Collaborative Data Physicalisation
This project reports on the design, creation and evaluation of physical data presentations - physicalisations - as a way to facilitate collaboration on people’s energy use. The presentation of data in forms beyond the digital has grown in research interest over the past few years. Physicalisation promotes in-depth understanding and engagement in the interaction between users and dataset and in the relation between users. The potential of data physicalisations to support collaborative aspects of peoples’ interaction around data, has however, received insufficient attention to date. This project offers insights into the ways in which people employ physicalisations as part of a collaborative data-mapping activity carried out, in context. Household members used a custom-designed data physicalisation toolkit to map one week of energy-consuming activities and to reflect on patterns of use and opportunities for change.
THE primary purpose of data visualisation is to aid our understanding. Due to the advantages of our visual sense, we are adept at perceiving order, movement and flow within bits and different forms. Strong visual representations and perceptual interfaces can greatly enhance mental computation, improving understanding, memorisation, and decision making. The past decade has seen a growing interest and body of research investigating novel approaches to data visualisation – particularly in how it can be presented in forms beyond the digital – what I term data physicalisation. Physicalisation seems to promote more in-depth understanding and engagement both in the interaction between users and data-set and the relation between users.
In this project, we look at the characteristics and design of data physicalisation, with a focus on collaboration between co-situated participants interacting with and through a data physicalisation. Concepts from the field of tangible interaction and interface design were drawn on to develop a set of design guidelines to support collaborative physicalisation. These guidelines were applied in the context of a live case study, where we engaged households in discussions about their energy consumption around a data physicalisation. Observations of participant interactions were analysed to see how participants employed data physicalisations to support collaboration and to deepen our understanding of the design characteristics that supported this.