Data: to wear, or not to wear?
As data gets increasingly intertwined with our lives, wearing data can become a possible future in the office as well as in society. However, when starting to wear data there matters like privacy issues come into play. What might be the social and individual effects when we start wearing data in a professional context? This study started with an auto-ethnographic study on wearing shape-changing wearables and data in the office, followed by the gathering of experiences and opinions of office workers and some students through a showroom approach. Concerns about the data and privacy, together with an interest in more personal fashion came across. Where the wearer, the data as well as the physicalization play part in the perception.
This study offers insights in the primary ethical, social, and individual boundaries of wearing data physicalized in shape-changing wearables. And with that, explores data through a different lense.
Details
Activity M1.2 – Research Project
Year 2021
Duration 20 weeks
Prototype 4 interactive wearables
Video Concept explanation
Paper publication Pending
Through sketching and brainstorming, an autoethnographic study, a continuum wearing user study, and a showroom user study I explored the effect of wearing data in the office environment. It was a challenging research project since this subject has not been done broadly. By combining knowledge from the Data Physicalization and the Wearable technologies sides, I was able to discover what it would be like if we added an additional (moving) layer to our wearables.
The paper I have been working on will be published here as well when I am allowed to. It is now pending to be submitted to a research conference.