Midterm outline

Reflecting on the 5 in 5 experiments and the research I’ve been doing has helped me narrow down my focus for my final project. My original goal with this project was to use data visualization in order to explore something at the intersection of art, history, and technology. Why? I’ve always been interested in history, I have a professional goal of strengthening my data-driven design skills, and I knew that art museums openly offered their databases for projects like this.

In my 5 in 5, I accomplished 3 out of 4 of those aspects — using data visualization to illustrate trends in art and history — but I wasn’t quite sure how or where to incorporate the “technological breakthroughs” aspect.

After a fruitful discussion with Myles in MS2, I realized that I was a lot more fascinated by the phenomenon of technological evolution over the course of history.

My new goal, as of now, is to use data visualization to map the evolution of technological progress, revealing chain reactions and hidden connections between key figures, world events, ideas, and inventions — in order to show how history shaped computing and all the technology we rely on today. I envision it being informative and enlightening — a tool that actually spurs realizations and conversation, as well as interactive and engaging — encouraging interaction and exploration.

Some of my current design questions:

• Should this be an exploratory visualization (where users find their own path) or a guided narrative?
• What level of complexity is appropriate for different audiences (tech-savvy users, general public, students)?
• How can I leave users with a sense of agency, showing that technology is shaped by human choices, not just inevitable progress?
• How can I make the audience feel the relevance of this history in today’s world?