wiesener ⁄

3
Visible Sound
SOUNDS.BUTTER
“ A stitch in time … ” Visible Sound trans-
forms frequency patterns into tangible stereo
strips. Unlike other types of sound visualisa-
tions (equalisers, subtitles etc.), this project
focuses on the physical representation of au-
dio input generated by a sewing machine.

1 2

3
 DataCurves 116 117 DataCurves

Symphonic Area Var. 4

Jorinde Voigt
In SYMPHONIC AREA, Berlin-based artist
Jorinde Voigt interlaces up to eight differ-
ent parameters in ever changing variations.
She moves easily from the musical notation
of a fictional symphonic area to physical
standpoints within the diagram, and even
positions the North and South Poles in her
drawings. The notations appear to represent
acoustic and spatial information about the
world, but in fact they represent a math-
ematically perfect declination that extends
from the first to the 27th drawing of the
series. A mental space of options and pos-
sibilities is thereby created, which has to
be filled by the viewer. ⁄ Berlin ⁄ 2009 ⁄ Ink, Pencil on
Paper ⁄ 27 Drawings ⁄ 80 × 180 cm each ⁄ Unique ⁄
 DataCurves 118 119 DataCurves

1
stock market
Anna Filipova
In a further variant of credit crunch dissec-
tion, Anna Filipova compares the fallout from
the slump to seismic waves. In their own
way, earthquakes have a similar effect on
the population as financial upheaval: people
lose their money, houses and livelihood.
By exploring the parallels between tectonic
shifts in the earth’s crust and the market-
place, the resulting economic/geological hy-
brid graphs (Richter scale on top, Williams
%R scale below) provide a more immediate
narrative on how this latest crunch shook
up the financial community and the human
population.

2
Bicycle Built For Two Thousand
Aaron Koblin and Daniel Massey
Bicycle Built For Two Thousand blends
more than 2,000 voice recordings collected
via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk web ser-
vice. Although predominantly a platform for
mindless micro jobs, the call for participa-
tion yielded an astonishing variety of vocal
contributions. Assignees were prompted
to listen to a short sound clip, then record
themselves imitating what they had heard.
The resulting chorus of many, a Chinese
whispers version of Daisy Bell – the first
song to implement musical speech synthe-
sis in 1962 – is reconstruction as rendered
by a distributed system of human voices.
Translated into its underlying frequency
patterns however, the score displays no ho-
mogeneous harmony, but reveals a wealth 1
of discordant notes, of personal flourishes
and interpretations, that stick out from the
overall chorus and reveal the irrepressible
individuality within the mass.
2
 DataCurves 120

1
Narratives 2.0
Matthias Dittrich
For its music visualisations, Narratives 2.0
analyses the frequency channels of pieces as
diverse as Beethoven’s famous Symphony
Number 5, rock anthem We Will Rock
You or the Jarhead soundtrack. Separate
channels are displayed in a fan-like arrange-
ment and hint at the work’s rhythm and
pacing.

2
Cinematic Particles
Eva Schindling
Going anywhere ? Or just moving around
in endless circles ? From subtitles to sub-
text – Cinematic Particles charts film
interactions across time and space, from
the dense dialogue of everyone’s favourite
dysfunctional family, The Royal Tenenbaums,
to the ramified search for deliverance in the
mythological forest of Pan’s Labyrinth.
In this automated replay of verbal movie
interactions, timecoded subtitles drive draw-
ing particles: their size, speed and attrac-
tion force is determined by the letters of the
processed dialogue and reveals the film’s
spoken rhythm, pacing and direction. While
long silent pauses become long lines and
curves, movies defined by a rapid succession
of spoken exchanges produce mainly black
ink blobs – their particles are constantly
reset with new parameters.

1 2
 123 DataCurves

1, 2
~IDENTITÄT
The «Gestalt» of digital identity
Jonas Loh and Steffen Fiedler
Let’s begin at the beginning: before we anal-
yse a concept or entity, we require a solid
analytical framework. ~IDENTITÄT – The
«Gestalt» of digital identity aims to do
just that – the study sets out to determine
how a digital identity is created to define
parameters that would enable its compa-
rable analysis. Culled from the internet,
more than one hundred thousand personal
raw data sets served as “ test subjects ” for
the study. After analysis by custom compu-
tational tools, the collected data was then
reinterpreted as a physical shape – to give
each disembodied digital identity a unique
and characteristic “ Gestalt ” in the form of
a generated sculpture. Like the empty
shells of undiscovered deep-sea creatures,
the resulting abstract and amorphous mod-
els might appear alien, but they nevertheless
carry the gist of their online identities within
them. ⁄ Photo: Matthias Steffen ⁄

2
Liquid Sound Collision
Eva Schindling
Akin to misshapen vases that fell off the
wheel – all kinks and curves and skewed
alignments – Eva Schindling’s Liquid
Sound Collisions send opposing sound
waves into battle. In each example, two
spoken audio files of dualistic views – chaos
and order, mind and body etc. – collide in
a fluid simulation. Broadcast from opposite
ends, these statements run towards each
other until they interfere with the other’s
sound wave patterns. A snapshot of the re-
sulting collision is then translated into a 3D
model. In this contorted clash of seman-
tics, natural linguistic antagonists relinquish
their underlying meaning to become neutral
opponents in the physical quest to make
waves and spread their vibrations. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ open-
Frameworks, MSAFluid library, Processing, Dimensions uPrint 3D
Printer ⁄ Produced at the Advanced Research Technology Lab at
the Banff New Media Institute ⁄

1 3
 DataCurves 124 125 DataCurves

1
Tidal Datum Tables
Adrien Segal
Tidal Datum Tables is a record of a
specific time and place. Collected over a
four-week period off San Francisco Bay, the
curves of the USA’s National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s his-
toric tidal graphs are translated into flat-bar
steel. Set within a solid walnut table frame,
these twenty-eight days of a full lunar cycle
display the changes in tidal patterns over 3
time. ⁄ 2007 ⁄ Photo: Daniel Lorenze ⁄ Indizes
Andreas Nicolas Fischer
2 For an even simpler piece of economic cri-
Fundament tique, Indices charts the graphic decline of
Andreas Nicolas Fischer the market rate and places it centre stage.
Fundament offers a new, exploratory ap- To this end, the data sculpture displays the
proach to the macro-economic triggers that development of the stock market indices S&P
led to the financial crisis. Based on data 500, Dow Jones Industrial and NASDAQ be-
available from the CIA’s The World Fact- tween January and November 2008. The
book and the International Monetary Fund, central premise – the economy is not built to
Andreas Nicolas Fischer carved a statisti- last – is reflected in the work itself. Made out
cal map – a hybrid between physical and of cheap, honest plywood, the same applies
conceptual space – from a block of beech to this transient sculpture. ⁄ 2008 ⁄ Poplar plywood,
wood to visualise the global relationship paint ⁄46 × 140 × 120 cm ⁄

between gross domestic product and finan-

cial derivatives volume. Technological 4
advances, combined with financial deregu- Sound memory
lation, have caused the global derivatives (Oslo Rain Manifesto)
volume to proliferate to ten times the world´s Marius Watz
gross domestic product (GDP). The sculp- Sound memory invites viewers to experi-
ture’s swooping curves betray this imbalance ence the full spectrum of music (well, one
across the globe. While the lower half of the song at least) in this fast Fourier transform
sculpture represents the distribution of GDP (FFT) analysis of Alexander Rishaug’s Oslo
across an (invisible) world map, the top layer Rain Manifesto. Sliced and diced into
represents the corresponding volume of de- staggered disks, the basic arc form is re-
rivatives by country. ⁄ 2008 ⁄cnc-milled beech wood, peated and scaled according to the song’s
laser-cut poplar plywood ⁄ Dimensions: 40 × 60 × 25 cm ⁄ spectral characteristics.
2 4
DATALOGY

•
 Datalogy 128 129 Datalogy

The projects shown in this chapter deliver their sound of the area you are in. On this old, beautiful
message by trying to build a bridge between building, a straight line and a few words are pro-
abstract data and familiar symbols, objects, jected: “ Future High-Water Level .”
spaces, or experiences. Rather than us- Using the same data as the other visu-
ing neutral, interchangeable diagrams, alization methods mentioned above, this is most
the information is put in the direct likely the one that gets you thinking. You rea­lize
context of its theme. Analo- that your children’s children will not be able to
gies are drawn which rely on walk down this very street. That bush over there –
the viewer’s interpreta- gone. The bench in front of you – drowned. The
tion in order to enhance Ground floor of this house – flooded. Watermarks
and ­i nten­s ify the 1 ⁄1⁄ is so effective because it is such a simple
Watermarks Project
meaning. Chris Bodle idea – you might even get chilly feet, because this
⁄ › P. 160 ⁄
visualization has got you imagining you are stand-
ing in cold water up to your waist.
Sugarstacks uses a similar principle. By
placing sugar cubes in front of food and beverage
products, ⁄2⁄ we do not just learn how much 2

SugarStacks.com
of that saccharine white stuff is in there – we might Sugar Stacks
⁄ › P. 133 ⁄
even taste an unpleasant sweetness and internalize
a link to the respective item. No chart could do this,
let alone dry numbers. Presenting the information
with a direct connection to its subject tickles more
than our prefrontal cortex, it also addresses our
emotions and feelings. A valuable asset, if the aim is
to educate and inform about health, social, or envi-
3 ronmental problems. In-Formed ⁄3⁄ is another
In-Formed
Nadeem Haidary good example. The length of each prong shows the
⁄ › P. 151 ⁄
calorie consumption per capita of various coun-
Here is something we all know: sea levels are tries: a bar chart turned fork. Try to pick up your
rising due to climate change. The figures alone tasty pasta with this unusual instrument and you
are alarming. If this information was turned into will rea­lize that more food is sticking to the longer
a graph comparing it with data from previous prongs (the rich industrial nations). As a commodity
decades and centuries, it would be even more star- this object would fail. As a visualization it shines.
tling because we could see how fast the water is However, caution is advised. By using ana­
rising. Using a map showing which parts of the logies, the designer relies on the subjective inter-
land mass will be gone in 50 years would be even pretation of the viewer. Therefore, cultural context
more impressive. But, it is still all abstract. Now has to be taken into account, otherwise distraction,
imagine walking down a street. You see the brick confusion, or even misinterpretation can be the
walls to your left and right, you can feel the texture result. If considered carefully however, analogy is a
of the sidewalk, you can smell the air and hear the powerful device in the designer’s tool box.

Previous page
Die GroSSe NEON Umfrage
Sarah Illenberger
⁄ › P. 130 ⁄
 Datalogy 130 131 Datalogy

1 2
Die GroSSe NEON Sex Umfrage The World of 100
Sarah Illenberger Toby Ng Kwong To
In her illustrations for a sex survey by Ger- Boiled down to their most basic, yet friendly
man magazine NEON, Sarah Illenberger gets and familiar signifiers, The World of 100
up close and personal with intimate facts explores a range of statistic binaries to con-
and graphic details. vey information on the global distribution of
gender, language, freedom, eating habits
etc. in the most accessible way.

3
Reflex points
Feet from Visual Aid
Draught Associates

1 3
 Datalogy 132 133 Datalogy

1
I LEGO N.Y.
Christoph Niemann
Stack them up ! A playful homage to the Big
Apple. ⁄ From the book “ I Lego NY”, Abrams Image, 2010 ⁄

2
Apple Globe
Kevin Van Aelst

3
Local Times
Kevin Van Aelst
In Kevin van Aelst’s foodist views of the
world, carved apples teach geography les-
sons and crackers crumble into global time
zone reminders.

4
SugarStacks.com
Sugar Stacks
Stack them up! SugarStacks.com uses sug-
ar cubes to show just how much hidden sugar
our favourite snacks and staples contain.
2 3
 Datalogy 134 135 Datalogy

1
Transparency:
Obama’s Presidential Garden
alwayswithhonor
A graphic exploration of the data available
on the White House garden (commissioned
by GOOD magazine). ⁄ A collaboration between
GOOD and Always With Honor ⁄

2
What’s in the Customer’s
Mailstream ?
Jude Buffum
What’s in the Customer’s Mailstream ?
opens the average American roadside
mailbox for a breakdown of US Post Of-
fice throughput. ⁄ Art directed by Grayson Cardinell
at Campbell-Ewald ⁄

3
Balance Your Media Diet
Jason Lee
Is there life beyond the screen ? Between
work and play, laptop and gadgets, it can be
hard to find the right balance. Wired’s daily
media diet takes apart our digital habits
and suggests a healthier mix. ⁄ Creative Director:
Scott Dadich ⁄ Design Director: Wyatt Mitchell ⁄Art Director:
Maili Holiman ⁄

2 3
 Datalogy 136 137 Datalogy

Hellmann’s “ Family Dinner ”

crush
Think global, eat local: Hellmann’s two min-
ute Family Dinner animation drives the
message home by lifting the lid on a typical
Canadian family dinner – how much of it is
actually produced within the country ?
Laid out on an inviting dinner table, the short
clip dissects our eating habits and navigates
pertinent food facts in a familiar context for
a more lifelike, close to home explanation of
easily digested dinner table analogies. ⁄ Ogilvy
and Mather Toronto, Canada ⁄ Director: Steve Gordon from
Sons and Daughters and Crush Co ⁄ Creative Directors: Gary
Thomas and Stefan Woronko of Crush ⁄ Art Director: Yoho
Hang Yue of Crush ⁄ CG Supervisor: Aylwin Fernando ⁄
Datalogy 138 139 Datalogy

The Food of Art

Nadeem Haidary
The Food of Art exposes the nutritional
content of famous still lifes. Although humor-
ous in nature, the pieces can indicate the
artist’s own economic situation – compare
the 39,851 calorie feast of court painter Frans
Snyders to Paul Cezanne’s relatively frugal,
but healthy spread. ⁄ William Bailey, Eggs, 1966 ⁄ Paul
Cézanne, Still Life with Basket of Apples, 1890–1894,
Art Institute of Chicago ⁄ Roy Lichtenstein, Cubist Still Life,
1974, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. ⁄ Frans Snyders,
Still Life with Fruit, Vegetables and Dead Game, c.
1635–1637, The Detroit Institute of Arts ⁄ Andy Warhol,
Campbell's Soup Cans, 1962, The Museum of Modern
Art, New York City ⁄
Datalogy 140 141 Datalogy

somewhat intertwined. That said, it’s probably organized it and made it easy to navigate. But
STEVE DUENES half and half. those visualizations – the successful ones – did
something else. On top of all that data, they told
The New York Times probably has a large share in responsibility for the Are your team members involved in the whole a story. We didn’t just create a nifty interface
increase of interest in information visualization. The world’s most process, from the journalistic work to the design and then say to readers “ Here you go, you figure
famous newspaper has a long tradition of well-crafted info- part ? ⁄ SD ⁄ Yes, it is often the same it out. ” We tried to make sense of it, and we
graphics, but in recent years they seem to have shifted up a people doing research, fact checking and exe- brought our explanation alongside the nifty
gear or two. The New York Times’s use of functional, care- cuting the visualisation. interface that let readers explore and draw their
fully edited and well-executed visualizations is impres- own conclusions. In our department, I sit
sive, particularly on its hugely popular website. Why are visualisations becoming more and more behind Amanda Cox, an extremely talented
The graphics staff at The Times can largely take popular, especially among younger people? Are journalist and designer. She always cautions
credit for this. They are a team of 25 reporters, theyusedtothinkingmorevisually? ⁄ SD ⁄ against creating visualizations that don’t make
cartographers, designers, and program- It’s hard to say just how popular visualisations a point. She thinks we shouldn’t simply say to
mers who produce the diagrams, charts. are becoming, and it’s difficult readers “ Here is some data.” I
and maps for the newspaper and the to know why. Your guesses are agree completely. Readers who
Explorative tools
in­ter­active graphics for the website. as good as any I could come up are interested in serious jour-
should augment your
Steve Duenes (director) and Mat- with. It is possible that young- nalism expect journalists to
notion
thew Ericson (deputy direc- er readers are used to different uncover things for them. They
of traditional journalism,
tor) lead the team. Steve is kinds of computer interfaces, expect us to do the legwork and
not replace it.
interviewed here: and they’ve been flooded with to tell them things. As journal-
all kinds of imagery their en- ists create explorative tools,
tire lives. Perhaps we have some popularity they shouldn’t shift away from conveying in­
among these readers because we’ve simply carved formation. Explorative tools should augment
out some space in that environment. your notion of traditional journalism, not re-
place it.
That seems to have worked pretty well; your out-
put has got a lot of attention recently. Do you Once in a while there are certain articles in news-
think information visualisations will be a grow- papers which are so powerful that they shake
ing field in journalism? ⁄ SD⁄ I hope so. people up, change their minds and spur them into
Obviously, a couple of our journalistic goals are action. Have you experienced an information vi-
to inform and clarify. Making information visu­al sualization doing the same? ⁄ SD ⁄ I wish

can aid in both of those pursuits. Frankly, there I had a bunch of stories about charts that have
have been good information visualisations in changed the world. Honestly, it’s hard to know
newspapers for a long time, but journalism is what impact our graphics have because so many
squeezing itself onto new platforms that are of them accompany written articles like the
clearly more visual. It’s a great ones you’ve mentioned. Obvi-
The “ King of Pop” dies, oil prices rise, health between 5 and 10 print graphics each day and 3 opportunity for people like us. ously, if the charts are good,
Information
care issues are discussed and the Pittsburgh or 4 online graphics each week. they can only augment the im-
visualizations have the
Steelers win the Super Bowl. Who decides Those new platforms – e-read- pact of the article. Infor­
most impact on their
what’s going to be visualized ? ⁄ SD ⁄ That’s quite a few. I guess your work must be ers, tablet PCs, phones and mation visualizations have the
own when they clarify
Mostly, the Graphics department. With break- influenced a lot by tight deadlines and other con- other mobile devices – are not most impact on their own when
a subject in ways that
ing news stories, we’re expected to react the straints, like limited space in the newspaper. just more visual, but also high- they clarify a subject in ways
words cannot
way other news desks do, so once we hear that How do you deal with this ? ⁄ SD ⁄ The ly interactive. Therefore a visu­ that words cannot. Thinking
Michael Jackson has died or that a plane has space constraints of the newspaper are actually alisation can do more than just back, the department did this
crashed into the Hudson River, we react imme- helpful on the web. It means we have to edit convey information; it can be an explorative pretty effectively immediately after September
diately and start gathering in- tightly, which can only benefit tool. You provide a framework with informa- 11, when New Yorkers really wanted concrete
formation to prepare for a visu­ readers. Deadlines are another tion, but it’s ultimately the users – formerly information about the status of Lower Manhat-
We’re used to working
alization. We also try to story. The experience of deal- known as readers – who will shape the layout in tan. We also got a lot of feedback telling us that
under pressure.
respond to important continu- ing with daily deadlines for a way that answers their questions. That seems our maps were really important.
It can actually be fun
ing stories like the ones you’ve many years helps a bit now that to be a pretty major shift in journalism, doesn’t
mentioned – the debate over we’re “ on deadline ” nearly all it ? ⁄ SD ⁄ Well, yes and no. There has We see a lot of creative and interesting projects
health care reform or the price of oil. Again, we the time with the web report. We’re used to wor­ always been a substantial service aspect to real in information visualization these days. Do you
follow these stories like journalists and develop king under pressure. It can actually be fun. journalism, which in many cases meant supply- keep an eye on current trends and developments
ideas to cover them with visualizations. There ing a lot of information and allowing the reader in this field? Or do you get more inspired by the
are times when different news desks like the How much part of your work is actually “journa­ to navigate to something he or she wanted. “classics”, like Edward Tufte? ⁄ SD ⁄ We

National desk or the Foreign desk will approach lism” and how much is “design” ? ⁄ SD ⁄ Obviously, the internet can be highly in- don’t get a chance to see everything, but we try
us with a specific idea, and we turn quite a few It’s difficult to boil this down to percentages teractive, and we have made the most of that to consume as much as we can. There are plenty
of these concepts into visualizations. And of because we think about design or have a design with a number of our data visualisations, in- of interesting visu­alizations out there and a lot
course, we work from the daily list of stories in mind while we are doing research. And when cluding some of the interactive graphics cover- to draw inspiration from. Of course, the classics
that each news desk produces. we’re designing, we’re making decisions about ing the 2008 US elections and some of the endure. Younger designers could learn a lot from
the structure of the information, which is edit- graphics we created to cover the financial crisis. old, printed information graphics. Many of the
How many info-graphics does your team pro- ing. I guess I’m saying that it’s not a linear pro- Those graphics supplied readers with an enor- design problems they struggle with have been
duce on a typical day? ⁄ SD ⁄ We produce cess where we do one and then the other. They’re mous amount of data, and the visualisations solved in many ways by designers in the past.
 Datalogy 142 143 Datalogy

2
HERR F. UND ICH
Lars Thorben Fischer
Lars Thorben Fischer strips off for his thesis
1
and lays himself bare; from hat to boxers,
codified according to colour and material,
HERR F. UND ICH (Mr. F. and I) exposes the
200 + items hiding in the artist’s wardrobe.
A graphic analysis of the designer himself,
this rather personal and fragmented tale is
based on a hexagonal grid, which also serves
as a section reference. First wall installa-
1 tion, now a book, each segment consists of
Iraq War 16 double pages, structured from the inside
Simon Mortimer out. In order to recreate the poster view,
Iraq War shows the effects of war on the owners may take the tome apart again and
country and its civilian population. The four restage the original in its fragmented glory.
posters highlight casualty data, environmen- Nevertheless, once split into the various
tal deterioration and US war expenditure sections, readers face a peculiar challenge –
on troops and missiles. Screen-printed in its disassembled state, disjointed pages
range targets create a direct link between face each other and put our perception to
the graphics and their subject matter. the test.
Datalogy 144 145 Datalogy

1
Photofit: Self-Portraits
Giles Revell and Matt Willey
Using the old and now outdated Penry Facial
photofit kits from the 1970s, test subjects
were asked to compose their own identikit
image. Without the aid of mirrors or other
immediate frames of reference, the results
were a string of distorted self-images that
reveal a lot more about the subject’s person-
ality than a straightforward photograph.

2
2 Dialogue of Emotions
Guðmundur Ingi Úlfarsson
Take your pick and choose your mood –
cut-up and reassembled, Guðmundur Ingi
Úlfarsson comes face to face with himself in
this dialogue between pleasant and unpleas-
ant emotions.
1
 Datalogy 146 147 Datalogy

1 2

1
CGB
Kenjiro Sano
An eco-friendly and design-conscious waste 4
bag, Sano’s CGB reflects the habits of a
throwaway society. Once filled with refuse, it
adopts the ball-shape of our own planet – as
a last-minute reminder of a fragile environ-
ment and finite resources.

2
Eau Propre = Bonne Santé 4
Slang A River Runs Near It
Clean water equals good health: Eau Pro- Fogelson-Lubliner
pre = Bonne Santé takes this message to A River Runs Near It shows the distance
Africa with an informational poster about between major US cities and their respective
the correct uses of water. Distributed in Ba- water sources. Created as a commission
filo, Togo. ⁄ With Jaana Davidjants / Wiyumi ⁄ for Good Magazine, purveyor of handy
information on leading a responsible, sus-
3 tainable life without relinquishing joy and
In-Formed aesthetics, the diagram opts for unusual,
Nadeem Haidary yet familiar reference points, from the com-
⁄ › P. 151 ⁄ In Water Usage, the faucet displays mon gallon jug to actual human beings.
the amount dispensed each time the water Colour-coded and divided into natural and
is switched on. To encourage awareness, a engineered sources – river, aquifer, lake,
fraction of the water is redirected into the reservoir or local water – the precious spring
faucet’s glass chamber, showing current wa- of life is embodied by real people, spread out
ter consumption and allowing users to track over the reference beach to indicate distance
their usage habits over time. to the respective city.
3
Datalogy 148 149 Datalogy

24_7
Benjamin Schulte
24_7 exposes the automated – and thus
invisible – aspects of our life, the omnipres-
ent routines and motions that have become
our second nature. Superimposed on
the austere and pragmatic setting of a
“ standard life ”, these objects, procedures
and functionalities find themselves in the
spotlight and become exhibits in their own
right. An exercise in everyday statistics,
the results can be a little unsettling. Where
pie becomes pie chart and our lives an as-
semblage of knifes or chopsticks, water use
and breakfast habits. Statistics and averages
start to threaten our subjectivity, that vital
illusion of being one of a kind.
 Datalogy 150 151 Datalogy

1
Form Follows Data
Iohanna Pani
In Form Follows Data Iohanna Pani
tracks and quantifies her own everyday
habits in the guise of familiar objects. Here,
a bar chart of glasses – or topographical
lines inside a coffee cup – might chart her
daily caffeine consumption while pie charts
on plates disclose the results of a recent
blood test.

2
One, two, tree...
studio veríssimo

3
Help
studio veríssimo
Studio Veríssimo add a twist to those ev-
eryday helpers with instructions on perfect
rice preparation and how to add just the
right amount of sweetness to your life. ⁄ Photo:
Ricardo Faria ⁄

4
In-Formed
Nadeem Haidary
What’s on your plate ? A starter dish for Afri-
1
ca, a full meal for Europe: in Caloric Con-
sumption, the represented data – calories
per capita around the world – is visualised
by the length of each prong and the size
of each plate. Benchmarked against
the undisputed champion of consumption,
the United States, the resulting dinner and
silverware serves up an alphabet of (mal)
nutrition – from Algeria to Australia, from
Bolivia to Belize – to visualise the unequal
availability of nutrition on our collective forks
and plates.v

5
DREAMING MILANO
salottobuono
Dreaming Milano, a series of ceramic
decal plates, dares us to peek over the rim
of our own sheltered existence. As part of
an urban planning proposal, it explores city
boundaries as philosophically and psycho-
logically charged regions, where metropolis
and natural environment state their distinc-
tion and coexistence becomes ever more
vital. ⁄ Project by Salottobuono and YellowOffice ⁄ Collabo-
rators: Giorgio Bologna, Gabriele Malvolti, Gian Paolo Morelli,
Wei Jia Tian, Jean-Benoit Vetillard ⁄

2 3 5
 Datalogy 152 153 Datalogy

1
Fingerbowl
Judith Seng
Inverted identity: A graphic reminder of to-
day’s transparent public profiles, of privacy
issues and data protection, Seng’s Finger-
bowl turns this particular political issue into
an aesthetic gesture. ⁄ Photo: Ilvio Gallo ⁄

2
Holley Portrait / Jared Greene
3
Holley Portraits / Niccolò Mazzoni
4
Holley Portrait / Aurora Biancardi
5
Holley Portraits / Tommaso Speretta
6
Holley Portrait / Brittany Subers
Daniel Eatock
Inspired by a typographic self-portrait of
his friend Richard Holley, London-based de-
signer Daniel Eatock devised a simple set-up
to tease out the cornerstones of our identity.
The basic rules: Leave your thumbprint
on the centre of a white page. Enlarge the
print to the size of your face. Overlay it with
a thin sheet of copy paper and secure it
in place with tape or paperclips. Starting
anywhere you like, compose a text about
1
yourself in your natural handwriting, retrac-
ing the lines of your own fingerprint. The final
result is a pertinent self-portrait, a distillate
of what makes you unique: your story, your
handwriting and the whorls and lines of
your fingerprint. In his expanding col-
lection of “ identities ”, Eatock presents a set
of self-portraits that are formally consistent,
yet on closer study, a celebration of their
author’s individuality.
7

7
Fast Faust
Boris Müller
2 3 Akin to an optometrist’s eyesight chart,
where each consecutive line gets increas-
ingly smaller, FAst Faust crams the entire
text of Goethe’s Faust into a single poster
display. Here, the play becomes a sizing
chart: each word’s frequency determines its
placement and prominence on the poster.

8
3 Minutes
Charlie de Grussa
The brief: an investigation of 3 Minutes on
a single A1 sheet. Charlie de Grussa’s
newsprint solution compares two jobs that
share the same principles of handling calls,
yet differ in public perception: an emergency
call handler and a cold-call telemarketer.
Although one is considered a vital help-
er and the other almost universally reviled,
de Grussa’s analysis reveals a number of sur-
prising similarities as well as predictable dif-
ferences in communication techniques.
Broken down into aspects like percentage of
time on the phone, number of words spoken
or wages earned, the study not only exposes
prevalent rhetoric strategies – straight to the
point or faux-personal – but also conveys
the true cost of any 3-minute call (emotional,
financial and in terms of time) to both the
caller and recipient.
4 5 6 8
 155 Datalogy

2
1
Mapping time based on genealogy
and historical study – Posters
Haohao Huang

2
The Cell Phone Revolution
Fogelson-Lubliner
This illustration for GOOD magazine shows
the increase of connectivity in the devel-
oping world (measured in mobile phone
subscriptions).

next page (LEFT)

Visuelle Programme 2.0
projekttriangle
Cedric Kiefers
Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe
⁄ Lecturer: Martin Grothmaak ⁄ Course Title: Visuelle Pro-
gramme 2.0 ⁄ Visual Codes 2.0 ⁄ www.visuelle-programme.de ⁄

next page (RIGHT)

Black Locust
Bryan Nash Gill
In a classic case of art imitating nature (or
is it the other way around ?) Black Locust
pays homage to a natural precursor of data
visualisation: in tree rings, good years and
bad are recorded for posterity in the trunk’s
striated cross section. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ wood engraving on
Okawara paper, 39" × 31" ⁄

1
 Datalogy 158 159 Datalogy

2
rose of jericho
mood data sculpture
Martin Kim Luge
The rose of Jericho is a strange flower: dried
and shrivelled, it appears withered and life-
less. But treat the desert plant to a drop
or two and watch it unfurl at a moment’s
notice. Also known as a “ resurrection plant ”,
this process is reversible many times, mak-
ing it ideal for experimentation. In his
attempt to reflect the tenuous bonds fostered
by online social networks – their constant,
peripheral awareness of our extended so-
cial circle – Martin Kim Luge focused on
the mood tags associated with status up-
dates – how they keep us up to date on
our friends’ mental states without any need
for direct communication. In order to
preserve the ambivalence and complexity
of our emotions, never quite encapsulated
in a single keyword, Luge decided to opt for
a less defined, more organic translation of
mood and mind. To this end, he partnered
rose of Jericho plants with online friends and
assigned a numerical value to each available
emotional state on the platform MySpace.
com, from happy to sad. A microcontroller
would then dispense a controlled amount of
water to each of his experimental plants ac-
cording to their human partner’s particular
mood – the happier the friend, the more the
plant itself would thrive. Based on this
premise, his Rose of Jericho data sculp-
tures are never “ bored ”, “ angry ” or “ upbeat ”,
but convey a more general idea of their
human equivalent’s state of wellbeing; and
just like long-term friendships, this hardy
plant is quite resilient and can survive a
long drought or extended dry spell. ⁄ 2008 ⁄ Rose
of Jericho, Arduino, Processing ⁄

3
Weeping Willow
a tree full of friends
Martin Kim Luge
Can’t see the wood for the trees ? In a more
ambitious take on his Rose of Jericho
project, Martin Kim Luge branches out to
explore further ramifications of friendships
and moods. While every branch of his
weeping willow symbolises an online friend,
its slope reflects their overall mood – the
happier the friend, the higher the branch.
Strengthening virtual bonds by tangible
2
means, Luge mails these lasercut branches
to their human counterparts once a week
where they can be assembled into an ever-
growing sculpture and approximation of their
own online psyche – a nice, tangible touch
in an increasingly noncommittal world and a
regular reality check on the way we portray
ourselves in the virtual realm. ⁄ 2008 ⁄ lasercutter ⁄

1
growth modeling device
David Bowen
David Bowen’s Growth Modelling De-
vice charts the linear progression of natural
growth in a series of plastic models.
Reminiscent of school science projects, the
basic set-up uses lasers to scan an onion
plant – the staple of high school biology
classes – from one of three angles. While
the bulb and growth are being scanned, a
fuse deposition modeller uses this informa-
tion to create an equivalent plastic copy.
The experiment is repeated every 24 hours,
scanning from a different angle. Akin
to the frames of an analogue film, removed
from the projector and exposed for all to see,
the result is a series of 2D models that chart
the plant’s 3D growth over time. ⁄ 2009 ⁄
3
1
 Datalogy 160 161 Datalogy

2
Windbarbs
Tim Knowles
Flying the flag for a new measure of wind
speed and elemental forces, Tim Knowles’
Windbarbs bridge the gap between art
installation and meteorological device.
Gauging wind strength and direction, his
ten white flags indicate how the wind blows.
Knowles’ simple but ingenious trick:
each banner is weighted to unfold only at
wind speeds equal to or greater than the de-
picted symbol, and the key to decrypt them
is just that – a key. Based on the decimal
system, Knowles adds a new tooth for every
ten knots. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ 10 Flags constructed from a range of
fabrics & weighting materials ⁄ Copyright: the artist ⁄

3
Prayers
Germaine Koh
Germaine Koh loves to explore the unexpect-
ed relationships between everyday actions,
familiar objects, old and new technologies
and common places. In this particular
example, dating back to the almost pre-
historic age of the digital office (1999) she
captures all activities of a networked com-
puter and broadcasts them to the building’s
2
exterior in a series of Morse coded signals.
Translated into little puffs of smoke – here
today, gone in a flash – the building’s ce-
rebral activities burst into the outside world
like ephemeral ideas, ready to expand and
dissipate at a moment’s notice. ⁄ 1999 ⁄ Com-
puter, existing office computer network, fog machine ⁄ Photo:
Germaine Koh ⁄ Copyright: the artist ⁄

4
Fair-weather forces (water level)
Germaine Koh
In her efforts to visualise natural – and
decidedly non-natural – phenomena, Ger-
maine Koh creates tangible connections
that turn our world inside out. Her Fair-
Weather Forces for example, transplants
the power of tides – their divisive nature
and forceful inevitability – to the controlled
confines of a gallery. Here, the manmade
waves of velvet ropes move up and down in
accordance with the level of a nearby body
of water. The result: an unpredictable, yet
incorruptible bouncer that permits or blocks
our passage according to the vagaries of na-
ture. ⁄ 2008 ⁄ Velvet ropes attached to mechanisms housed in
custom stainless steel posts, driven by microprocessors receiv-
ing data over Internet from remote ultrasonic sensor ⁄ Photo:
Germaine Koh ⁄

1
Watermarks Project
Chris Bodle
Rise and shine ? Those living near estuaries
or the seaside might be used to spring tides
and flooding, but climate change-induced
sea level surges add an ominous new dimen-
sion to the mix. In order to make this
factor more tangible, Watermarks allows
residents to experience the depth and extent
of future flooding against the background
of a familiar environment. Here, a series of
flood level projections sees Bristol’s bustling
harbour and low-lying city centre submerged
under up to two stories of water – a shocking
projection based on current UK government
predictions as well as other more extreme
scenarios to account for the amount of
variation, uncertainty and scientific dissent.
Positioned on the watershed between 1
art and landscape architecture – between
public perception and the pragmatic issues
of flooding itself – Watermarks takes this
vital topic out of the scientific context to
encourage debate and creative participa-
tion among those potentially affected. ⁄ 2009 ⁄
Digital projection ⁄ Thanks to Arnolfini (Gallery) and Bordeaux
Quay (Restaurant) ⁄

3 4
DATANETS

•
 Datanets 164 165 Datanets

Sometimes information is not to be found in the us in almost any field we can think of – smart
single data record itself, but in its connec- power grids, transportation networks, biological
tion and relation to others. By connecting organisms, financial markets, organized crime
these data points, a network structure and social networks.
emerges where the links tell us more The latter is subject of Murmur Study. The
than the nodes. The following di- installation monitors twitter messages and facebook
agrams visualize these hierar- status updates ⁄1⁄ for emotional utterances 1

Murmur Study
chies, associations, relation- containing words like “ argh ”, “ grrrr ”, “ ohhh ”, Christopher P. Baker
⁄  › P. 176 ⁄
ships, interconnections “ ewww ” in various variations. 30 wall-mounted
and links with many di- thermal printers spit out these personal messages
verse approaches. continuously, creating a tangled mass on the floor.
But what looks like a chaotic structure is actually
archived, indexed and referenced by corporations.
A matter that should make us ponder.
A simple tree diagram is the only illustra-
tion in Charles Darwin’s seminal Origin of Species.
2 ⁄2 ⁄ Greg McInerny and Stefanie Posavec use
(En)tangled Word Bank:
The Origin of Species the same visualization technique to dissect the text
Stefanie Posavec
⁄  › P. 187 ⁄ of this very book: a chapter divides into subchap-
ters, which split into paragraphs and finally sen-
tences. The result is a flower-like formation that
presents an overview of the “ Literary Organism ”.
An even more intricate network emerges
in This was 2008. By extracting the names
⁄3 ⁄ 3

This Was 2008

of people, corporations and other organizations Jer Thorp
⁄  › P. 185 ⁄
from The New York Times articles and indicating
links between them, Jer Thorp creates a dense
Visualizations are not just about making compli- mesh of connectivity. It not only shows who was
cated issues simple. Sometimes complexity can mentioned more often than others, it also reveals
even be the message. A growing visually-literate which names were mentioned together. Call it
audience asks for access to intricate systems, while hyper-tagcloud.
expecting a simple, easy to understand interface As visually striking as this last example is,
at the same time. This complementary relation- it shows that static renderings have their limits. In-
ship between simplicity and complexity – the syn- tricate structure visualizations like this might give
thesis of the two – creates an interesting challenge a proper overview and a good sense of the nature
for visualizations. of the network, but they make it hard to decipher
There are enough domains where design- the details. Here’s where interactivity can flex its
ers can apply the principles of so-called “ simplex- muscles. By zooming in, isolating or highlighting
ity ”. Complicated networks, reticulated struc- certain interconnections, complexity is dissolved
tures and complex organizations are all around and simplicity takes over.
Previous page
Spamghetto
junk-mail wallcovering
ToDo
⁄ › P. 175 ⁄
 Datanets 166

The Force of Things

Ian Dapot
The Force of Things is a series of post-
ers mapping the relationships between cited
authors and referenced ideas in Jane Ben-
nett’s essay The Force of Things: Steps
Toward an Ecology of Matter.
Bennett’s work, a daring examination of the
vitality and wilfulness of nonhuman entities
and forces, quotes a wide range of thinkers –
from Spinoza to Deleuze – and creates new,
unexpected connections between different
schools of thought. In his exploration of these
intellectual leaps of faith, Dapot codes and
connects individual references to visualise the
conceptual territory they occupy within the
essay. “ I began by creating an Adobe
PDF of Bennett’s essay and spreading each
page over the surface of the poster. I high-
lighted the name of every cited author and
connected each reference through line and/
or colour. I tried to demarcate the territory of
each author or work to show how Bennett’s
thinking and arguments were constructed. ”
In its density, the resulting image almost
obliterates the subject matter. Then again,
Dapot’s interpretation creates new, vital and
vibrant tension between different views and
interpretations – thus enlivening the discus-
sion on inanimate things.
 Datanets 168 169 Datanets

1
Flocking Diplomats 2
Catalogtree
⁄ › P. 224 ⁄ Those roving delinquents just won’t
let up. Protected by immunity, diplomatic
staff around the world are famous for abus-
ing their privileges when it comes to minor
infractions such as parking violations.
A further visual variation of the Flocking
Diplomats theme, this particular image re-
veals the most (un)usual suspects and persis-
tent perpetrators by following in the footsteps,
or car tracks, of the top 20 diplomatic offend-
ers in 1999 and their weekly violations.

2
Goals Poster – 1966
Adrian Newell
Putting football on the map: Adrian Newell’s
1966 Goals Poster celebrates all six goals
scored in England’s victory over West Ger-
many in the 1966 World Cup final.

3
Goals Poster – 1989
Adrian Newell
A poster mapping the two goals scored at
Anfield in the decisive title match of the 1989
English League 1 Championship.

4
Goals Poster – Thierry Henry
Adrian Newell
A true homage: all 226 goals scored by Thierry
Henry during his time with Arsenal FC.
1 3
 Datanets 170 171 Datanets

1
UCF Apply
Sean Clarke
Pick up a pen to pick your own future ! In
order to encourage prospective graphic de-
sign students, Sean Clarke invites them to
determine their own direction of study. By
connecting action and subject, they create
new prospective paths.

2
Illinois: Visualizing Music
Jax de León
Jax de León’s project Illinois: Visualizing
Music puts the US state on the map. In
his homage to prolific American songwriter
Sufjan Stevens – and his landmark album
“ Illinoise ” – León meticulously charts all
locations mentioned on the sweeping pop
masterpiece. A concept album of sorts,
Stevens scatters plenty of local references
into the mix, from actual song titles (Chi-
cago, Jacksonville) to fleeting mentions of
lesser-known pit stops like Great Godrey
Maze or Nichols Park. With his low-tech
recreation of this musical road trip, visiting
all locations in the order of mention, León
offers an alternative approach to the album’s
inherent complexity – not as a complement,
but as a visual enrichment. After all, no
amount of analysis could replace the emo-
tional immediacy or visceral response of the
actual music itself.

3
List of Something
Jin Jung
Jin Jung spins a web of words across the
wall: shuffling through examples of personal
poetry, the communication designer decided
to gauge and seek the public’s reaction to
his work by visual means. In this spirit, he
asked close friends to pick their favourite
words and phrases and record those at the
top of the list. The second stage of the
project, the public exhibition, puts these ex-
pressions up for debate and invites visitors to
make their own threaded connections. Each
phrase comes with its very own pushpin and
may be connected to related statements by
a real and proverbial red thread. The
resulting List of Something tells a new 1
story: one that binds author and audience
closer together.

2
 Datanets 172 173 Datanets

1 3
Template 2.0 Flight Patterns
Wealth versus Happiness Graphiti Aaron Koblin
TOKO Just like most products of human ingenuity –
⁄ Template 2.0 Exhibition is part of ISEA – International and humanity itself – aircraft come in all
Symposium on Electronic Art ⁄ shapes and sizes. In this particular version
of connect-the-dots, Aaron Koblin draws
2 vapour trails of light across North America
DRM and beyond, towards the outlying US ter-
DensityDesign ritories, to chart the intensity of air travel
The Design Research Map (DRM) initia- above the continent, coded by aircraft makes
tive aims to build a visual record of design and models. Originally part of a series
research in Italy through annotated info- of experiments on “ Celestial Mechanics” with
graphics and interpretive, comparative and Gabriel Dunne and Scott Hessels at UCLA,
indexed maps. ⁄ Creative Direction: Donato Ricci ⁄ Info- Flight Patterns examines these emerging
graphic: Daniele Guido, Luca Masud, Mauro Napoli, Donato travel trends by plotting Federal Aviation
Ricci, Gaia Scagnetti ⁄ Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento In-
Administration (FAA) data in the Processing
daco, Agenzia SDI ⁄ The DRM book is edited by Paola Bertola
and Stefano Maffei ⁄
programming environment.

4
Barcode Plantage
Daniel Becker
On Daniel Becker’s “ barcode plantage ”, the
humble 2D product identifier becomes a
unique tree in the garden of globalisation.

2 4
 175 Datanets

1
Random Walk
The Visualization of Randomness
Daniel Becker

2
Spamghetto
junk-mail wallcovering
ToDo
Every day, our e-mail inboxes are flooded
with unsolicited offers. Annoying to some,
entertaining to others, Todo decided it was
high time to stop sweeping this metaphorical
junk under the carpet and instead recycle
it for the greater good. Turning (pro-
spective) vice into virtue – or rubbish to
riches – the Spamghetto wallpaper gives
the questionable missives a second chance
and a new lease of life; when generative
software transforms the guilty pleasures of
gaga poetry and bizarre solicitations into
well-groomed branches and fertile fronds,
the result is a lesson in faux-Art Nouveau
artistry and pretty Victorian flourishes.
Chopped up into tiny strings of words and
captured in the constraints of this domesti-
cated Spamghetto, even aggressive sales
or phishing pitches become a thing of unfet-
tered beauty.

1
 Datanets 176 177 Datanets

1
Murmur Study
Christopher P. Baker
Christopher P. Baker’s Murmur Study ex-
amines the rise of micro-messaging technol-
ogies such as Twitter or Facebook status
updates – today’s “ digital small talk ”. Unlike
water-cooler conversations however, these
fleeting thoughts are accumulated, archived
and digitally indexed by corporations.
While the future of these archives remains
to be seen, the sheer volume of this publicly
accessible — and often emotional — data
should give us pause. Whether vented an-
ger, spontaneous delight or just random
thoughts to pass the time, these one-sided
ephemeral outbursts are here to stay – and
could come back to haunt us. Baker’s
installation consists of 30 thermal printers
that continuously monitor Twitter for new
messages containing variations of common
emotional utterances such as “ argh ”, “ meh ”,
“ grrrr ”, “ oooo ”, “ ewww ” and “ hmph ”. The
resulting verbal onslaught prints out as an
endless waterfall of text that accumulates
in tangled piles below, to be forgotten and
discarded or – in this case – recycled for
further projects. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ A live Twitter feed and ther-
mal receipt printers controlled by custom hardware and
software ⁄ Project Collaborator: Márton András Juhász ⁄ Photo:
Márton András Juhász ⁄

2
Relationship Matters.
A sociogram investigation
Valentina D’Efilippo

next page (LEFT)

Innovate, Participate ! poster
LUST
Don’t fret: this is no close-up of a Death Star
clone, but a visual representation of the Cul-
ture Council’s exhaustive research on Arts,
Culture and Media. To illustrate one of
their reports, a poster highlights the vari-
ous links between the covered subjects and
departments. The result is a stupendously
dense, multi-dimensional, textual and tex-
tured surface that frizzes out towards the
edges – and thus an impressive document
of the breadth, depth and interdisciplinar-
ity of the Council’s work in arts, media and
communication.

next page (RIGHT)

Jerry Garcia
Marian Bantjes
A riot of colour and imagination, this musi-
cal “ genealogy ” of Jerry Garcia, founder of
hippy icons The Greatful Dead, adds a touch
of psychedelic flourishes to the visualisation
of the seminal band leader’s influences, con-
temporaries and immediate acolytes.
Suffused with the era’s most prominent aes-
thetics and colour schemes, the free-flowing
pedigree gives plenty of space to those who
provided him with inspiration – musical and
otherwise – and those who drew on his pro-
lific genius. ⁄ Art Director: Phil Bicker ⁄
1
 Datanets 180 181 Datanets

2
How we once became almost
rich and famous
Yvonne Feller und Florian Flechsig
Yvonne Feller and Florian Flechsig’s diploma
thesis explores a life in the subjunctive, of
wishful thinking – and possible paths that
might lead us there. How we once
became almost rich and famous sees
the two students aiming high. Their ambi-
tious goal: to become millionaires within half
a year and to treat this task as a good-
natured – and well-documented – compe-
tition. According to the maxim “ every
dollar counts ”, they developed a variety of
money-making strategies, from a few cents
here and there on bottle deposits, to eBay
sales, risky bets and survey participations. As
part of a social crowd-sourcing experiment,
they also turned to the public for donations
and ideas via a project blog and website.
The visual documentation of their finan-
cial experiment encompassed a book review
(including mission statement, money-making
schemes and a selection of readers’ and me-
dia reactions), weekly data reports with a
detailed list of all relevant actions, e-mails,
blog posts, comments and revenues as well
as an experimental, cube-shaped stage for
alternative presentation formats, e.g. the
number of eyeballs, encouraging remarks
or pessimistic detractors.

1
PARCOURS
Katrin Schacke
Katrin Schacke’s Parcours Guide to Self-
employment – a how-to for aspiring artists
and designers – gives bright young hopefuls
a leg-up in the harsh climate of freelance
employment. Divided into a poster and book,
it covers questions from business practices
to taxation. Taking the classic flowchart
to organic extremes – and thus exemplify-
ing the ramified and non-hierarchical nature
prevalent in this realm – the poster focuses
on barriers to entry, on topical hurdles to
be overcome, broken down into their indi-
2
vidual components. Formulated as a set
of questions, it provides a handy checklist
for “ freelance fitness ”, from reduced-rate
artist insurance to contracts, cost sharing
and copyright.
 Datanets 182 183 Datanets

STANLEY
the open question magazine
Katrin Schacke
Datanets 184 185 Datanets

1
Josef Müller-Brockmann &
the International Typographic Style
Quentin Delobel
Swiss graphic designer Josef Müller-Brockmann
is famous for his simple designs and clean
use of typography. Based on personal web
research, this diagram explores three key
factors: the research process, a chronicle of
Müller-Brockmann’s life and personal reflec-
tions on the assembled insights.

2
This Was 1984
3
This Was 2008
Jer Thorp
A comparative study of the top organisa-
tions and personalities in 1984 and 2008
according to mentions in The New York
Times articles during those years. Lines vi-
sualise connections between listed people
and organisations.
1 2
 Datanets 186

1
2008 Presidential Candidate
Donations: McCain vs. Obama
Pitch Interactive
Pitch Interactive analysed more than 14
million rows of data to visualise the dona-
tions received by the two US presidential
candidates, McCain and Obama, during
their 2008 campaigns. A breakdown by in-
dividual dollar amounts revealed which type
of donations were the most effective. ⁄ Concept,
Creative Direction, Programming: Wes Grubbs ⁄ Programming:
Nick Yahnke ⁄

2
(En)tangled Word Bank:
The Origin of Species,
Specimen Plate 4 (Edition Four)
Stefanie Posavec and
Greg McInerny
(En)tangled Word Bank: The Origin
of Species investigates the “ literary organ-
isms ” that define each consecutive edition
of Charles Darwin’s tome on natural selec-
tion, The Origin of Species (1869–1872).
A taxonomy of Darwin’s own literary
work – and a great homage to his achieve-
ments – six stylised specimen plates recall
and reference the meticulous documenta-
tion of 19th naturalists in the field.
Akin to a scientific classification of species,
the plates examine the similarities and dis-
parities between editions to facilitate the
comparison of structure, common features
(first/last chapter) and the painstaking an-
notation and subdivision of organisational
principles. Additional colours denote text in-
sertions, text deletions and the age of any
particular passage. ⁄ This project was produced for
Microsoft Research, Cambridge ⁄ www.darwin-online.org.uk
provided the digital text ⁄

1 2
DATAMAPS

•
 Datamaps 190 191 Datamaps

The lion’s share of the digital data currently col- They go wild. Sometimes a bit too wild, thinks
lected includes some sort of geospatial ref- Dutch cartographer Menno-Jan Kraak. ⁄ see interview › PP. 214,  215 ⁄

erence. Geographical associations can be But the professional map-maker also acknowledges
made using GPS-devices – which deter- that the often unorthodox ideas of artists and de-
mine the location precisely by co-ordi- signers – their creative ways of problem solving and
nates – but also using postal codes, their sense for aesthetics – are a very much appreci-
names or other notions of place. ated inspiration among cartographers.
No wonder maps are so om- This chapter is jam-packed with those in-
nipresent these days. This spirations. Take Torgeir Husevaag’s hand-drawn
chapter features diverse 1 map of secret fishing spots, ⁄1⁄ for example.
Maps of secret fishing locations
approaches to map de- (no 5) By deliberately omitting information on exact lo-
Torgeir Husevaag
sign,fromcarvingto ⁄ › P. 210 ⁄ cation, but creating a sense of enchantment with
Processing, from his beautiful illustrations, he piques curiosity in
minimalist to the depicted locations and encourages the viewer
opulent. to explore the area. Perhaps it is a reaction to the
ubiquity of Google Maps and the like that we see
lots of artfully crafted maps recently. For example,
Mark Webber’s mix of topography and typogra-
phy which couldn’t be farther away from the many
“ map-mashups ” we see on the internet. His City
Maps ⁄2⁄ are carved from linoleum – some- 2

where in the world

thing you might remember from your craft classes city map series
Mark Webber
at school – and then printed on large, thick sheets ⁄ › P. 200 ⁄

of paper. Designer Hoon Kim pitches in a domain

that has yet to be fully researched in scientific car-
tography: the geospatial visualization of acoustic
3 events. ⁄3⁄Combining the diverse and tran-
Walk on Red EX1
why not smile sient attributes of sound with spatial data is a very
Hoon Kim
⁄ › PP. 196, 197 ⁄ difficult challenge. But with the increasing noise
Maps are fascinating. They fuel our dreams about that we are exposed to in urban areas, causing
foreign places and imaginative travel routes. They mental and physical damage, this information is
give us an overview of our huge planet and thus getting more and more important.
might make us feel more in control. They help us While the above mentioned examples
to understand the world by telling us about history, all have spatial references, not everything in this
nature, politics and society, and if we get lost in a chapter does. Abi Huynh’s positioning of places
strange town, they are pretty handy too. Many de- ⁄4⁄ isn’t based on latitude and longitude, but 4

Earth map (excerpt)

signers however, are drawn to maps for other rea- on his very own associations. A sort of mind map. abiabiabi
⁄ › P. 225 ⁄
sons. With their intricate outlines, manifold color- The question begs to be asked: is this a map at all ?
schemes and abstract symbols, maps are to designers (A cartographer would probably answer with a
Previous page what an unsupervised toy store is for five-year-olds. resolute NO.)
Maps
Corriette Schoenaerts
For her fashion spread on countries and
borders, Corriette Schonaerts created sev-
eral fabric(ated) maps and landscapes that
circumvent traditional beauty and fashion
clichés. ⁄ Styling: Emmeline de Mooij ⁄
 Datamaps 192 193 Datamaps

1
seoul Railway System
2
New york city Railway System
3
Hokkaido Railway System
ZERO PER ZERO
Captured in a snowflake’s symmetry,
Zeroperzero’s railway map transforms the en-
tire island of Hokkaido – famous for its fine,
powdery snow – into a single snow crystal.

3
Datamaps 194 195 Datamaps

1
The light City
Clémentine Tantet
Like the glistening stars and seductive con-
stellations on the firmament, Clémentine
Tantet’s The Light City illuminates La
Ville-Lumière with a nocturnal remake of
Paris’ subway map.

2
Dabbawalla’s
GMI Grandmother India Design
Commuters in Mumbai love their home
cooking. Every day, the city’s 5000 Dab-
bawallas – or food couriers – collect nearly
200,000 meals from commuter’s homes and
deliver them to their workplace for lunch. In
its efforts to record and catalogue Mumbai’s
rich typographic palette, the Typocity project
proposes to digitise some of the more famil-
1 iar Dabbawalla icons and incorporate them
into the signage, tickets and timetables of
public transport to enrich Mumbai’s visual
language. ⁄ Concept, Research, Reinterpretation: Kurnal
Rawat ⁄ Photography, Research assistant: Danesh Anita ⁄

3
Subway of Paris
Mehdi Sedira
Mehdi Sedira’s graphic experiments explore
the aesthetic and practical differences be-
tween international subway maps. Often the
backbone of a metropolis, each public trans-
port network has its own signage system.
Broken down into basic icons and pertinent
elements, its particular flair, feel and aes-
thetics become even more apparent.
3
 Datamaps 196 197 Datamaps

2
I am the place where I am 16
why not smile
Hoon Kim
In a slightly different take on a map, I am
the place where I am is filled with subjec-
tive representations of the artist’s personal
(aural) memories. The resulting work is in-
stalled at the actual site of the memory.

1
Walk on Red EX1
why not smile
Hoon Kim
Walk on Red analyses the noise complaints
registered in four adjoining Manhattan
neighbourhoods – Soho, Wall Street, Mid-
town and Inwood – and their correlation to
population densities and mixed property us-
1
ages. The graphic images are accompanied
by photographs, satellite images and docu-
mentary data. ⁄ Data preparation by Sarah Williams ⁄
Datamaps 198 199 Datamaps
 Datamaps 200 201 Datamaps

previous page
Feltron 2008 Annual Report
Nicholas Felton

where in the world

city map series
Mark Webber
It’s all in the name: Webber’s where in
the world series of city maps takes us
on a typographical excursion to Amsterdam,
London, Paris and New York. While carving
the descriptions of districts and landmarks
for his outsized lino prints, the artist himself
has to stay on track – one misplaced cut
and all would be in vain.
 Datamaps

Wanderwort
Golden Section Graphics
Craving a bratwurst ? Or wishing to explore
your inner hausfrau ? Look no further than
this map to retrace the sneaking spread of
Teutonic tongue twisters. Colour-coded by
topic, the Wanderwort project tracks the
surprisingly rich seepage and migration of
German expressions into other languages.
A treasure trove for linguists, the poster
– commissioned by the German Goethe
Institut – not only serves up verbal stum-
bling blocks for a healthy sprinkling of um-
laut-laced idiosyncrasies, but also reflects
emigration patterns, trade routes and cross-
fertilisation with other idioms. ⁄ Jan Schwochow,
Katharina Erfurth, Sebastian Piesker ⁄
 Datamaps 204 205 Datamaps

1
France
Clio Chaffardon
Wordless yet evocative, France is just what
it says on the cover. Based on drawings by
a variety of people who live in this European
country, Clio Chaffardon’s monochrome cut-
outs highlight how individual perception can
change the basic appearance and character
of your (native or adopted) soil and psy-
chogeography. An exercise in symbol-
ism and simplification, the book underscores
notions of territory and identification: while
the country’s five main appendages around
the bulky torso tend to remain recognisable,
individual memories and interpretation en-
gender marked shifts in the nation’s size,
shape and expanse.

2
Fortress Europe maps
LUST
Every year, thousands of refugees head for
Europe in hope of a better life. Those who
make it however, tend to end up in prison-
like camps. Fortress Europe puts these
rarely reported holding camps on the map
and documents their continued spread: the
current toll is 13,000 and counting. ⁄ In coopera-
tion with JuangJuang Long ⁄

1 2
Datamaps 206 207 Datamaps

Attenti a questo dragone

Francesco Franchi
Attenti a questo dragone places the
world on “ red alert ” with its decidedly non-
combative depiction of Chinese trade and
population distribution. Retracing trade
routes and cultural spread, it also shows
migratory flows and the world’s biggest ex-
patriate communities, i.e Chinatowns. ⁄ Ship
Illustration: Danilo Agutoli ⁄

next page
A new cartography of Europe
Diffusion and technology
Impact in the EU27
DensityDesign
Visualising statistics can be a dry business.
Density Design put pertinent figures and
design on the map with their investigation
of the spread and impact of communica-
tion technologies among the 27 EU mem-
ber states. Based on two recent EU
Commission surveys, the project overlays a
contour map – to visualise the perceived
impact of broadband and mobile phones
in each country – with a cartogram of
technological dispersal. From this arises a
new geography – a re-imagined European
landscape – that keeps its proportions but
changes morphology. Here, the tectonic
shift in communications technology throws
up new mountain ranges for a novel topol-
ogy of interaction and a tangible, visual ap-
proximation of technological spread and ac-
ceptance. ⁄ Scientific supervisor: Paolo Ciuccarelli, Marco
Fattore ⁄ Creative Direction: Donato Ricci ⁄ Code Development:
Giorgio Caviglia, Michele Mauri ⁄ Designer: Lorenzo Fernan-
dez, Luca Masud, Mario Porpora ⁄
Datamaps 208 209 Datamaps
 Datamaps 210 211 Datamaps

1 4
Through 150 dry wellbores Vinex Atlas
(№ 3) Joost Grootens
Torgeir Husevaag The first in-depth account of the Netherland’s
Oil and gas underpin Norway’s economy: notorious state-planned Vinex settlements
Most of the country’s relative wealth is based documents 52 sample districts via plans, site
on these finite offshore resources. data and aerial views from the mid-nineties
A celebration of frontier spirit and explora- and more recent onsite photography. ⁄ Design
tion, but also a timely reminder of the pre- book and maps: Studio Joost Grootens (Joost Grootens with
Tine van Wel, Jim Biekmann and Anna Iwansson) ⁄
cious resources’ ephemeral nature, Torgeir
Husevaag’s Wellbores map every dry, i.e.
unsuccessful, bore well drilled between the
start of Norwegian oil exploitation in 1967
and August 1984, when the Snowhite gas
field was discovered. While bore hole
numbers (from 1 to 150) and colour codes
retrace the timeline, water depth and the
depth of deep-sea drilling, the overall picture
underscores the expanding search for natural
resources – pushing ever north and further
down. A beautiful record of things past,
of progress and pioneering, but also a hint
of things to come, of future boundaries to
exploration and exploitation; this commission
for one of the fleet’s active tankers is a wel-
come reminder of human ingenuity – and
its natural limits. ⁄ Through 150 dry wellbores
(№ 3)­ ⁄­2005 ⁄ Ink on paper ⁄ 84 × 80 cm ⁄

2
Maps of secret fishing locations
(№ 5)
3
Maps of secret fishing locations
(№ 3)
Torgeir Husevaag
A treasure chest of public information on
all things maritime, the Norwegian Coastal
Administration seems to have it all, and yet
there are still blind spots in their archives.
Norwegian artist Torgeir Husevaag decided
to fill some of the gaps with a thoughtful
gift: a series of drawings that reflect local
lore and individual knowledge of “ secret ”
fishing spots with exceptionally promising
yields. More a riddle than a set of direc-
tions, these artworks are not straightforward
maps. Although they show each location and
how to take the right bearings (without GPS),
it is precisely their level of loving detail that
prevents them from being effective naviga-
tional aids. Close up – and devoid of
further points of reference such as latitude
or longitude – these tantalising gems be-
come isolated islands and thus keep the local
fishermen’s secrets safe after all. ⁄ Photo: Werner
Zellien ⁄ Maps of secret fishing locations (№ 5) ⁄ 2004
⁄ Ink on paper ⁄ 76 × 84 cm ⁄ Maps of secret fishing loca-
tions (№ 3) ⁄ 2004 ⁄ Ink on paper ⁄

2 3 4
 Datamaps 212 213 Datamaps

3
Just Landed
Jer Thorp
In a variation of epidemiological disease
transmissions models, Just Landed plots
social network movements. Based on tweets
containing the phrases “ just landed in ... ”
or “ just arrived in ... ” the resulting travel
destinations were mapped via MetaCarta’s
Location Finder API and cross-referenced
against the tweeter’s home location to plot
relevant routes.

4
Geohistoriography
Tim Schwartz
In a slightly different iteration of his con-
spiracy theme, Schwartz expands his re-
drawn maps from the view of one person
to that of America as a whole. For this
world according to one US newspaper, the
digital media artist scanned the archives of
for the number of articles written on each
country and then expanded or contracted
their physical appearance accordingly.
In its animated version, Geohistoriogra-
phy reveals how America’s perspective has
changed over the last 150 years and how
red button topics and countries have shifted
with time, e.g. from Iron Curtain to Islamic
states. With the disinterested distance
of the scientific observer, Tim Schwartz dis-
sects the human psyche and unveils our pre-
dominant interests and fears – more or less
unchanged from prehistoric times: our home,
our neighbours and those we perceive as an
ominous threat.

1
Atlas of Shrinking Cities
1kilo
The Atlas of Shrinking Cities exposes
the reasons behind urban shrinkage, from
demographic developments and migration
patterns to scarce resources, destruction of
nature and settlement transformations. As
part of the accompanying exhibition, Berlin
maps from the atlas were transformed into
objects in space. ⁄ Photo: Christoph Petras ⁄

2
World Conspiracy
Tim Schwartz
Time to dust off those conspiracy theories
for a fascinatingly skewed peek at the world
as we know it. Akin to the self-portraits
presented in Datalogy, World Con-
spiracy paints a distorted – but in itself
logical – picture of the world viewed through
the eyes of one individual. How much weight
and import do we assign to particular issues
or certain nations ? What are our personal
political hobbyhorses ? Pieced together
and reshaped according to data harvested
from more than 10,000 documents collected
by an anonymous conspiracy theorist be-
tween September 19, 2001 and January
15, 2009, Tim Schwartz adjusted the world
map to the number of mentions each coun-
try warranted – thus visualising both the
paranoia of one individual and the latest
political hotspots.
2 4
Datamaps 214 215 Datamaps

positive message is that everybody seems to amounts, dark tints for high values – which are
MENNO - JAN KRAAK love maps. More maps are being produced and mostly used in thematic maps. However,
used than ever before. Internet companies like these are mainly for maps that have to present a
Professor Dr. Menno-Jan Kraak was born in 1958 at­­52° 16' 59.79 " N, Google and manufacturers of navigation sys- message. Today, maps should also be considered
5° 57' 44.63" E, he is head of the Geo-Information Processing tems contribute to this. Then there are all as flexible interfaces to – often web based – geo-
Department at the International Institute for Geo-Informa- those web 2.0 trends like neogeography, open spatial data and offer interaction with the data
tion Science and Earth Observation (ITC) in Enschede, street maps etc. Those maps are generated by behind the visual representation. Maps are also
Netherlands. the user, utilizing systems that define the final instruments to encourage exploration. Therefore
Author of over 200 publications on cartography and look and feel. Some frame- they can be used to stimulate
geographic information systems, speaker at numer- works however allow much (visual) thinking about geospa-
When it comes to design
ous engagements and holder of key positions more freedom, often result- tial patterns and relationships.
and aesthetics, the
in cartographic societies and journals, he is ing in poorly designed maps.
creativity from graphic
one of the most passionate and reputable This might be considered a How much creative design
and media designers
prota­gonists in his field. MJ Kraak is a negative aspect, but as long as should be allowed in a map ?
is a good source of
true map aficionado and his interest is those maps are not used in se- ⁄M JK ⁄ Maps should
inspiration.
not just limited to his busy profes- rious decision making it is not have a design flavor, otherwise
But these ideas have
sional life, as his impressive col- too bad. they are sterile. Many “ artistic
to be channeled
lection of “ carto-philatelics ” maps ” however have the right
into cartographic
(stamps with cartographic So cartographers won’t be look, but apply the guidelines
guidelines to let maps do
motifs) proves. out of work pretty soon ? incorrectly, for example wrong
their task.
⁄M JK ⁄ If we look at the usage of color ramps, like the
work professionals do, there darkest tint is in the middle of
isn’t necessarily less work. But other profes- a range instead of in the end. So if there is a
sions are now also involved in map making. message at all, it does not come across. And that
Those people might need some extra training. is what maps are about: helping­to solve a prob-
lem and being the basis for decision making, like
Could the same thing be said the other way finding your way from A to B.
around ? Must cartographers also learn from
those people to evolve their profession ? Can you tell us how a cartographer deals with
⁄M JK ⁄ I certainly believe cartographers data ? How much does the available data deter-
should look at and learn from other disciplines. mine a map ? ⁄M JK ⁄ Every map design is

Actually it happens. There is an active scien- strongly influenced by the nature of the data.
tific geo-visualization / information visualiza- Before visualization comes data analysis. For
tion/(geo)­v isual analytics this, we have a whole set of
community where knowledge guidelines to assure the best
Every map design
is exchan­ged in multiple direc- possible outcome. Here is a
is strongly influenced
tions. simple example: assume we
by the nature
want to display the number of
of the data.
And what about graphic desig­ people in a country’s munici-
Before visualization
ners ? ⁄M JK ⁄ When it palities. The basic question we
comes data analysis
comes to design and aesthetics, have to ask is what is the mea-
the creativity from graphic and surement scale ? Is the data
media designers is a good source of inspiration. qualitative – nominal values like the list of cat-
But these ideas have to be channeled into carto- egories ? Or is it quantitative – numeric values
graphic guidelines to let maps do their task. In using an ordinal, interval or ratio scale ? In our
their basic format: to present information, as a example the data is quantitative and we need to
tool to explore, or as an interface displaying geo- use the ratio scale. From our graphic tools box
data sets. we know how we can express these characteris­
tics: symbols that vary in size will be best to dis-
Tell us a bit more about those rules and guide- play the amount of people. In other words, based
lines. What sets cartography apart from just il- on the data analysis, the best graphical variables
lustrating a map ? ⁄M JK ⁄ Maps have the will be selected to create a correct map.
ability to present, synthesize, analyze and ex-
plore the real world. Maps do this well because Finally a more personal question: when did you
they only present a selection of the complex real- discover your love of maps? What’s the fascina-
ity and visualize it in an abstract way. The carto- tion of cartography? ⁄M JK ⁄ Maps came

graphic discipline has developed a whole set of into my life as a kid, sitting on the lap of my grand-
Cartography was never so popular and ubiqui- geospatial data is not limited to professionals design guidelines to realize the most suitable father during our armchair travels. Ever since
tous in its long history as it is now. Our cell anymore. Every tech-savvy person can create map that offers insight in spatial patterns and I’ve been attracted to maps and started to draw
phones record GPS data, we have Google maps their own “ map-mashups ”. Are these good or relations. Some of these guidelines are conven- them. It fascinates me that maps can capture
at our fingertips and a friendly voice tells us if bad times for your discipline ? ⁄M JK ⁄ tions – the sea is blue, sand is yellow – as we see parts of the reality in their design. They can be a
we have to turn left or right at the next inter- Good times ! However, you might have different mostly on topographic maps. Others are based message and a tool for thinking, especially in to-
section. But at the same time, working with perspectives on what is good. But the overall on perception – large symbols stand for big day’s interactive web mapping environments.
 Datamaps 216 217 Datamaps

3
guided
R. Justin Stewart
An exercise in patience and skill, popular
childhood staple Labyrinth requires players
to navigate a marble through an obstacle
course. Guided applies this principle to the
Twin Cities map, with streets carved at a
depth of 1/16 " and public transport routes
at 1/8 ", allowing marbles to travel the transit
routes but not the streets. In this, Guided
underscores the duality of any transit system,
which simultaneously provides and denies
access to a city. ⁄ 2008 ⁄ MDF, hardware, steel ball ⁄

4
Sè San Diego Hotel City Wall
2 Ball Nogues Studio
Sculptural wall map of San Diego for the
upscale Se San Diego Hotel. Working from
aerial photography, Ball Nogues Studio
1
created a model for a three-dimensional
Reflection bas-relief. The resulting CNC-milled wall
Andreas Nicolas Fischer sculpture was finished with polymer resin im-
and Benjamin Maus pregnated with bronze powder. ⁄ 2008 ⁄ Principals
in Charge: Benjamin Ball, Gaston Nogues ⁄ Project Manager:
⁄ 2008 ⁄ Material CNC-milled MDF Dimensions
Ben Dean ⁄ Project Design and Development: Benjamin Ball,
900 × 720 × 120 mm ⁄
Gaston Nogues, Ben Dean, Andrew Lyon ⁄ Custom Software
Development: Pylon ⁄ Technical Photography: Ramona d’Viola,
2 ilumus photography ⁄ Interior Design: Dodd Mitchell Design ⁄

Earth Bowl Pinstripe

Fluid Forms 5
The Earth Bowl Pinstripe invites design Earth Brooch Silver
fans to pick the perfect spot for their new Fluid Forms
home accessory: to customise their personal Akin to the Earth Bowl Pinstripe, its
bowl, customers choose a location on an brooch equivalent adds shape to personal
interactive map. Fluid Forms then transforms contours. Consumers select their favourite
the selected topography into production coordinates to be transformed into a decora-
data and mills it into the required shape. tive silver landscape. ⁄ Photocredits: Karin Lernbeiß,
⁄ Photocredits: Günther Kubizer ⁄ www.lupispuma.at ⁄

3 5
 Datamaps 218 219 Datamaps

1
topography plate
kyouei design
Kouichi Okamoto
The latest kitchen helper for alpinists invites
us to give chocolates or biscuits a peek of the
peak with this miniature mountain range.

2
Mapa Tur’stico – Leiria
Rodrigo Machado
Interactive map of the tourist highlights in
the Portuguese region of Leiria. Small 3D
icons indicate sights of interest; a click on the
icons reveals further information. ⁄ Lu’s Correia:
involved in the creation of 3D icons ⁄

3
If the world
were a village of 100 people
Hyebin PARK
According to the principle If The World
Were A Village Of 100 People, Hyebin
Park’s imaginary online community – popu-
lated by small, three-dimensional characters
and buildings – tackles fundamental global
statistics in friendly and familiar surround-
ings. ⁄ Teammate: Jhoo-Youn Cha ⁄ Tutor: Juhyun Eune ⁄

4
Carpet
Laurens van Wieringen
Studio Laurens van Wieringen put a spring
in our step with the staggered layers and
extra-thick ranges of their expansive topog-
raphy carpet. The resulting relief consists of
more than 10,000 individual foam bars of
different height and colour, assembled by a
total of 52 hands.
2 4
 Datamaps 220

Faltjahr 2010
Johann Volkmer
Snap, crackle and pop-(up) ! Johann Volk-
mer’s Faltjahr 2010 calendar provides an
immediate reminder of the seasons. Each
month, a separate paper module unfolds
into an A3 feat of paper engineering, jutting
out into the room. Although abstract
in nature, each sculpture reveals different
pleats and folds, from the brisk angularity
of January to the softly blossoming curves
of July. ⁄ Photo: Kristian Barthen ⁄
 223 Datamaps

1
Helsinki Biennale
Stine Belden Røed
Helsinki Biennale 2008 assembled instal-
2
lations, drawings, paintings, photographs,
video and audio works by almost 150 art-
ists. Instead of printing a straightforward list,
the event’s promotional poster portrayed the
site’s 13 pavilions as discrete countries popu-
lated by several cities (individual artists). ⁄ With
Blank Blank & Korea ⁄ Design: Petri Henriksson ⁄ Art Direction:
Aki-Pekka Sinikoski ⁄ Illustrations: Stine Belden Røed ⁄

2
Structured light
Catalogtree
Catalogtree’s light experiments put the pho-
tons through their paces. Here, they use
Structured Light to project patterns onto
a scene. The resulting isoline deformations
reveal the scanned object’s 3D properties,
making the invisible visible in a tightly
controlled grid of light. ⁄ Plaatsmaken Arnhem, The
Netherlands ⁄

1
 225 Datamaps

1
Flocking Diplomats 4
Catalogtree
Protected by diplomatic immunity – and
thus exempt from prosecution – diplomatic
staff around the world show remarkable
disdain for “ petty ” local regulations.
Unauthorised parking tends to top their list
of violations. To this end, Flocking Dip-
lomats in New York charts the worst-hit
spots in a graphic reconstruction of the top
100 NYC locations; the respective image size
indicates the volume and frequency of illegal
parking. Documenting a stunning 2000 +
violations at just one address, the map not
only underscores the principle of “ repeat of-
fenders ” who find themselves lured back to
the scene of their (unpunished) crimes, but
also becomes a coincidental map of the city’s
most desirable locations, where the global
elite congregates. ⁄ Pictures: Mikhail Iliatov ⁄

2
Earth map (excerpt)
abiabiabi
What is the opposite of a map ? Abi Huynh’s
Earth Map (here shown as a small excerpt)
is an ambitious undertaking. Doing away
with context and geography, with discernible
hierarchies or anchors in space, his anti-map
relies solely on associative positioning to vi-
sualise his train of thought. A meta-map
of sorts, Huynh’s Earth Map questions the
scale, content and methodology of mapping
itself. By forcing non-hierarchical connec-
tions and associations, it rewires connec-
tions into a new mind map with different
outcomes for observer and creator. In
its grid-based approach to representative
ideas and ideals, the Earth Map becomes
a search for home and identity, for the fa-
milial and familiar, for heads of state and
states of being, for the banal and decidedly
alien in a public/personal document that
blurs the boundaries between the mapping
and mapped.

next page
jour 1
rollergirl
Why live dangerously when you could live
vicariously ? In 16 days of intense Internet
travel, Rollergirl recreates the perfect –
and perfectly average – trip to a string of
US West Coast highlights. L.A., Grand
Canyon, Las Vegas, San Francisco: planned,
assembled and documented via virtual
means – with information harvested from
personal trip planning site mappy.com,
publicly available webcams and accounts
by some of the seven million people who
follow this route every year – the fictitious
journey becomes a hyper-real amalgama-
tion of the accumulated knowledge and ex-
periences of those who actually took the trip.
Akin to Flaubert’s spoof Dictionary
of Received Ideas, the documentation of
well-travelled clichés is never authentic, but
in its distillate of lowest common denomina-
tors it becomes “ more true ” than each of the
individual journeys.

1
DATAESTHETIC

•
 DataEsthetic 230 231 DataEsthetic

This last chapter differs from the ones before, a black surface was quite clichéd (hey, it’s a Holly­
because the primary goal of these visualiza- wood blockbuster !) but it was a powerful metaphor
tions is not to inform. At least, not in the of the movie’s theme.
way the previous examples do. We enter Since Neo’s battles we have seen a lot
the world of information art, where more visualizations of abstract data. They have
data is a means to express pers­onal become part of our daily life. We have gotten used
feelings and to create works to the visual language that comes with it. Certain
that reach out to our senses aesthetic characteristics let us immediately think
and emotions. Here, the of a representation of information. An intricate
­aesthetic dimension of structure with lots of nodes and interconnections:
data is explored. might be a network representation. Colored bars
in different heights: probably a statistic. Curved or
zigzaging lines: could be data recorded over a cer-
tain period of time. Chad Hagen plays with these
1 expectations. His images have everything
⁄1⁄

Nonsensical Infographics
Chad M. Hagen a data visualization needs – except data. Their use
⁄ › PP. 236, 237⁄
of form and color, their grids and layout, trick us
into thinking of it as an info-graphic, but there is
no meaning whatsoever.
Ross Racine’s images mislead us too. What
look like aerial photos or renderings from an urban
planner ⁄2⁄ are actually made-up freehand 2

Subdivision:
drawings. No data involved, just imagination. Evergreen Park
Ross Racine
Our (mis-)interpretations reveal that ⁄ › P. 240 ⁄

data visualization has developed a very diverse,

but distinct aesthetic. This aesthetic is a result
of the data itself, but also of how it is shaped.
Data becomes material. How much it is compa-
rable with physical matter is debatable – media
artist Joachim Sauter dismisses this
⁄ see interview › PP. 250, 251 ⁄

analogy – still, data is subject matter. And like

any other material, we can turn it into a commod-
ity or a work of art. While most projects in this
book use data to convey “ useful ” information,
this last chapter presents examples where data
is employed for artistic purposes. For example
ART+COM’s installation for the BMW museum:
It was probably the Matrix Trilogy that introduced 3 ⁄ 3⁄ the design process of a car is not ex-
Kinetic Sculpture
“ data aesthetic ” to the mainstream. Sure, the ­image ART+COM AG plained, but interpreted in a metaphorical, emo-
⁄ › PP. 256, 257⁄
of illegible green code fragments trickling down on tional way.
Previous page
The Good-Time Mix Machine:
Scrambler Drawings
Rosemarie Fiore
⁄ › P. 252 ⁄ 2004 ⁄Acrylic paint on vinyl, 60 × 60 ft. (18 × 18 m),
Installation at the Queens Museum, Flushing, NY ⁄
Photo: Stefan Hagan ⁄ Courtesy of Priska C. Juschka Fine Art ⁄
 DataEsthetic 232 233 DataEsthetic

1 2 5 6

1
Geometric Experiment Number 1
2
Geometry Experiment Number 2
3
Geometric Experiment Number 3
Fabiano Coelho
An experimental series on basic geometry,
primary colours and their multifarious ap-
plications in graphic design.

4
Rotor d/64
Max Frey
The joy of tinkering – Max Frey’s spinning,
colourful circles of light disclose the gears
and levers underneath. Here, etched draw-
ings on a programme disc determine the fi-
nal visual outcome. ⁄ 2007 ⁄ Bycicle rims, ciruit board,
motor, LED lamps ⁄ 91 × 73 × 28 cm ⁄ Edition 3/10 ⁄ Photo:
Carolina Frank ⁄

5
Rotta
6
Roulade
7
Scordatura
Andy Gilmore

4 7
 DataEsthetic 234 235 DataEsthetic

3
Voice Visualizer
why not smile
Hoon Kim
Voice Visualizer aims to improve the qual-
ity of communication in the public sphere.
A loudhailer with kaleidoscopic results, the
real-time device translates voices into pixels,
spirograph patterns or colour spectra ac-
cording to their volume and pitch.

4
Visible Noise / Invisible Lights
1
why not smile
Green painting Hoon Kim
2
Visible Noise / Invisible Lights explores
Postcard painting 2 the white noise generated by light sources.
Mark Wilson Using a spirograph in an experimental
This one’s from the vaults ! Dating back to the studio set-up, the artist investigated the
late 1970s – when diagrams and technology relationships between 25 different types
equalled the way forward – Mark Wilson’s of light. All lights were photographed and
paintings exhort the beauty of networks and their sounds recorded, both on and off. Kim
electric circuitry. ⁄ GREEN PAINTING ⁄ 1977 ⁄Acrylic on then analysed the differences in repetition,
linen ⁄ 76 × 76 cm ⁄ POSTCARD PAINTING 2 ⁄ 1978 ⁄Acrylic on volume and frequency between the emitted
paper ⁄ 10 × 15 cm ⁄ sound waves.
2 4
DataEsthetic 236 237 DataEsthetic

Nonsensical Infographics
Chad M. Hagen
In a graphic take on The Emperor’s New
Clothes parable, Chad M. Hagen’s Non-
sensical Infographics expose what
information graphics look like without any
true data or statistics to substantiate their
visual structure.
DataEsthetic 238 239 DataEsthetic

LEFT PAGE
Made Up True Story
Sam Winston
Deconstructing the tale of Jack and the Be-
anstalk. ⁄ 2005 ⁄

1
New York Times
Sam Winston
In Sam Winston’s New York Times, the
poetry of language dissolves into the prag-
matic either / or of a computer’s binary
code. ⁄ 2006 ⁄

2
The Figures: Annual Report
3
The Figures: Budgeting
Tsilli Pines
The Figures retrace the topography of
money in human consciousness and the
constant parade of numbers in everyday
life. ⁄ 2008 ⁄ Pigment, vintage paper and cotton thread on
rice paper ⁄

2 3
DataEsthetic 240 241 DataEsthetic

4 5

1
Subdivision: Evergreen Park
2
Subdivision: Greenfield Lakes
3
Subdivision: Beachview Bluffs
Ross Racine
A graphic, stern look at the world below, at
human organisation, cities and suburbs; Ross
Racine’s fictional aerial views of metropoli-
tan and rural realities are drawn freehand
on the computer.

4
Surface Modulation
Richard Sweeney
In his Surface Modulation series, maths
experimentalist Sweeney puts design on the
grid. Here, wooden formers – clamped be-
hind a stretched canvas – push the taut
material outwards. The resulting shape is
painted with epoxy resin that leaves a per-
manent impression, even after the former’s
removal. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ Graphite on canvas, wooden former ⁄ Art-
work and photography by Richard Sweeney ⁄

5
Drawing Light – Cumulus
Sara Ivanyi
Drawing Light is a series of lampshades that
emphasise the spatial quality of light. Spin-
ning their web across the walls, they translate
great volumes of light with little mass. ⁄ Drawing
3 Light – Fractal ⁄ 2009 ⁄ metal, treated rubber wire 80 cm
diameter × 64 cm h ⁄ Drawing Light - Cumulus ⁄ 2009 ⁄ metal,
treated rubber wire 110 cm diameter × 70 cm h ⁄

6
Fred and me
Matt Shlian
⁄ › P. 232 ⁄ 2009 ⁄ Ball point pen 19 × 24 inches ⁄

2 6
DataEsthetic 242 243 DataEsthetic

1 2

1
6
2
4
3
12 Morning Glory Lane
Matt Shlian
In this play on mistranslated information
– think a game of telephone or Chinese
whispers – Matt Shlian explores the way
software can fracture or compound input on
its way through different digital formats. Of-
ten bearing little resemblance to the original
text or image, the new, warped information
is rendered by a pen plotter. ⁄ 6 ⁄ 2008 ⁄ ball point
pen on arches 19 × 25 inches ⁄ 4 ⁄ 2008 ⁄ ball point pen on
arches 19 × 25 inches ⁄ 12 Morning Glory Lane ⁄ 2007 ⁄
⁄ ball point pen on 19 × 24 inches ⁄

4
O.T. (Pfeile 4)
Jorinde Voigt
⁄ Berlin ⁄ 2006 ⁄ Ink on Paper ⁄ 150 × 300 cm ⁄ Unique ⁄

4
 DataEsthetic 244 245 DataEsthetic

1 4
Randomizer 4 CLINIC Planetarium of the Soul
Zalibarek Clemens Habicht
Zalibarek’s Randomizer 4 scales the dizzy- Concert visuals for British band Clinic.
ing heights of landscaped prose. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ pencil, ⁄ 2008 ⁄ Concert visuals ⁄ Nexus Productions London ⁄
ink on paper ⁄

5
2 Anatomy Series (Head Right)
Test audience drawings 6
(Red reject, 7th generation) Anatomy Series (Heart)
3 Shannon Rankin
Test audience drawings Shannon Rankin makes maps of our anat-
(Orange reject, 1st generation) omy – or anatomy from maps ? ⁄ 2008 ⁄ map
Torgeir Husevaag on paper ⁄

An example of generative ink sketches

executed according to pre-defined rules,
Husevaag’s test audience drawings
thrive on the tension between method and
play, between attention to detail and delib-
erate flaws. In order to test his own skill
and concentration, this particular exercise
requires the artist to draw circles around
each other – as close to each other and as
fast as possible. According to the experimen-
tal framework, none of the lines should ever
touch – mistakes are marked with a “ pun-
ishment circle ” to exaggerate the original
flaw. For a further twist, all drawings run
through several “ generations ”. After each
round, a test audience picks their favourite
from a set of four to serve as a starting
point for the next batch, further reinforcing
Husevaag’s kinks and deviations. An ex-
ercise in skill and perceptions, it is precisely
these imperfections that add interest and
structure to the streamlined setup. Akin to
the principles of evolution, tiny mutations
can trigger huge change. Over the course of
several generations, minute mistakes spawn
astonishing diversity. ⁄ Test audience drawings
(Red reject, 7 th generation) ⁄ 2002 ⁄ Ink on paper ⁄
Test audience drawings (Orange reject, 1st genera-
tion) ⁄ 2001 ⁄ Ink on paper ⁄

2 3 5 6
 DataEsthetic 246 247 DataEsthetic

4
Circle Series (Vents 02)
5
Uncharted Series – Fracture
6
Circle Series (Migration)
7
Uncharted Series – Basin
Shannon Rankin
⁄ 2009 ⁄ map on paper ⁄

2 4

1
Italy
from the Geographic Pathologies series
2
South America
from the Geographic Pathologies series
3
North America
from the Geographic Pathologies series
Nina Katchadourian
Where is up and where is down ? Nina
Katchadourian’s Geographic Patholo-
gies change the map of the world as we
know it. By simple inversion and reflection,
she achieves a sense of instant alienation –
and enforces a new point of view. ⁄ 1996 ⁄
Courtesy of the artist, Sara Meltzer gallery (New York) and
Catharine Clark gallery (San Francisco) ⁄

3 5 6 7
 DataEsthetic 248 249 DataEsthetic

1
high altitude / hangseng_80-09
2
high altitude /dax_80-09
3
high altitude /nasdaq_80-09
Michael Najjar
Photographic material gathered near Mount
Aconcagua – at 6,962 meters the highest
mountain on the American continent –
forms the basis of High Altitude, a series
visualising the development of the leading
global stock market indices over the past
20-30 years. ⁄ 2008–2009 ⁄ Courtesy by the artist and
Galería Juan Silió ⁄

3
DataEsthetic 250 251 DataEsthetic

In design work it is the oppo­site – if there is a How important is interactivity in conveying

JOACHIM SAUTER fire, you don't want to­decipher an exit sign. It information ? ⁄ J S ⁄ Interactivity
goes without saying that the borders are blur- means that you design a mutual dialogue be-
Joachim Sauter is a co-founder of ART+COM, one of world’s lead- ry and that you find both ap- tween the audience and the
ing agencies for spatial solutions created with new media. The proaches in both fields. subject. In information visu-
In a data-based art
company has been a pioneer in this field for over 20 years and is In the domain of data there is alization it is often helpful to
­project it is more about
still setting the standard of excellence in the development of on one hand information vi- see data from different an-
the formal
projects at the intersection of art, media, design and the sualization. Here, the goal is gles, compare it with other
and aesthetic quality
communication of information. ART+COM is particu- to inform someone about information, update it, net-
than the content.
larly skilled at presenting brands and content both something in a legible way, or work it, give a personalized
effectively and playfully so that they resonate on to make them understand view of something, go to deep-
an emotional level. Today, Sauter still works as what’s behind a data set. On the other hand er levels and so on. All of this can be best pro-
head of its creative department, but he also there is data visualization where data is used vided with interactivity.
makes time to pass his experience and as a form-finding factor to create a visual/aes-
knowledge on to students. Since 1991 thetic/experiential sensation. In a design proj- You often work with quite impressive set-ups,
he has been professor of new media ect it’s all about the information you want to sophisticated software and the latest technol-
art and design at Berlin’s Univer- communicate. The designer has to find the ogy. How do you make sure that the medium
sity of the Arts. In 2001 he was right way to translate this data into informa- doesn’t become the message ? ⁄ J S ⁄

appointed as an adjunct tion. In a data-based art project it is more The stories always have to be more interesting
professor at UCLA. about the formal and aesthetic quality than and more in the foreground than the nar­rator.
the content. So I try to write the stories in an appropriate
and interesting way and choose the appropri-
To what extent do you let the data influence the ate storyteller, or even hide them.
outcome ? How much does the data determine
the aesthetic ? ⁄ J S ⁄ In a design project We always talk about information “ visu­
it is all about what you want to communicate alization .” Aren’t we missing out on our other
with the data or how to make the data legible. senses ? ⁄ J S ⁄ The visual sense is the

So never let the data dictate to you – but “ lis- one with which we can understand, perceive and
ten” carefully to it. On the other hand if you go handle information in the best way. But there is
for a purely aesthetic outcome also good data sonification
you can play with data and go work out there. In some cases
if you go for a purely
into a mutual dialogue with it it is even better than visu­
aesthetic outcome,
until a visually satisfying re- alization, especially when our
you can play with data
sult appears. Again, the bor- visual sense is occupied by
and go into a mutual
ders are blurry. other tasks.
dialogue with it
until a visually satisfying
Do you consider data your For decades information vi-
result appears.
“ material ” ? Similar to how sualization was mainly static,
paint is the material of a paint- printed in books or newspa-
er, or stone, metal or wood that of a sculptor ? pers. Today we see lots of interactive solu-
⁄ J S ⁄ No, it is not material to me. It is tions, mostly on the internet. More and more
either content or the basis for a form-finding people, including yourself, start to work with
process. If you want to compare it with the tra- space and objects. What will be the next fron-
ditional painting process, then it is rather the tier ? In which domain will we see more visuali­
motif or subject than the paint. zations in the future ? ⁄ J S ⁄ In the last

decade we observed a data visu­alization hype.

Your work is often very experimental. Do you This has a lot to do with the new field of com-
think we underestimate the receptivity of our putational design. Both screen-based media –
audience ? Should we challenge them more ? the internet and the television – have passed
⁄ J S ⁄ My process of the print medium. But we also
designing might be experi- see a renaissance of the phys-
I think that information
mental and the outcome un- ical world. We see an increas-
and narration in space
conventional. But usually it is ing number of people leaving
will become a domain
legible and I make sure that the isolated situation in front
where we will see
the audience understands the of a computer, going into a
an increasing number
information which is commu- museum to experience infor­
of physically static and
You work in both fields of art and design. guage everyone understands. Artwork how- nicated. I would say the audi- mation in a physical environ-
mechatronic information
What is the difference between approaching a ever is produced using an individual and per- ence is cleverer than many ment with other people. I
installations.
visualization project in an art versus design sonal language and it is mainly not meant to be think. You have to challenge think that information and
context ? ⁄ J S ⁄ In short: the result of understood imme­diately or by everyone. The people – if you don’t, they are narration in space will be-
design work has to be understood immediate- process of understanding artwork by deci- not interested in what you want to tell them. come a domain where we will see an increasing
ly and should be directly legible by as many as phering is very important. It forces one into a You have to do it in a clever and intelligent number of physically static and mechatronic
possible. This means it has to be told in a lan- much deeper dialogue with what is presented. way though. information installations.
 1

1
The Good-Time Mix Machine:
Scrambler Drawings
(process photograph)
Rosemarie Fiore
For The Good-Time Mix Machine:
Scrambler Drawings, Fiore transformed
a 1964 Eli Bridge Scrambler into a painting
machine. The resulting (remote) controlled
graffiti on vinyl tarps can extend to 18 × 18m
and resemble giant spirographs. ⁄ 2004 ⁄1964 Eli
Bridge Scrambler ride, generator, compressor, bucket, acrylic
paint on vinyl, video camera ⁄ 60 × 60 ft. (18 × 18 m) ⁄Photo
Credit: E.G. ⁄ Courtesy of Priska C. Juschka Fine Art ⁄

2
Sphere
Eva Schindling
⁄Produced for Amy Cheung while employed at
Handkerchief Productions, Hong Kong ⁄ 2008 ⁄ Processing,
P5Sunflow library ⁄

RIGHT PAGE
Ashes Unto Pearl
Amy Cheung
Installation at the Third Guangzhou Trien-
nial, September–November 2008. ⁄ Charcoal,
wood, control units, speakers, incense ⁄ Computerization de-
sign: Eva Schindling ⁄ People: Miya Zhao, David Lo, Edwin Law,
Joseph Chan, Qiqi and Vasco ⁄ Company credit: Handkerchief
Production and Yuco Lab ⁄ Sponsored by the Hong Kong Arts
Development Council, Guangdong Museum of Art and the 3rd
Guangzhou Triennale, China ⁄

2
255 DataEsthetic

ATOM
WHITEvoid interactive art & design
An eight-by-eight array of white, self-illu-
minated spheres floats in space like a com-
plex molecule. Carefully elevated and reined
back in by computer-controlled cables, the
gas-filled bubbles are lit from within via dim-
mable super-bright LEDs, each constituting
a single pixel in this spatial matrix.
A dynamic sculpture of physical objects, light
patterns and synchronous rhythmic and tex-
tural sounds, the ATOM sets out to explore
the interstices between interaction design,
media design, product design, interior archi-
tecture and electronic engineering. The
resulting pitter-patter(n) of light, movement
and sound is subject to real-time manipula-
tion as part of a 60-minute performance by
“balloonist ” Christopher Bauder (WHITEvoid)
and experimental electronic sound designer
Robert Henke (Monolake). ⁄ ATOM ⁄ Performance:
Christopher Bauder ⁄ Robert Henke ⁄ Photo: Justine Lera ⁄
 DataEsthetic 256 257 DataEsthetic

Kinetic Sculpture
ART+COM AG
Tasked with creating a metaphorical visuali-
sation of the design process for BMW’s new
museum in Munich, Art+Com decided to
put poetry in motion with a kinetic sculpture
that epitomises the promise and potential
of high-precision engineering. Here, 714
metal spheres — attached to individually
controlled stepper motors — come together
in complex 3D shape animations that reflect
the car industry’s precise interplay between
a great number of single elements and the
subsequent coherent shape. During
the seven minute choreography, the osten-
sible chaos of randomly moving spheres
– a cloud of infinite ideas – gradually co-
alesces into abstract shapes and finally the
contours of recognisable car models.
Analogous to the fluidity of thought, cre-
ativity and design, the sculpture becomes
a neutral blank slate for infinite potential
and pays homage to the concepts of motion,
transience and flexibility.
 DataEsthetic 258 259 DataEsthetic

2
BASF-Besucherzentrum
flying saucer
Exploring the Manhattan-sized BASF produc-
tion plant in Ludwigshafen on an interactive
media table, remains one of the highlights at
the multinational visitor centre. The display
allows up to six visitors to explore several
layers of information projected onto a relief
model of the entire site. ⁄ Software development:
deux:luxe GbR, Muskelfisch Entertainment ⁄ Construction
Management: R&F Logistik GmbH ⁄ Show Systems Integra-
tion: project syntropy GmbH ⁄

1
Moveable Type
EAR Studio
Mark Hansen and Ben Rubin
1
In this media artwork, installed in the ground-
floor lobby of The New York Times Build-
ing, two grids of 560 small digital screens
translate the daily output of The New York
Times (news, features, opinion, blogs) as well
as The Times’ 150-year archive and user
comments into a series of fragmented, re-
combined and ever-changing kinetic com-
positions. ⁄ 2007 ⁄ The artwork is located in the lobby of
the New York Times Building in New York City ⁄
 DataEsthetic 260 261 DataEsthetic

1
divided time (1999–2009)
R. Justin Stewart
History repeats itself: in a world where fast-
paced stock quotes have started to govern
the rhythm of everyday life, Divided Time
serves as a 10-year portrait of the United
States or to be more precise, its intrinsic and
extrinsic value in business terms – its busi-
ness success. A tight tangle of thin blue
lines and small, lightweight steel spheres,
each day is represented by a single thread,
its length corresponding to the day’s Dow
Jones closing value. Faced with this blur
of information, it soon becomes clear that no
single day carries that much weight in the
overall whole, within the stock market’s cir-
cular and unpredictable nature. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ Thread,
1/8 oz steel weights ⁄

2
2am-2pm
R. Justin Stewart
2am-2pm explores the ramifications of try-
ing to parse the everyday onslaught of visual
information. In order to make sense of it all,
we tend to filter out non-essential data by
means of abstraction, abbreviation and cat-
egorisation. A prime example of visual
simplification would be the map of a transit
system; complex routes are boiled down to
basic schematics and thousands of sched-
uled stops are organised into a navigable
matrix. 2am-2pm removes these filters
and rekindles the bewildering complexity
involved in the citywide choreography of
public transport in several three-dimensional
models of the Sunday Minneapolis  / St. Paul
transit system. In these new, three-di-
mensional “ maps ”, horizontal axes represent
directional movement, while vertical axes in-
dicate time. A total of 47 horizontal layers
show the bus routes running during a given
interval and within each of these layers, ac-
tive transit routes are represented by wood
balls placed at the scheduled stops. ⁄ 2008 ⁄ cop-
per, wood, thread, steel ⁄

2
 DataEsthetic 262 263 DataEsthetic

3
system of knowing 02
(red caps)
4
system of knowing 05
(orange rings)
R. Justin Stewart
Inspired by the evolving interpretation of
ideas, System of Knowing investigates
how information is translated, transformed
and conveyed across time and space. A
combination of drawing and sculpture
made from Teflon o-rings and zip ties,
neither sculpture nor drawing forms the
beginning: both are equal representations
of the same information displayed through
different frameworks. ⁄ system of knowing
02 (red caps) ⁄ 2009 ⁄ teflon o-rings, zip ties, pencil and
ink on paper, wood, paint ⁄ system of knowing 05
(orange rings) ⁄ 2009 ⁄ teflon o-rings, zip ties, pencil and
ink on paper, wood, paint ⁄

1
Tommy Støckel’s Art of Tomorrow
Tommy Støckel
In his abstract representation of future en-
deavours, of things to come and what might
be, Tommy Støckel tries to predict his own
artistic future in a sculptural visualisation of
3
prospective tendencies and aesthetics. ⁄ 2009 ⁄
Paper, inkjet print, cardboard, wood, polystyrene ⁄ Copyright
Tommy Støckel and VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn ⁄ Photo: Carl Newland ⁄

2
Card Catalog
Tim Schwartz
Only a decade or so ago, around 20 songs
was considered the limit for on-the-go listen-
ing on a portable CD, MiniDisk or cassette
player. In the meantime, digital technology
has advanced in leaps and bounds and mu-
sic collections have kept pace with the ex-
2
ponential growth of portable storage media.
To drive this particular message home, Tim
Schwartz’s Card Catalog holds all 7,390
songs of the artist’s iPod, organised in re-
verse chronological order.
4
 DataEsthetic 264 265 DataEsthetic

1
Speedway
Diana Cooper
Installation at the Postmasters Gallery, NYC.
⁄ 2000-2002 ⁄ foam core, ink, acrylic, felt tip marker, acetate,
foam, photographs, pom poms and wood ⁄ 77× 69.5 × 14.5
inches ⁄ Photographed by Bill Orcutt at Postmasters Gal-
lery, NYC ⁄

2
Emerger
Diana Cooper
Installation at the Whitney Museum of Art,
New York. ⁄ 2005-2007 ⁄ Acrylic, ink, acetate, felt, foam-
core, map pins, wood, Velcro, and paper ⁄ 165 × 144 × 36
inches ⁄ Photographed by Allison Wermager at The Whitney
Museum of Art, Altria, NYC ⁄

2
DataEsthetic 266 267 DataEsthetic

1
Urban Weather Prairies
Symphonic Studies in D
Nathalie Miebach
Urban Weather Prairies likens data
collected in Omaha, Nebraska (May/ June
2008) to a symphonic orchestration. Akin
to an instrument – playing one part of the
overall score – each sculpture and wall piece
evokes a particular aspect of the data. All
pieces are brought together in an informa-
tional symphony of larger behavioural pat-
terns that slowly emerge over time. ⁄ 2009 ⁄ reed,
wood, chipboard, origami, data ⁄

2
Twilight, Tides and Whales
Nathalie Miebach
Twilight, Tides and Whales investigates
the relationship between the rising and set-
ting of moon and sun as well as tidal and
twilight readings (Provincetown, MA) and
whale sightings along the New England
Coast in February and March 2006.

3
Antarctic Tidal Rhythms
1
Nathalie Miebach
Antarctic Tidal Rhythms translates a
wealth of tide-related data (collected be-
tween January and December 2005) into a
multi-faceted data construct. While the inner
structure converts sunrise/sunset and moon-
rise/moonset information into the woven
structure, additional markers integrate tidal
readings, moon phases, solar noon readings
and the molecular structure of ice. ⁄ 2006 ⁄ Reed,
wood, styrofoam, data ⁄

3
index

•
INdex 123-K 270 271 index L-Z

123 Clio Chaffardon

France
Anna Filipova
United Kingdom
H L O Tim Schwartz
USA
Manuel Trüdinger
Germany
1kilo www.cliochaffardon.com www.anfilip.com Clemens Habicht Jason Lee onlab www.timschwartz.org www.manueltruedinger.de
Switzerland ⁄ › PP. 44, 204 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 87, 105, 118 ⁄ France USA Switzerland ⁄ › PP. 212, 213, 262 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 92 ⁄
www.1kilo.org www.clemenshabicht.com www.jasonlee.com www.onlab.ch
⁄ › P. 212 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 245 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 135 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 31 ⁄
Amy Cheung Rosemarie Fiore Mehdi Sedira Tube Graphics
Hong Kong USA France Japan
5W Infographics
USA
www.5wgraphics.com/en
www.amycheung.hk
⁄ › PP. 252, 253 ⁄
www.priskajuschkafineart.com
⁄ › PP. 47, 229, 252 ⁄
Chad M. Hagen
USA
www.chadhagen.com
Jax de León
USA
www.jaxdeleon.com
P www.mehdisedira.com
⁄ › P. 195 ⁄
www.tubegraphics.co.jp
⁄ › P. 23 ⁄

⁄ › PP. 20, 21 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 231, 236, 237 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 57, 95, 170 ⁄ Iohanna Pani
Sean Clarke Andreas Nicolas Fischer Israel Adrien Segal Tutu
United Kingdom Germany www.iohidesign.carbonmade.com USA United Kingdom

A www.sean-clarke.co.uk
⁄ › P. 170 ⁄
www.anfischer.com
⁄ › PP. 124, 125, 216 ⁄
Hahn und Zimmermann
Switzerland
www.von-b-und-c.net
Jonas Loh & Steffen Fiedler
United Kingdom
www.digital-identities.com
⁄ › P. 150 ⁄ www.adriensegalfurniture.blogspot.com
⁄ › PP. 105, 124 ⁄
www.catchtutu.co.uk
⁄ › PP. 33, 38 ⁄

Aaron Koblin ⁄ › PP. 64, 90, 91 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 122, 123 ⁄ Hyebin PARK
USA Fabiano Coelho Lars Thorben Fischer South Korea Judith Seng Twopoints.Net
www.aaronkoblin.com/work.html Brazil Germany www.binsworld.com Germany Spain
⁄ › PP. 119, 173 ⁄ www.2dcrew.com.br www.vonvon.de Nadeem Haidary Martin Kim Luge ⁄ › PP. 218, 219 ⁄ www.judithseng.de www.twopoints.net
⁄ › P. 232 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 143 ⁄ USA Germany ⁄ › P. 152 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 45 ⁄
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abiabiabi ⁄ › PP. 129, 138, 139, 146, 151 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 159 ⁄ Physical Interaction Lab
Canada
www.abiabiabi.com
⁄ › PP. 191, 225 ⁄
Diana Cooper
USA
www.dianacooper.net
Fluid Forms
Austria
www.fluid-forms.com Adam Hancher LUST
Sweden
www.physicalinteractionlab.com
⁄ › P. 66 ⁄
Sakurako Shimizu
USA
www.sakurakoshimizu.com
U
⁄ › PP. 5, 264, 265 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 216, 217 ⁄ United Kingdom Netherlands ⁄ › P. 113 ⁄ Guðmundur Ingi Úlfarsson
www.adamhancherillustration.blogspot.com www.lust.nl Netherlands
Christopher Adjei & Nils Holland-Cunz ⁄ › P. 26 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 76, 77, 178, 205 ⁄ Tsilli Pines www.gudmundurulfarsson.com
Germany Joshua Covarrubias flying saucer USA Matt Shlian ⁄ › P. 145 ⁄
www.visualizinglastfm.de USA attraction design & engineering www.tsilli.com USA
⁄ › PP. 83, 89 ⁄ www.joshuacovarrubias.com
⁄ › PP. 13, 39 ⁄
Germany
www.flyingsaucer.de
⁄ › P. 259 ⁄
Hoagy Houghton
United Kingdom
www.hoagyhoughton.co.uk
M ⁄ › P. 239 ⁄ www.mattshlian.com
⁄ › PP. 241, 242 ⁄
V
Kevin Van Aelst ⁄ › P. 59 ⁄ Rodrigo Machado Pitch Interactive
USA crush Portugal USA Mariano Sidoni Jorinde Voigt
www.kevinvanaelst.com Canada Fogelson-Lubliner www.px-11.com www.pitchinteractive.com Argentina Germany
⁄ › P. 132 ⁄ www.crushinc.com USA Haohao Huang ⁄ › PP. 83, 98, 218 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 186 ⁄ www.marianosidoni.com.ar www.jorindevoigt.com
⁄ › PP. 136, 137 ⁄ www.fogelson-lubliner.com United Kingdom ⁄ › P. 79 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 105, 116, 117, 243 ⁄
⁄ › PP. 39, 147, 155 ⁄ www.haohaohuang.com
alwayswithhonor ⁄ › PP. 55, 74, 75, 154, 155 ⁄ Rafaël Macho Shaheena Pooloo
USA
www.alwayswithhonor.com
⁄ › P. 134 ⁄
D Katy Foster
United Kingdom Torgeir Husevaag
USA
www.rafaelmacho.com
⁄ › P. 27 ⁄
United Kingdom
www.shaheenapooloo.co.uk
⁄ › P. 62 ⁄
Slang
Germany
www.slanginternational.org
Johann Volkmer
Germany
www.johannvolkmer.de
Valentina D'Efilippo www.cargocollective.com/katyfoster Norway ⁄ › P. 146 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 220, 221 ⁄
United Kingdom ⁄ › P. 58 ⁄ www.torgeirhusevaag.com
Art + Com AG www.vale-n-tina.com ⁄ › PP. 46, 191, 210, 244 ⁄ Élodie Mandray Stefanie Posavec
Germany
www.artcom.de
⁄ › PP. 110, 177 ⁄
four23
France
www.elodie-mandray.com
United Kingdom
www.itsbeenreal.co.uk
Sounds.Butter
United Kingdom W
⁄ › PP. 65, 99, 107, 231, 256, 257 ⁄
Ian Dapot
USA
United Kingdom
www.four23.net
⁄ › P. 58 ⁄
I ⁄ › P. 43 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 165, 187 ⁄ www.soundsbutter.com
⁄ › P. 115 ⁄ Marius Watz
Norway

B www.iandapot.com
⁄ › PP. 166, 167 ⁄
Francesco Franchi
Sarah Illenberger
Germany
www.sarahillenberger.com
Daniel Alfonso Massey
USA
www.oddsympathy.com/projects.html
projekttriangle
Germany
www.projekttriangle.com
Tommy Støckel
Germany
www.unlekker.net
⁄ › P. 125 ⁄

Christopher P. Baker Italy ⁄ › PP. 127, 130 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 119 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 30, 156 ⁄ www.tommystockel.net
USA Quentin Delobel ⁄ › PP. 18, 19, 90, 206, 207 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 262 ⁄ Mark Webber
www.christopherbaker.net Belgium United Kingdom
⁄ › PP. 165, 176, 177 ⁄ www.quentindelobel.com
⁄ › P. 184 ⁄ Jason Freeny
USA
Sara Ivanyi
Netherlands
www.formfollowsfreedom.com
Luna Maurer
Netherlands
www.poly-luna.com
R stamen
USA
www.markandrewwebber.com
⁄ › PP. 191, 200, 201 ⁄

Ball Nogues Studio www.moistproduction.com ⁄ › P. 241 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 56 ⁄ Ross Racine www.stamen.com
USA Benjamin Dennel ⁄ › P. 17 ⁄ Canada ⁄ › P. 81 ⁄ Andrew van der Westhuyzen
www.ball-nogues.com France www.rossracine.com Australia
⁄ › P. 217 ⁄ www.benjamindennel.com
⁄ › PP. 34, 35 ⁄ Max Frey
Austria
J Benjamin Maus
Germany
www.allesblinkt.com
⁄ › PP. 231, 240 ⁄
Moritz Stefaner
Germany
www.collider.com.au
⁄ › P. 96 ⁄

Kerstin Ballies www.maxfrey.net Jin Jung ⁄ › PP. 48, 216 ⁄ Shannon Rankin moritz.stefaner.eu
Germany DensityDesign ⁄ › P. 232 ⁄ South Korea USA ⁄ › PP. 55, 66 ⁄ Whitevoid
www.kerstinballies.de Italy www.therewhere.com www.artistshannonrankin.com interactive art & design
⁄ › P. 76 ⁄ www.densitydesign.org ⁄ › P. 171 ⁄ Nathalie Miebach ⁄ › PP. 245, 247 ⁄ Germany

Marian Bantjes
⁄ › PP. 14, 15, 16, 22, 172, 208, 209 ⁄
G jung + wenig
USA
www.nathaliemiebach.com
⁄ › PP. 266, 267 ⁄ Giles Revell
R. Justin Stewart
USA
www.rjustin.com
www.whitevoid.com
⁄ › PP. 254, 255 ⁄

Canada Ritwik Dey Arno Ghelfi Christopher Jung & Tobias Wenig United Kingdom ⁄ › PP. 216, 260, 261, 263 ⁄
www.bantjes.com USA USA Germany www.gilesrevell.com why not smile: Hoon Kim
⁄ › P. 179 ⁄ www.ritwikdey.com www.starno.com www.jungundwenig.com Simon Mortimer ⁄ › P. 144 ⁄ USA
⁄ › P. 67 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 70 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 41 ⁄ United Kingdom studio veríssimo www.whynotsmile.com
www.headingseven.co.uk Portugal ⁄ › PP. 60, 191, 196, 197, 235 ⁄
Xavier Barrade ⁄ › P. 142 ⁄ Stine Belden Røed www.studioverissimo.net
France
www.xavierbarrade.com
⁄ › PP. 84, 103 ⁄
Matthias Dittrich
Germany
www.matthiasdittrich.com
Bryan Nash Gill
USA
www.bryannashgill.com
K Boris Müller
Norway
www.stinestine.no
⁄ › P. 222 ⁄
⁄ › P. 150 ⁄
Laurens van Wieringen
Netherlands
⁄ › P. 120 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 157 ⁄ Nina Katchadourian Germany Sugar Stacks www.laurensvanwieringen.nl
USA www.esono.com USA ⁄ › P. 219 ⁄
Daniel Becker www.ninakatchadourian.com ⁄ › PP. 63, 153 ⁄ rollergirl www.sugarstacks.com
Germany Draught Associates Andy Gilmore ⁄ › P. 246 ⁄ Switzerland ⁄ › PP. 129, 133 ⁄
www.daniel-a-becker.de United Kingdom USA www.rollergirl.ch Matt Willey
⁄ › PP. 111, 173, 174 ⁄ www.draught.co.uk
⁄ › PP. 23, 131 ⁄
www.kunstformen.blogspot.com
⁄ › P. 233 ⁄ Johnny Kelly
Ireland
N ⁄ › PP. 226, 227 ⁄
Richard Sweeney
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
www.studio8design.co.uk
⁄ › PP. 86, 144 ⁄
David Bizer
Germany
www.davidbizer.com E GMI Grandmother India Design
India
www.mickeyandjohnny.com
⁄ › PP. 11, 34, 53 ⁄
Michael Najjar
Germany
www.michaelnajjar.com
S www.richardsweeney.co.uk
⁄ › P. 241 ⁄
Mark Wilson
⁄ › P. 113 ⁄ www.grandmother.in ⁄ › PP. 248, 249 ⁄ salottobuono USA

Chris Bodle
EAR Studio
USA
www.earstudio.com
⁄ › P. 195 ⁄ Dongwoo Kim
USA
www.networkosaka.com Gretchen Nash
Italy
www.salottobuono.net
⁄ › PP. 13, 36, 37, 151 ⁄
T www.mgwilson.com
⁄ › P. 234 ⁄

United Kingdom ⁄ › P. 258 ⁄ Golden Section Graphics ⁄ › P. 106 ⁄ USA Clémentine Tantet
www.watermarksproject.org Germany www.gretchenetc.com France Sam Winston
⁄ › PP. 129, 160 ⁄ www.golden-section-graphics.com ⁄ › P. 78 ⁄ Kenjiro Sano www.clemographe.com United Kingdom
Daniel Eatock ⁄ › PP. 24, 109, 202, 203 ⁄ Joshua Kirsch Japan ⁄ › PP. 194, 195 ⁄ www.samwinston.com
United Kingdom USA www.mr-design.jp ⁄ › PP. 238, 239 ⁄
David Bowen www.eatock.com www.joshuakirsch.com Adrian Newell ⁄ › P. 146 ⁄
USA ⁄ › P. 152 ⁄ Martin Gorka ⁄ › PP. 100, 101 ⁄ United Kingdom Jer Thorp
www.dwbowen.com
⁄ › PP. 48, 49, 158 ⁄
Germany
www.martingorka.de
www.adriannewell.co.uk
⁄ › P. 169 ⁄ Katrin Schacke
Canada
www.blprnt.com Z
Jude Buffum
F ⁄ › PP. 42, 97 ⁄ Tim Knowles
United Kingdom
www.timknowles.co.uk Christoph Niemann
Germany
www.katrinschacke.de
⁄ › PP. 13, 40, 41, 180, 182, 183 ⁄
⁄ › PP. 73, 108, 165, 185, 213 ⁄
Piero Zagami
Italy
USA Caroline Fabès John Grimwade ⁄ › PP. 50, 51, 161 ⁄ Germany ToDo www.pierozagami.com
www.judebuffum.com France USA www.christophniemann.com Italy ⁄ › PP. 42, 93 ⁄
⁄ › PP. 13, 24, 25, 134 ⁄ www.carolinefabes.com www.johngrimwade.com ⁄ › PP. 23, 32, 83, 85, 107, 132 ⁄ Eva Schindling www.todo.to.it
⁄ › PP. 55, 60, 61 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 71 ⁄ Germaine Koh Austria ⁄ › PP. 163, 175 ⁄
Canada www.evsc.net Zalibarek
C Yvonne Feller & Florian Flechsig
Germany
Charlie de Grussa
United Kingdom
www.germainekoh.com
⁄ › P. 161 ⁄
Toby Ng Kwong To
Hong Kong
www.toby-ng.com
⁄ › PP. 121, 123, 252 ⁄
Toko
Australia
Poland
www.zalibarek.net
⁄ › P. 244 ⁄
C2F: Cybu Richli & Fabienne Burri www.wirsindjungundbrauchendasgeld.de www.charliedegrussa.com ⁄ › P. 131 ⁄ Corriette Schoenaerts www.toko.nu
Switzerland ⁄ › P. 181 ⁄ ⁄ › P. 153 ⁄ kyouei design Netherlands ⁄ › P. 172 ⁄
www.c2f.to Japan www.corrietteschoenaerts.com ZERO PER ZERO
⁄ › PP. 55, 68, 69 ⁄ www.kyouei-ltd.co.jp NOCC ⁄ › P. 189 ⁄ South Korea
Nicholas Felton Joost Grootens ⁄ › P. 218 ⁄ France Trikoton www.zeroperzero.com
USA Netherlands www.nocc.fr Germany ⁄ › PP. 192, 193
Catalogtree www.feltron.com www.grootens.nl ⁄ › PP. 105, 112 ⁄ Benjamin Schulte www.trikoton.com
Netherlands ⁄ › P. 211 ⁄ Germany ⁄ › P. 114 ⁄
⁄ › PP. 88, 198, 199 ⁄
www.catalogtree.net www.benjaminschulte.com
⁄ › PP. 72, 73, 94, 168, 223, 224 ⁄ ⁄ › PP. 148, 149 ⁄
 datA floW
V i s u a l i Z i n g I n f o r m at i o n
in Graphic Design

Edited by Robert Klanten, Sven Ehmann, Nicolas Bourquin, Thibaud Tissot

Preface, chapter introductions and interviews by Johannes Schardt
Project descriptions by Sonja Commentz

Cover by onlab, Thibaud Tissot and Johanna Klein

Cover Photography by Michael Najjar, high altitude / lehman_92-89, 2008–2009,
Courtesy by the artist and Galería Juan Silió
Layout by onlab, Thibaud Tissot and Johanna Klein
Typefaces: Eesti by Reto Moser and Tobias Rechsteiner (www.grotesk.cc) and
Farnham by The Font Bureau

Project Management by Julian Sorge for Gestalten

Production Management by Vinzenz Geppert for Gestalten
Proofreading by Lyndsey Cockwell
Printed by Graphische Betriebe Eberl GmbH, Immenstadt im Allgäu
Made in Germany

Published by Gestalten, Berlin 2010

ISBN 978-3-89955-278-2

© Die Gestalten Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
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sion in writing from the publisher.

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Gestalten selected all included work based solely on its artistic merit.

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