Heart Sense: experiments in design as a catalyst for feminist reflections on embodiment
Nassim JafariNaimi, Anne Marie Pollock · Proceedings of DRS · 2018
This paper presents the design of a series of experimental data visualizations aimed at reflection and conversation about embodied interactions and physiological data. Taking heart rate as the point of entry, these visualization challenge binaries such as matter/meaning, subjectivity/objectivity, and self/other. More specifically, we present three visualizations. The first one illustrates physiological interaction with emotionally engaging material. The second one explores the experience of time by centring the rate of heartbeats. The third one foregrounds the impact of the environment on physiology and its role in creating a kind of embodied social connection. Together, these three visualizations open up space for new problem formulations and design explorations in and around the themes of data, embodiment, and visualization that are distinctly feminist in their orientation.