Data Physicalization & The Quantified Self

Hello! We are Katie Herzog and Zach Bachiri. This Spring, 2019, we are doing an independent study at the Carnegie Mellon School of Design focused on exploring intersection of data physicalization and the quantified self.

With the proliferation of technology in our daily lives, more and more of our actions, communications, and memories are being turned into data. Some have welcomed this data collection in the Quantified Self movement, or the quest for exhaustive self-knowledge through self-tracking. Though, while this data is abundant, it is largely inaccessible for the average person. This independent study aims to explore the ways in which the data collected about our daily lives can be manifested in the physical world through a process of Data Physicalization to uncover new stories about ourselves, find new modes of interaction, and raise questions about data collection in our daily lives.

Throughout the semester we will be completing 3 sprints where we explore a type of data present in our lives, ranging for quantitative to qualitative, and design a physical object or objects that embody this data in a way that prompts reflection about our behavior and our self-perception.