Real-Time Cities: an Introduction to Urban Cybernetics Harvard Design School: SCI 0646900

1. Radhya Adityavarman Exercise #1: Case Studies in Sensing and Data Collection Real-Time Cities: an Introduction to Urban Cybernetics Harvard Design School: SCI 0646900 Spring 2014

2. Data Driven Design Turning data into interesting physical forms reveals patterns that are often missed at first glance. By augmenting physical objects with data we can make more informed choices in the design of our projects. 1 | Meshu 2 | Microsonic Landscape 3 | blink(1) 4 | DisplayCabinet 5 | Pattern Matters

3. 1 | Meshu Meshu is a way to turn location data into physical objects. Simply map a series of places and the fine folks behind the application turn that into a beautiful piece of custom jewelry. Even easier is to connect directly with Foursquare and Meshu automagically generates pieces featuring places you’ve checked in. The project has been created by Rachel Binx and Sha Hwang, both are based in San Francisco Project Source: http://meshu.io/

4. 1 | Meshu

5. 1 | Meshu How was the data collected? Foursquare Why was the data collected? What is interesting about the data? Shows where you’ve been, interesting pattern is created when locations are traced. What stories about the urban dynamics can the collected data tell? By analyzing and representing the data we can see how people move through the space, revealing points of interest. What sort of questions about urban dynamics can be answered by looking at the data? Patterns of movement can be seen using the Foursquare check-in data How is the magnitude of the data is dealt with; limiting the collected data, limiting the dimensions in the data set, or abstracting the data? Limiting the collected data, individuals can control the locations that are used.

6. 1 | Meshu How are particular patterns highlighted through techniques for tagging the data in order of their importance? The final product is a pattern created by the Foursquare data, the level of importance is not clearly delineated. How does the original question to be addressed operate as the benchmark for eliminating unnecessary details in the data? The pattern simplifies the individual’s path of travel, allowing the data to be seen immediately. Is the data of a static or dynamic nature? If dynamic, what is the frequency of change and what happens when it starts to change? Static Who is the target audience of the data presentation? The target audience is women around he ages of 18- 40 interested in jewelry and Foursquare What are their goals when approaching the data presentation? What do they stand to learn? The goal is to provide people a physical object using their data, by doing so the are keeping the connection between the object and the information alive.

7. 2 | Microsonic Landscapes Represents music in a physical form by way of an algorithmic translation process from sound to form. By Juan Manuel de J. Escalante Project Source: http://www.realitat.com/microsonic/

8. 2 | Microsonic Landscapes

9. 2 | Microsonic Landscapes How was the data collected? Soundwaves were collected using a program Why was the data collected? What is interesting about the data? Seemingly, a series of spectrum-based soundwaves are swooped around to create tangible, circular shapes What stories about the urban dynamics can the collected data tell? Each mirco landscape proposes a new spatial journey that may be applied to urban dynamics What sort of questions about urban dynamics can be answered by looking at the data? By transforming the invisible sound data we are able to physically see something, by using sound data we can reveal processes that are not seen at first glance. How is the magnitude of the data is dealt with; limiting the collected data, limiting the dimensions in the data set, or abstracting the data? Limited to the sound clip

10. 2 | Microsonic Landscapes How are particular patterns highlighted through techniques for tagging the data in order of their importance? Different points of the sound data correspond to different heights, creating a unique pattern. How does the original question to be addressed operate as the benchmark for eliminating unnecessary details in the data? The pattern simplifies the complexity of a sound clip and provides a visual object Is the data of a static or dynamic nature? If dynamic, what is the frequency of change and what happens when it starts to change? Static Who is the target audience of the data presentation? The target audience is men and women around he ages of 18- 40 interested in music and design What are their goals when approaching the data presentation? What do they stand to learn? The goal is to explore and represent music, by transforming the soundwave into something visible.

11. 3 | blink(1) The goal of the fancy indicator light is to use color, brightness and blinking patterns to unobtrusively alert a person to a specific, predefined event Project Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thingm/blink1-the-usb-rgb-led

12. 3 | blink(1)

13. 3 | blink(1) How was the data collected? Collects data source in the cloud or on your computer  Why was the data collected? What is interesting about the data? The data indicates a change in status, there are many ways to represent this data, blink(1) attempts to do it in a way that is glanceable and unobtrusive. What stories about the urban dynamics can the collected data tell? This project can reveal the behavior of people and how they respond the status changes, whether they check it immediately or ignore it. What sort of questions about urban dynamics can be answered by looking at the data? Why some status updates have more importance that others. How is the magnitude of the data is dealt with; limiting the collected data, limiting the dimensions in the data set, or abstracting the data? Limited to the amount of programs the individual is running and what statuses the want indicated.

14. 3 | blink(1) How are particular patterns highlighted through techniques for tagging the data in order of their importance? Patterns can be highlighted as to which statuses are immediately looked at or ignored. How does the original question to be addressed operate as the benchmark for eliminating unnecessary details in the data? By simplifying and essential making all status changes the same, individuals aren’t forced to make decisions based on for example an obtrusive pop up window Is the data of a static or dynamic nature? If dynamic, what is the frequency of change and what happens when it starts to change? Dynamic, the rate of status updates indicated Who is the target audience of the data presentation? The target audience is men and women around he ages of 18- 40 interested in computers and multitasking What are their goals when approaching the data presentation? What do they stand to learn? The goal is to give the user a glanceable notice of anything on your computer or the internet

15. 4 | DisplayCabinet The aim of the project is to tackle turning data into information that’s easy to digest and act upon. They set out to avoid screens that draw focus and create a prototype “calm” projected display for the data created by, for and about the people, products and services that can be found in and around the home. Project Video: https://vimeo.com/22252022#at=0

16. 4 | DisplayCabinet

17. 4 | DisplayCabinet How was the data collected? They embedded objects with RFID tags Why was the data collected? What is interesting about the data? The data was collected so it could be processed and projected in a refined way, the data is about everyday things that we like to know about What stories about the urban dynamics can the collected data tell? This is interesting because we are augmenting physical objects with data, by doing so it is possible to think about what kinds of objects we can augment with data What sort of questions about urban dynamics can be answered by looking at the data? By looking at the data we can find the information that people care about at a quick glance How is the magnitude of the data is dealt with; limiting the collected data, limiting the dimensions in the data set, or abstracting the data? The data is limited by what you want to have displayed.

18. 4 | DisplayCabinet How are particular patterns highlighted through techniques for tagging the data in order of their importance? Patterns in what information people are looking at and how frequently they are looking at it. How does the original question to be addressed operate as the benchmark for eliminating unnecessary details in the data? By displaying what people want to see, unnecessary details are hidden Is the data of a static or dynamic nature? If dynamic, what is the frequency of change and what happens when it starts to change? Dynamic, as it changes somewhat frequently, for example displaying your bank account balance may change hourly to daily Who is the target audience of the data presentation? The target audience is men and women around he ages of 18- 40 interested in new technology What are their goals when approaching the data presentation? What do they stand to learn? The aim is to avoid traditional screens to communicate valuable data created for and about the people through electronically augmenting everyday objects

19. 5 | Pattern Matters Agraphic design project that consists of an elaborate collection of hand-made 3D infographics surrounding topics such as about Deaths Caused by HIV, Malaria, Suicide, Alcohol and Road Traffic, Energy of Worldwide of Oil, Gas and Coal, or the Frequency of Blood Groups in the Singapore Donor Population, next to alternative forms of calendars or typography. Project Source: http://www.pattern-matters.com/

20. 5 | Pattern Matters

21. 5 | Pattern Matters How was the data collected? Data is used from online sources Why was the data collected? What is interesting about the data? The data collected is interesting data that people want to know about but may be too complicated to understand in its current form. What stories about the urban dynamics can the collected data tell? This project reveals patterns that may be overshadowed by the amount at first glance. It can tell stories physically by comparing different patterns. What sort of questions about urban dynamics can be answered by looking at the data? Questions relating to population, time, and traffic can be answered by looking at the patterns created from the data How is the magnitude of the data is dealt with; limiting the collected data, limiting the dimensions in the data set, or abstracting the data? Limited to the amount of programs the individual is running and what statuses the want indicated.

22. 5 | Pattern Matters How are particular patterns highlighted through techniques for tagging the data in order of their importance? Patterns are highlighted physically, allowing people to touch and see patterns of data. How does the original question to be addressed operate as the benchmark for eliminating unnecessary details in the data? By looking at the pattern we can see trends quicker and possibly make estimations using them. Is the data of a static or dynamic nature? If dynamic, what is the frequency of change and what happens when it starts to change? Static Who is the target audience of the data presentation? The target audience is men and women around he ages of 18- 40 interested in data and design What are their goals when approaching the data presentation? What do they stand to learn? The main objective is to inspire designers to look at patterns in every possible angle. Pattern Matters also aims to demonstrate that pattern is a crucial form of design and isn’t just a mere decorating tool.