Capstone — Week 5
A Physical Visualization Exploration
In “Week 5,” I thought I would be more hands-on in building physical prototypes or at least smaller parts for the 2D Relief sculpture. But rather there was more sketching running off of the previous week’s ideation evolutions.
An Interactive Form
Thinking more about the Design Kit concept from “Week 4,” a sculptural form the audience can build themselves based on their data and forms representing their data points, I came up with the following sketch. It stems from the 2D relief I have been developing, reminiscent of the game “Connect 4” by dropping shapes representing data into a calendar box with monthly columns. The design kit for others feels like a natural progression as I already have been translating data to more simplified categories for my own use to develop physical visualizations. Thus developing a system for others is an evolution.
The 3D shapes can vary in form, color and pattern depending on the data they represent. The shapes can include a small cavity to allow a place to tuck away handwritten notes of the yogi’s practice intentions and dedications. Intentions can be very personal, so having a small nook rather than on display feels more intimate, playing off of a Tibetan prayer box, a small amulet that holds one’s message.
A step further, the user can choose what they want to track, what data they want to have represented, and choose from form options they can assign to what they are tracking. And having it represented in a year timeframe seems more manageable and attainable as a set, start anew each year.
On the other hand, the overall system could be quite simple, as simple as a string system of knots, a knot added for each practice. Or small shapes can clip onto the string representing each practice. I had an abacus in mind with this idea, a sort of counting system. The act of practice is core, so visualizing showing up for practice, showing up for oneself, holds much meaning and is powerful enough to stand in its own physical visualization.
An OH NO or AHA moment—Panic or Promise
I woke to a moment of panic, a thought that had been percolating for some weeks, born of a data pattern I was noticing, something I was tucking away or more like pushing aside for another day. But clearly, the pattern wanted attention now.
What happens to the visualization when the data points start to repeat and continue to repeat over a long period of time (the same data again and again and again)? Will the visualization lose its visual impact and become stagnant; will the story go flat? Or is there beauty in the repetition routine?
I met a yogi who called himself Basic Bob (or something like that). I would run into him Saturday mornings, crossing paths in the waiting areas. He had been practicing yoga for years but always took the beginners or basic level yoga class. I found it curious. I love the more advanced classes, playing and even fumbling in difficult poses (its play), practicing headstands and other inversions which the beginner classes do not offer. He surely was seasoned and strong enough to try more advanced sessions. But he was content with being Basic Bob, it gave him what he wanted and needed.
And he is not the only yogi that I have met with similar practice, generally only taking beginner-level classes. Why and how we each practice is personal and unique. But I have found, showing up to practice and for oneself is fundamental. It is enough.
So what might Bob’s data visualization look like? It may be one color or one shape throughout. Maybe it is just a chain of knots on a string. And there can be beauty in that.
So instead of looking at this type of data as stagnant or negative, I look at it as just another viable visualization—an equally beautiful outcome.
