Mediating Everyday Data Encounters with Mundane Video Vignettes
Yu Zhang, Mathias Funk · 2021
Data in everyday life is represented in ways that are supposed to connect with our needs, tasks and situations, to inform and facilitate effectiveness and functionalism. And still, all we see are numbers, charts or graphics. We engage in sense-making all day through analytical interpretation, which is often not intuitive and causes friction whenever we encounter it in an everyday context. In our work, we aim for a different experience in everyday data-sensemaking that translates sensor data, time and data from external sources into lively, yet mundane video vignettes. The aim is to connect the experience to the phenomenon behind data, to deny data the stage and spotlight in our Everyday. This case study shows the design and implementation of a novel, interactive video installation that projects mundane data into an Everyday context, giving the data a new form and meaning. We work with video vignettes that are designed as short, neutral video fragments and show a person in different mundane situations, acting alone or interacting with props. The design process went through three iterations before the installation was exhibited as part of a group exhibition. We reflect on the most important design decisions, turning points in the process and how design and implementation are intertwined throughout the installation preparation. We conclude with a short overview of the contribution and an outlook to future work.