Information Design students collaborate with Te Papa on big data

Design students used data from over 120,000 visitor responses to create visualisations and designs addressing environmental topics such as single-use plastics, myrtle rust, and genetic modification.

Screenshot of Te Au | The Current, 2023. Te Papa

This news is an excerpt from an article originally published on the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Blog.

Big data, big creativity: designers respond to what you told us

Te Papa Tongarewa’s Te Au | The Current is a forum for fresh ideas around Aotearoa New Zealand’s toughest environmental challenges. It is a part of Te Taiao | Nature and aims to collect and reflect diverse opinions that could spark real-world change. All anonymous responses are shared with researchers via data.govt.nz. Te Papa visitors have now submitted over 120,000 responses on more than 20 different environmental issues.

So, how do we present all this data in interesting ways?

Te Papa Tongarewa got in touch with tertiary education providers around the country, inviting students and researchers to explore ways of visualising and re-presenting visitor responses, and to look at future ways for visitors to take part in discussion and share perspectives across museum exhibitions and online experiences.

Below is a selection of responses by Information Design students from the Te Kura Hoahoa—School of Design Innovation at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, led by lecturer Dr. Dana Fridman.

Each student chose a topic from Te Au | The Current to research and design for.

Ban all single-use plastics

FACT: New Zealand creates more plastic waste per person than most other countries—36% more than Australia (Source: Royal Society Te Apārangi).

IDEA: New Zealand should ban all single-use plastics by 2025.

QUESTION: How do you feel about this idea?

Student: Jane Abraham, Bachelor of Design Innovation majoring in Communication Design, School of Design Innovation, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Jane Abraham’s visualisations aim to communicate, inspire, and motivate action from the public against single-use plastics.

“YYYYY”
“Consumer choice. (Specific regional, age, and emotion data alongside personal waste statistics.)”
“YYYYY”
“These are data visualisations I completed using Te Papa’s Te Au | The Current data. The visualisations aim to communicate, inspire, and illicit action from the public against single use plastics.”
“YYYYY”
“Visualisations aimed to communicate, inspire, and illicit action from the public against single use plastics.”
“YYYYY”
“I organised the data to understand and analyse any relevant trends. Using colour maps I coded the values to communicate emotional responses. It aimed to visualise the gradient evolution of changing our angry outlook to hopeful.”
“YYYYY”
“Breaking down the national plastic system statistics. (New Zealand’s regional emotional averages, and national plastic waste flows.)”

Pōhutukawa and myrtle rust

FACT: Your garden can harbour myrtle rust, a fast-spreading fungal disease that is harming myrtle plants like pōhutukawa and mānuka, and could wipe out ramarama. (Source: Manaaki Whenua)

IDEA: To protect myrtles like pōhutukawa in their natural setting, we should not plant any myrtles in our gardens.

QUESTION: How do you feel about this idea?

Student: Khai Sheak, Bachelor of Design Innovation majoring in Interaction Design, School of Design Innovation, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Khai Sheak designed ways to visualise and navigate visitor comments, as well as provide more information to visitors about this topic.

“YYYYY”
“The final design. Includes ‘Learning about myrtle and myrtle rust’, ‘Data statistics for each emotion’, ‘Data visualisation for each emotion’.”
“YYYYY”
“Taking a trip down to Te Papa to get some visual inspirations and extra knowledge. Noting down interesting things and interactions I could use in my visualisation.”
“YYYYY”
“Rough concept drawing to get ideas on how to represent the data.”
“YYYYY”
“Further development potential exhibitions. I focused on differentiating what myrtle rust is and its behaviour. I ended up focusing on the kiosk display that could control a light show.”

Genetically modify wasps

FACT: Introduced wasps are a significant pest that harm our native birds and insects and threaten human health and recreation. (Source: Department of Conservation)

IDEA: To control wasps in Aotearoa New Zealand, we should consider using gene editing instead of poison.

QUESTION: How do you feel about this idea?

Student: Lucy Woodall, Bachelor of Design Innovation majoring in Communication Design, School of Design Innovation, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Lucy Woodall’s concept is embodied by an interactive design for sorting and exploring visitor responses and engaging with further information about the topic question.

“YYYYY”
“Final output. These designs complement and work with the physical interactive structure. The top row is a kiosk view, and the bottom is the projection displayed on the large wing walls. There is a direct correlation between the two. The circles merge like focusing a lens and emphasise togetherness, reacting with the action of the participant.”
“YYYYY”
“Approach to research. Journey and reflection – design that encourages collaboration and participation. It’s important to maintain easy user-experience and to understand how to emphasise, educate, and create clear guidance. Both Andres Clerici and Biomuseo: Panama focus on using media displays to communicate an immersive sensory perspective using kaleidoscopic visuals of interactive personalised databases of information.”
“YYYYY”
“Exploration. This was some exploration of some conceptual ideas. The leading motifs revolved around the physical aspects of wasps to have a structure that visually complimented the info-graphic data. ‘Spread your wings’, ‘Tunnel Vision’, and ‘The Greenhouse’ were three brainstorms which helped to form and collaborate with each other for the final output.”
“YYYYY”
“The Greenhouse. An ever-changing garden of information and growth: The Greenhouse. It carves the space through circular symbolism and creates a lens to display the reflective aspects of this survey response. The glowing strings representing DNA, the glass wall reflecting the viewer. The space is constantly renewing and transforming itself based on the participant.”
Student: Sophia Sipos, Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Communication Design and Marketing, School of Design Innovation, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Sophia Sipos’s designs aim to educate and support New Zealanders through the unpredictability of our future towards more hopeful and optimistic perspectives.

“YYYYY”
“The user is given the opportunity to read more about the topic and reflect on whether the information makes them more or less optimistic for the future. It also allows the public to connect and collaborate in discussion, strengthening the sense of community and support.”
“YYYYY”
“The concept I developed was an interactive model that dives deeper into the complexities of Te Au | The Current topics that would be positioned next to Te Au | The Current in Te Papa. The model allows users to understand more about the specific concerns, improving the sense of validation and support in their views.”
“YYYYY”
“After analysing the data sets collected from Te Au | The Current, I identified a common sense of uncertainty and concern for the future. I wanted to approach this project by educating, and supporting New Zealanders through the unpredictability of our future, in hopes that their views become more hopeful and optimistic.”
“YYYYY”
“After receiving feedback from tutors and peers I further developed the concept to improve aesthetic usability and interactivity.”
“YYYYY”
“The final prototype takes the user through an interactive, story-telling journey.”

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