BIG DATA AND SMALL BEGINNINGS – HOW PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH DATA PHYSICALIZATIONS

Abstract

Data physicalization has emerged on the design scene as a way of making sense of big (quantitative) data. This study explores how bigdata physicalizations are designed, how people engage with them, and how that spurs innovation. Graduate student designers created 15 data physicalizations to engage bus planners and bus passengers at multi-stakeholder workshops in discussing bus services and bus designs. The physicalizations were based on passenger data from 9 city bus routes. We used dimensional analysis to scrutinize the data physicalizations as constructs and multimodal interaction analysis to understand how workshop participant interact with the physicalizations. Using the theories of Flow State and Play Moods as analytic perspectives we identified patterns of engagement that were stimulated by both material aspects of the data physicalizations and the designers’ role in facilitating interaction. We contribute with a framework of how data physicalizations can scale big data insights to meaningful engagements, which in turn lead to Small Beginnings of innovation.