Within the broader context of Algorithmic You, an exhibition in Darmstadt that explores how individuals engage with digital platforms, Professor Paolo Ciuccarelli has written a paper on Infopoetry.
How do we reconcile the description of a phenomenon with our personal experience of it? A poetic approach to data could provide an answer: there are moments in the data journey when "feeling" the phenomenon behind the data can be as important as accurately "seeing" the data that represents it.
Professor Ciuccarelli reflects on the impact of technological skills on students' understanding of data and design, emphasizing the need to consider user reactions and intentions. Infopoetry serves to counterbalance the focus on data manipulation techniques by provoking emotional responses and engaging users with the issues at hand. This approach challenges data apathy and seeks to bridge the gap between analytical and narrative purposes in data visualization. By advocating for empathy and subjectivity in design, Ciuccarelli aims to achieve the desired outcomes and reclaim a political role for designers.
In the cover:
NaN—Not (just) a Number
By Jessica Moreschi
An open window on one of the daily collected datasets (in this case, the biomedical measurements of a smartwatch) and its algorithmic interpretation (specifically, the stress recognition). The result is a ‘generative artwork’ that, through a data-driven approach, provides a new exploratory experience of the dataset, turning it into a human-understandable language.
Four exclamation marks
By Giuseppe Defilippis
The effect of notifications on our daily lives is transposed in reading the explanation of the installation.
TikTok-Toiletpaper
By Leonardo Puca
A project with a provocative and ironic tone of voice that aims to provoke a reflection on the quantity/quality of content we are exposed to every day.
Salve!
By Greta Cozza
Salve! is a project designed to make those messages that women send to each other to inform that they got home safely after a night out tangible.
My search calendar
By Yiheng Zhong
Based on his Google search history for November as the basic data source, he generated images using the AI text-to-image tool (Midjourney).
Underwater
By Ana Muço
Underwater uses photos, song lyrics, and voice memos to depict the depression and isolation experienced during a year abroad, using the metaphor of drowning.
