Prof. Dr. Marian Dörk

The aim of this course is to visualize an economy built on solidarity, sustainability, and survival—instead of exploitation, extraction, and extinction. Given multiple interconnected crises, there is an urgent need to devise new kinds of structures that let us weave resilient relations with each other and the world we live in. Data visualization is typically used to represent what is, but rarely how things could and maybe should be. In this course we will take on the challenge to visualize organizational structures that hardly exist yet, but are foreshadowed in the experimental configurations of cooperatives, projects, and initiatives. To find inspiration we will visit a range of organizations that are committed to social-ecological transformation and operate on principles of social and ecological justice. These organizations will share their experiences and offer opportunities to see innovative ways of working together, making decisions, and cultivating cooperation in critical times.

This is a nomadic course with all sessions taking place at different locations in Berlin and Potsdam. Please, plan in enough time for getting to our hosts. Technically, the course is an opportunity to revisit visualization basics and engage with more advanced research topics. Visualization methods will include techniques for representing networks and tree structures as well as spatial and temporal patterns. We will discuss and reflect on the rhetoric of data visualizations and the potential of visualization to promote advocacy and critique. Aiming to visualize structures of a social-ecological economy, each student will carry out a small data visualization project, spanning data collection, visualization design, and iterative prototyping. The visualizations will be based on practices and principles encountered during the visits, readings, and exchanges throughout the semester. While students will work individually on their projects, the entire course will form a temporary collective experimenting with some of the principles we encounter during the semester.

This course is an introduction to the field of data visualization that is concerned with the visual analysis and interactive representation of abstract data. Across various spheres of everyday life there is an increasing need to develop effective methods for making sense of data and inform personal and professional decision-making. The aim of data visualization is to utilize the perceptual system to help detect otherwise invisible aspects and gain new insights into data sets. From urban planning and news media to arts and advocacy, there is great hope in the power of data visualization to represent complex issues in an informative and engaging manner. While visualizations can indeed provide novel perspectives on large data sets, they can also obscure or misrepresent certain aspects of a phenomenon. It has become essential for information professionals to develop a critical literacy of data visualization.

The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the principles and methods of data visualization and to enable them to design, implement and deploy visualizations to support a range of information practices. Each session of the course will consist of two parts: a lecture component and a tutorial. During the lecture the fundamentals of data visualization will be covered such as mapping data to visual variables, the role that interactivity can play, and techniques for visualizing temporal, geospatial, multidimensional, relational and textual data. The tutorials will be hands-on sessions that complement the lectures with practical activities and assignments involving data analysis and programming. Each student will apply general visualization principles to the creation of a data dossier about a topic of their choice. The course requires basic knowledge of statistics, data structures, and algorithms. At least some prior experience in programming is advisable.

Can we design collections interfaces that stimulate open-ended exploration and profound engagements with cultural heritage? How can we find representations that convey the abundance of a collection and the unique individuality of its artifacts? What are technological developments that transform the way we design interactive graphics? How can we address difficult questions about representation? We will approach these theoretical and technical questions in interdisciplinary teams. In collaboration with cultural institutions, small student teams will carry out design-oriented research with the aim to create new visualizations that open insightful and innovative perspectives onto collections, while we consider visualizations also to be artifacts that need to be interpreted and interrogated.

The proliferation of new services and sensors gives rise to unprecedented volumes of data that increasingly shape our perception of the urban surroundings. Apps and maps already influence the ways we move and meet in the city. This course is devoted to the analysis of urban data and communication of urban issues. On the one hand, the aim is to engage in critical reflections about the role that data and algorithms can and already do play in the everyday experience of cities. On the other hand, the course provides a good opportunity to deepen your experience with data and visualization.

Lectures review fundamentals of information visualization, such as visual encoding, interaction techniques, and data structures. Guests will complement these inputs with perspectives from urbanism, policy, and advocacy. Selected readings will encourage exchanges about the latest research on urban data visualization. After a few warm-up assignments, students of interface design and urban futures will form interdisciplinary teams to pursue projects in collaboration with civil society actors at the intersection of the visualization and transformation of cities. Students will prepare brief method inputs on tools and theories that are relevant for their projects. The underlying question of the course is: How can seeing the city in new light lead to changes in individual decision-making and collective action?

Please note: The class will be taught in English. All communication during the seminars as well as literature and auxiliary materials will be in English. The course starts November 3.

HINWEIS: Die Einschreibung erfolgt NICHT über die EMW-Webseite, sondern über Incom: https://fhp.incom.org/workspace/9021

For cultural institutions, such as museums, libraries or archives, it has become an inevitable but also greatly beneficial task to present their collections on the Web. Digitization promises unprecedented levels of access to cultural artifacts and exciting opportunities for interface design and information visualization. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of innovative approaches that move away from grids and compressed images towards generous interfaces which make the artifacts and artworks available for free exploration. How can we design interfaces for cultural collections that aim at both researchers and a broad public? How can we find visual representations that convey the abundance of the collection, but also the individuality of the artifacts? How do we deal with questions of representation in light of postcolonialism and critical design?
In this project course we will approach these questions in interdisciplinary teams. Advanced students of interface design, cultural management, and media studies will work together to explore and critically examine visualizations of cultural collections. In collaboration with cultural institutions, students will form small project teams and carry out hands-on research, from analyzing opportunities and possibilities to offline and online prototyping. The aim is to create visualizations that open novel perspectives on and interesting insights into the collections. As part of this process, we consider the visualizations to be cultural artifacts themselves that need to be interpreted and questioned, too.
Participants should have a solid understanding and practical experience with either information visualization or cultural collections – and an interest in the respective other. In interdisciplinary groups, participants will develop research projects and pursue their own questions. The results of the course will be presented at the end to the partners and documented in the form of a paper and a demo on the web.

In addition to this course please also visit the course Visualizing Cultural Collections 2.

For cultural institutions, such as museums, libraries or archives, it has become an inevitable but also greatly beneficial task to present their collections on the Web. Digitization promises unprecedented levels of access to cultural artifacts and exciting opportunities for interface design and information visualization. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of innovative approaches that move away from grids and compressed images towards generous interfaces which make the artifacts and artworks available for free exploration. How can we design interfaces for cultural collections that aim at both researchers and a broad public? How can we find visual representations that convey the abundance of the collection, but also the individuality of the artifacts? How do we deal with questions of representation in light of postcolonialism and critical design?
In addition to this course please also visit the project course Visualizing Cultural Collections 1

Cultural institutions are investing great efforts in the digitization of their collections, however, there is a lack of innovative approaches to reveal the richness of these collections and make them available for casual exploration. What would an exploratory interface to digital cultural heritage look like? In this research-oriented project course we will approach this question. We consider the digital representation of collection items as a perspective in its own right, not a lower-quality proxy of the ‘original’ physical collection. So far there are only few examples of visualizations being applied to cultural objects, however, initial experiments demonstrate a variety of promising opportunities for research and design. In particular methods of information visualization have already been used to make the conceptual and material structure of collections better visible and explorable.

The aim of this interdisciplinary project course is the investigation of innovative visualization techniques for the exploration of cultural collections. Advanced students of design, cultural management, conservation, and media studies will work together to study the potential of visualizing cultural collections. In collaboration with cultural institutions small project teams will connect cultural considerations with technological possibilities and pursue both practical and theoretical research questions. The objective is to create and evaluate visualizations that open novel perspectives on collections. As part of this process, we consider the visualizations to be cultural artifacts themselves that need to be interpreted and questioned, too.

Participants should have a basic understanding and some practical experience with either information visualization or cultural collections – and an interest in the respective other. In interdisciplinary groups, participants will develop research projects and pursue their own questions. The results of the course will be presented at the end to the partners and documented in the form of a paper and a demo on the web.

Cultural institutions are investing great efforts in the digitization of their collections, however, there is a lack of innovative approaches to reveal the richness of these collections and make them available for casual exploration. What would an exploratory interface to digital cultural heritage look like? In this research-oriented project course we will approach this question. We consider the digital representation of collection items as a perspective in its own right, not a lower-quality proxy of the 'original' physical collection. So far there are only few examples of visualizations being applied to cultural objects, however, initial experiments demonstrate a variety of promising opportunities for research and design. In particular methods of information visualization have already been used to make the conceptual and material structure of collections better visible and explorable.

The aim of this interdisciplinary project course is the investigation of innovative visualization techniques for the exploration of cultural collections. Advanced students of design, information sciences, cultural management, media studies and conservation will work together to study the potential of visualization of cultural collections. In collaboration with cultural institutions small project teams will connect cultural considerations with technological possibilities and pursue both practical and theoretical research questions. The objective is to create and evaluate visualizations that open novel perspectives on collections. As part of this process, we consider the visualizations to be cultural artifacts themselves that need to be interpreted and questioned, too.

Participants should have a basic understanding and some practical experience with either information visualization or cultural collections - and an interest in the other. In small interdisciplinary project groups participants will develop research projects and pursue their own questions. The results of the course will be presented at a public event on campus and documented in the form of an academic paper and a demo on the web.