Concreate | Data physicalization toolkit

I will be presenting this project at the ASME 2022 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE) in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Concreate data physicalization toolkit makes quantitative data accessible and inspiration for non-data experts by stimulating reflection through physical interaction. The collaborative toolkit invites users into intense, tangible interaction with data which increases reflection and creates a deeper understanding of the physicalised data. This in turn stimulates creative thinking, leading to more creative insights from data. The performed studies and development of the toolkit were carried out at Ford Motor Company.

Features
The complete toolkit consists of an instruction process, physical tokens to represent units and dimensions of data, along with a mapping board, and a set of reflection cards. The instruction process outlines each step in the process to go from raw quantitative data to creative insights using Concreate. The mapping board and tokens are designed to build out a representation of a data set, facilitating reflection-in-action and physicalizations that reveal insights about the data. The reflection cards encourage explicit reflection-on-action, deepening found insights and inviting participants to interact with the finished physicalization.

Research
While the advantages of data-enabled design are undeniable, organisations seem to struggle to use data as creative material to inspire the design process. This is caused by the different perspectives of designers and data scientist on data and the lack of clarity on data literacy and skills that may be relevant to designers. The problem is magnified by the overwhelming volume of (big) data, often gathered without a clear vision for its use. Nevertheless, using data as creative material has shown to lead to more valuable insights from data, eventually leading to better products and services.
Choosing the right type of data representation is critical for using data for creative purposes. Data visualization has proven to be highly effective in increasing understanding of data, as it is fast, accurate and flexible. However, data physicalization has been gaining popularity over the past years, which might be explained by the growing emergence of fast prototyping techniques, but also the increase of virtual fatigue, leading to a rediscovery of the physical world. The required effort and awareness of the data physicalization process has the potential to encourage more reflection-in-action moments that stimulate creativity, next to reflection-on-action occurring after finishing the physicalization. The dynamic relationship that develops between the user and data increases critical reflection and understanding of data. Thus, data physicalizations can allow users to explore data using their natural abilities to understand the world around them by perceiving and manipulating physical objects and materials.

Studies
I conducted a preliminary and follow-up study to explore the use of data physicalization in creative settings. For the preliminary study I designed an online data physicalization prototype in Miro. The preliminary study enabled to collect initial requirements for the development of a physicalization toolkit, while the follow-up study investigated its impact on the design process, in comparison to data visualization. The studies finally led to the development of Concreate.