DensityDesign | Communication Design & Complexity » Design Interventions

The Economist: Mapping a better world

lorenzo fernandez — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:37:52 +0000

This morning flipping trough the last issue of the Economist, I ran into an interesting article titled “Mapping a Better World“. Since we have been working together with the LA based NGO Iridescent Learning in the “Urban Schools Needs Project”, I’ve became quiet familiar with the shape of Los Angeles. When, flipping the last page before heading to the office, I bumped in a full color LA Map showing relations between parks diffusion and childhood obesity; I felt that somehow they were talking also about us.
The article goes trough different successful examples of mapping tools that have been used to visualize correlation between different data and places on a map.

The ending is quite evocative:
” Maps don’t change the world – but people who use maps do.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Cartografare il presente, Mapping the world.

Luigi Farrauto — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:32:46 +0000

A very interesting set of conferences (about to end but we’re still in time) about cartography. The occasion is the next issue of the Atlas of Le Monde Diplomatique.

http://www.cartografareilpresente.org

http://www.cartografareilpresente.org/spip.php?page=cartes&lang=it

http://www.france-bologna.it
http://www.dds.unibo.it

SIMPOSIO “GEOPOLITICA E MIGRAZIONI”

Complesso di San Giovanni in Monte, Aula Prodi, Piazza San Giovanni in
Monte 2, Bologna. Sabato 30 maggio, ore 10

Saluti: Carla Giovannini (Preside della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia
dell’Università di Bologna), Alberto De Bernardi (Direttore del
Dipartimento di Discipline Storiche dell’Università di Bologna)

Interventi: Catherine de Wenden (Centre d’études et de Recherches
Internationales, CNRS/Sciences Po), Gigi Roggero (Università di Bologna),
Olivier Clochard (rete Migreurop), Caroline Intrand (associazione Médecins
du Monde)

Presiede: Carlo Galli (Presidente del Comitato Internazionale di Bologna
per la Cartografia e l’Analisi del Mondo Contemporaneo)

Fold it, it makes sense! Six stories about poverty.

DensityDesign — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:11:36 +0000

Who are the poor? Poverty is neither a number nor an index. It cannot be reduced to a line that divides those who are above and those who are below, establishing a unique space for social exclusion. Poverty is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon. Its reduction to a fragmented representation could generate distorted visions of the phenomenon and allow ineffective or counterproductive interventions.

Communication design addresses semiotics, statistics and social sciences methods to investigates how diagrammatic devices could help in preserving the complexity of the phenomenon and in communicating it. The aim is to build up the conditions for more aware interventions.
Six dimensions of the poverty phenomenon were analyzed, challenging the students ability in the use of different visual tools and modes, to build a shared understanding between different stakeholders.

The Open Day is an opportunity to (re)connect the different dimensions and to (re)build the big picture of poverty.

Visualizing Mozilla Community – An Open Call to Designers

Gaia Scagnetti — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:44:01 +0000

Mozzilla is calling for Designers to answer the question: What if there was a way to show people how the Mozilla project operates?

Visual designers and data engineers have built interactive visualizations of out of all sorts of Mozilla data. Now we think it would be cool to create a visualization that attempts to demystify the collaborative process of making software, while celebrating our contributors. We’ve gotten some early input and design help from the talented team at Stamen Design, but to take this to the next level, we need your help.

If you’re a visual designer, data visualization guru, student or just interested in hacking on a cool project, join us to generate concepts and prototypes.

see the call

Project progress report 02. Systemic approach and causal loop model

Donato Ricci — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:40:39 +0000

A causal loop model has been developed in order to help understand the complex systemic structure of poverty in all its dimension. System diagramming is here a loose term used to describe the activity of conceptually representing and visualizing a system in its constitutive elements: the elements, the relationships and the system boundary distinguishing what does and does not belong to the set.
The assumption of this qualitative exercise is that poverty, and its dimensions, are the result of the dynamics between a wide variety of factors from macro-politic, to the personal behavioral patterns.
The key element of the visualization are the factors and the variables. They are the environment attributes and characteristics that have an influence level of poverty.

A Relevance issue was a criterion for deciding which factors belonged to the system. In this case, relevance was determined by a open discussion between the students and the board of the course.
The system has been visualized in a particular format: a causal loop model (or diagram).

In a causal loop model, the system’s elements (factors, variables) are represented by boxes, and the causal relationships between two variables are represented by arrows. The variable at the tail of the arrow has a causal effect on the variable at the point. In addition, a distinction can be made between positive and negative causal relationships. A positive causal relationship implies that both variables will change in the same direction: if variable, a (at the tail) increases, then also variable b (at the point) will increase (and if a decreases, then b decreases). A negative relationship, on the other hand, implies that variables change in oppositedirections (if a increases b will decrease and if a decreases b will increase).
The causalities discussed so far are linear causalities (from a to b). Circular causalities (e.g. from a to b and from b to a) in systems maps are called feedback loops. They are an important feature of causal loop models because they help to explain the dynamic behavior of the system.

Experience & Imagination

Donato Ricci — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:06:18 +0000

Knowing Complex Systems. The limits of understanding
Due to their non-linear nature, complex systems are incompressible. They are also open systems and cannot be understood without also understanding their environments and their history. To fully know something complex will therefore involve incorporating all the complexity of the system and its environment. This not humanly possible, perhaps not even possible in principle. Thus, our models of complex systems always have to reduce the complexity. Since what is left out also has non-linear effects, we cannot predict the error made in the reduction. The modelling and understanding of complex system thus always involve an element of choice which cannot be justified by pure calculation. There is always a normative element involved.

This is not an argument against calculation, but a justification for why formal models will always have to be supplemented by narratives which make the limits of the model explicit. At the same time, the narrative models are also limited to a certain perspective. It can thus be argued that there is an irreducible ethical component to our understanding of complexity. We have to accept the responsibility for our models although we know they are flawed. When dealing with complexity there are simultaneous roles for the natural and the human sciences, for both mathematics and imagination.

(From Paul Cilliers’ Abstract presented at The first World Knowledge Dialogue Symposium)

Election Day

Donato Ricci — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:43:47 +0000

election day, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

Density Design (GS+DR) is returning officer and secretary in one of the polling station during the italian election day 2008.
The compulsive obsession for graphs and diagrams led us to draw this…
As soon as possible a more detailed piece about the experience that made envy all others polling places

Skyvideo.gotoAndPlay(1’18”)

Skyvideo.gotoAndPlay(1’30”)

Infrastructure System | Spactio

Donato Ricci — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:10:13 +0000

Infrastrucute System | Spactio, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

Spactio as presence in territory, such as the need to make their voice heard; as acronym of Society for Action who must undergo decisions taken far away from him.

Spactio is a project of Federconsumatori which aims in involving citizens in decisions concerning the construction of new infrastructure. Instead of being passive part, thanks to Spactio tools, now citizens can create a way to enter to the decision-making table bringing their proposals. To achieve this goal Spactio points to the creation of small local groups particularly sensitive and with a strong link to their own territory. Task of these groups is to collect information and spread it to the rest of people, informing their of the relevance they have about their own territory.

(the scenario)
(the diagram)

Infrastructure System | Fedora

Donato Ricci — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:49:07 +0000

Infrastructure System | Fedora, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

“In the center of Fedora, that gray stone metropolis “, there is a multitude of crystal globes. Inside each crystal globe you can find a different figure, a fine model about a conceivable metropolis.
Fedora project means to show thinking diversities, questions, troubles and each possible hypothesis while we plan an infrastructural project. Fedora belongs to our social world: it is sharing information, it is our memory.
Fedora uses net potential and mass media visibility: each single project is “narrated”, described and analyzed by various technical instruments. It makes use of information collected by public administrations, individualities and business directly involved in project planning, financing or management. And, above all, by people that lives there. You can use a web portal to keep track of the mediatic information, of citizens’ voices, of the projectplanners, financiers or managers’ opinions. You can make use of two minutes of project-figure-out in a short local TV program; we also provide a scheduled printed documentation, both as a long detailed informative report and as a regular supplement to local newspaper: graphical representation of the most important facts and rumors about the project.
Fedora will be in every public square of the cities involved in each big infrastructural project. There, a huge transparent globe shall contain wooden models. Pastels, felt-tip pens, ballpoints or tempera colors will be the instrument for writing, drawing and finally spread your own opinions, doodling on many truck paper model.
A map where you can find both the big «gray stone» infrastructure and every little ideas sketched over a white paper sheet.

(the scenario)
(the diagram)

Hospital System | Labirintignoti

Donato Ricci — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:15:30 +0000

Hospital System | Labirintignoti, originally uploaded by densitydesign.

Following a change of philosophy, due to the recent studies’ results, the hospital system does not consider the user any more as a generic and standardized customer, but it takes conscience of the psychological factors able to condition and affect positively not only on the times, but also the recovery itself. The patient is not deprived any more of his characteristics, identity and culture, and it is considered paying attention to his necessities, given both by the subjective characteristics of the individual, and by the illness itself. From here it is born the project of improvement of ambient atmosphere, which sees in Regione Lombardia the subject promoter of the initiative; to this, a communication and an action are partnership taken turned to awaken the audience and look for some companies by one: Labirintignoti, or rather a space prepared in his turn communicated by promocard, shows and posters 3d.
The role of the preparation is triple: above all wants to be aware the audience, thanks to a programming which will move the first in every province, what it will be so dipped in a different reality; in second place the will and the engagement of Regione Lombardia are clear made in improving the regional sanitary system, also promoting events of this kind to pick up funds.
At last, many people will visit the preparation, materials and tools will see used be for the building of the “labyrinth” itself, and both those that they could be used in the putting into effect of the project , therefore an interesting shop window is revealed for whoever wants to show its products.
The space wants to be a reclause in metaphorical key of the difficulties of orientation and exploration of environments and seeds places or completely ipo conditions or also of not vedenza, recreating the uneasinesses lived during the bound period in bed to problems so than the sight. To awaken the visitors on the theme, and therefore push them to contribute in first person, they one places in the same conditions as the beneficiaries of the intervention , therefore the user is placed in a labyrinth with poor lighting. These during the way it is dipped in various environments, each of which points to confuse the user, or rather whats can be produced in seeds-darkness when, without being used to and a situation being different from that several relatives, more the other senses are used. At the end of this experience there will be an informative area turned to awaken and let know both the principal causes of the ipo and not vedenza, both the relative remedies, and above all the project of the ambient atmosphere in the hospitals. Subsequently he wants to make the solutions test in first person to get round these orientation difficulties and himself thanks to the cube-room placed to the space prepared exit, to leave the visitors with a reflection starting point on the hospital theme, beyond the one already received.
As regards instead the Labirintignoti communication, such a system has been planned to be yes communicate the prepared space, but also send again to the Quality Hospital project to transmit the tie which connects them: prepared in concomitance with the space, to ‘ intern of the hospital complex principals of the province, an informative show will be exposed in the greater passage points ( hall or he salts of appearance ). The presence of the informative panels in the hospital structures wants to be a starting point on the reflection of the treated themes and still importing more, a returning, to the prepared space, able to make live in first person the themes treated for a comprehension better than the themselves ones. Besides that, promocard will be used and you show 3 d to give more echo to the Labirintignoti presence, so as to attract several possible audience.

(the scenario)
(the diagram)