Visualizing impact assessment data: each node represents a dataset, showing connections and patterns through layout and color.
How do you take complex data and make it understandable through art and play?
Mapping Impacts was a hands-on workshop that explored exactly that. Participants spent a few hours learning to load, manipulate, and explore real datasets through interactive, arts-based digital tools. Using visualization, layout, interface design, and sound, they experimented with ways to make information approachable, engaging, and meaningful.
During this week’s arts workshop, participants were introduced to basic UI/UX concepts. They saw how interface layout, color, navigation, and interaction affected the way people read, interpreted, and responded to data. Experimenting with these elements, they learned how design choices influenced understanding and guided attention—skills that are directly applicable to communicating complex information.
This was more than just a creative arts workshop. Participants also explored how to visualize impact assessment data, helping them understand and communicate environmental, nuclear, and community perspectives. The activities provided insight into how complex projects are structured, how different types of information connect, and how data can be used to tell meaningful stories.
Adding Sound and Effects
Sound and visual design were key tools in the workshop. As participants interacted with data, audio cues and visual feedback highlighted patterns, connections, and areas that required closer attention. These elements guided exploration, supported learning, and encouraged creative thinking about how information could be communicated.
The workshop encouraged experimentation and play. Participants discovered patterns, tested ideas, and explored how complex datasets could be presented in new ways. By the end, they gained hands-on experience combining data, design, and sound to create interactive, arts-based visualizations, building both digital literacy and a deeper understanding of communicating complex information.
It was also fun!
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