If you were somewhere in my vicinity October of 2023, you might of heard me geek out about “Dear Data,” a data drawing collaboration by two information designers Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Prosavec. I had just traversed across this project on Pinterest, and as someone who comes from a background in mathematics and data science, was really excited about a project that explored the intersection of graphic design and data.
However, somewhere over the next couple of months, I lost sight of this project and questioned its merit. My main qualms lay with the fact that I felt this data project valued self expression over utility. The data points collected were of the mundane, and it felt nonsensical to spend so much time and effort in illustrating data that didn’t “drive impact.” What’s the point?
Upon re-discovering this project under a new lens of thought and with more context, I’ve decided I was entirely wrong. This project explores utility as a function of aesthetic, thus being a beautiful non-mutually exclusive amalgamation of both artistry and benefit. Take this to be the thesis. Now for the organs:
Dear Data
The premise of Dear Data lies around two designers, Giorgia Lupi (G) and Stefanie Prosavec (S), and their budding friendship. Both information designers who work closely with data, the two had only met a couple times before they developed friend crushes on each other and wanted to explore working on some sort of project with each other. Unfortunately, S lived in London and G lived in Brooklyn. With a whole ocean dividing them, they decided to send each other weekly postcards for a whole year where they observed, recorded and illustrated data in their lives to get to know each other better.
The data they tracked ranged from mundane to deeply introspective. For example, week four studies the amount of times both of them looked in the mirror that week, evaluating the relationships between themselves and mirrors, and week five examines everything they spent money on that week. On the contrary, week 22 had the designers question their past and week 23 encouraged random acts of kindness. On the front of the postcard was the data visualization and on the back, a guide for reading and deciphering the data.
My personal favorite was week seven, “A week of Complaints.” Week seven has the designers record and draw every time they complained that week. I thought their drawings this week were beautiful and personal. G chose to integrate her data into music notes, noting that temporal scores conveys fluctuation, repetitiveness and volume, all of which are duly present in the act of complaining itself. S chose a variation of “data flowers” and expressed complaints by length and color in, what I take as, a relation to weeds growing and festering in the mind.
From a design perspective, its incredible to see the designers flex their craft. The differences between their personal styles- a culmination of years and years of development- are in stark contrast to each other and displays the range of visual data representation. It’s so *different* from the usual bar charts, pi charts and graphical curves we’re so used to seeing in school and technical data visualization projects. It makes me wonder what consequential information/data is being ignored or lost to eyesore graphs.
In a collaborative talk, the designers mentioned that, compared to weeks where they recorded mundane or positive-leaning activities, weeks where they explored negative emotions- such as complaining- left a bit of sour taste in their mouths. Because they chose to focus on data collection surrounding complaining, they ended up complaining more. Other weeks, where they chose to challenge themselves through self improvement tasks, such as smiling at strangers, left a much sweeter taste. Despite being deeply uncomfortable at first, the two noticed themselves smiling more and, in general, more respective to other humans following the experiment.
It goes to show how much a healthy mindset, mindfulness and gratitude can make a positive impact on our actions, and consequentially on our lives. A pessimist may continue to incur pain while an optimist will feel the beauty of life and existence.
Theres a few things that really drew me to this project:
The creativity and intentionality around these data visualizations. I am simply amazed. How does one come up this level of detail in their mind, especially in relation to data?? It is so atypical to the way we’ve been trained to use our brains growing up, especially in relation to logic and mathematics. I ponder a world where we are taught to approach the former from a place of wonder and creation over system.
Data in relation to relationship building.
For a good amount of time, I believed that design was separated into two fields. Expression and utility. For example, there exists graphic design, a subsection of design which I believe capitalizes off emotion. In conjunction with branding and digital art, it drives empathy, with the ability to pilot influence and long lasting social change. On the other hand, there exists digital product design within technology -such as the visual frameworks surrounding the iPhone and social media and AI tooling- which is effective in its methodology, changing the way humans approach and interact with the world. I believed that information design belonged to the latter, simply existing within the bounds of function, operation within data communication.
Design is not this black and white! It never was and never will be! As a matter of fact, despite the labels and boxes we superimpose (both on ourselves and on our world), I’ve come to realize that the best design is generous. Generous in understanding that design itself functions in utterance with art and that utility is a function of aesthetic.
In Dear Data, G and S do exactly that. They surveyed their minds to become more mindful of themselves and each other, resulting in a beautiful friendship built through the data they chose to communicate. Friendship is and was built, in this case, through data collection of mundane, introspective, imperfect and the vulnerable moments in each others lives. They approached their drawings with intentionality yet without inhibition, letting “nonsensical” data guide them to meaning.
On a final note, my other favorite postcard is an ode to love. G and S drew about all the times they felt love (and annoyance) for their partners, and noted that it made them feel more appreciative of their significant others that week. So cute! I love love!
Thats all from me, folks! Take a deeper dive into Dear Data here and check out Stefanie Prosavec and Giorgia Lupi- they’re incredible and huge inspirations of mine.
Cheers,
Shravani
This is so lovely! I've been thinking about starting to send letters to friends, and this is fantastic inspiration for me :)