VISMOCK: A Programmable Smocking Technique for Creating Interactive Data Physicalization
Bahare Bakhtiari, Charles T. Perin, Sowmya Somanath · Designing Interactive Systems Conference · 2024
Data physicalization is a research area that explores representing data attributes through manipulating the geometric and physical properties of tangible objects. We introduce VISMOCK, a data physicalization approach that leverages a fabric manipulation technique called “smocking”. VISMOCK supports the creation of interactive and dynamic data physi-calizations by extending the smocking technique with programmable components such as thermochromic pigments and shape memory alloys. Using a research-through-design methodology, we develop an initial design space for VISMOCK that shows how data can be represented using visual and tactile variables, as well as the affordances of VISMOCK. We demonstrate the generative power of our design space through four exemplars, created using VISMOCK. We use these exemplars to discuss the advantages and limitations of VISMOCK as a tool for data physicalization.