The Visualized Human Narrative:
An Emotional Approach to Data Visualization

Graphic Design / Data Visualization / Social Awareness / Installation / Flatbed Printing

This thesis focuses on making statistical information more emotionally grounded so that it further resonates with people. Data Visualization is a form of visual communication that needs human connectedness; therefore, we must perceive human needs and build a bridge between data visualization and our emotional senses through the development of more meaningful, data-driven, human narratives to arouse social awareness and solve social issues. Graphic Design has the power to bridge this gap.

This exploration will visually represent family-of-origin stories in an attempt to join data (which is compromised by plain numeric values) with emotions (which are charged human stories) in order to create a connection between the viewer and the information that is presented to them.

Starting Point:
As a member of Gen Z, I started categorizing all my beauty and personal care products into four parts: Personal Care, Skin Care, Cosmetics, Fragrances.
In the process, I discovered that I had a lot of duplicate and unused products. So I used the sink as a display plane and documented the unused products in the form
of photos. In sequence, I removed products never used, products only used once, products seldom used, and finally, only left products I use daily.

This exploration visually demonstrates my emotion-driven consumption style from the perspective of self-perception. The recording process as data allows me to observe my psychological and behavioral changes with a more objective view.

How could I combine big data and personal stories to reflect human life conditions? What is the metaphor?

Finding Metaphor:
I began to think about the connection between my upbringing and social phenomena: how society, family, and individuals influence each other. One of the most common phrases when I was growing up was "Don't let your child lose at the starting line."

This exploration shows my mind's journey from primary school to university as a narrative subject. The backpack is a metaphor for lack of sleep due to often heavy, intense school workload. The steep steps represent my life, and the continuous ascent. It is not that I will win if I jump the gun. Instead, I am getting more tired and unable to move forward. Other people's voices always remind me to win, take my time, and do what others can do. And my voice began to doubt itself incessantly.

Are our society's standards valid for individuals?
If the emotions affected in such an environment are abstract, what reflects individuals' physical state affected by typical social standards?

Final Visual Outcome

I used my body as a timeline to have self-talk by showing the scars on different parts of my body to talk about the changes in my
emotions. All the spots on my body are my left leg, right leg, abdomen, left arm, right arm, and chest. The scars on each part represent different emotions.

Left leg-NAIVE, right leg-FEAR, abdomen-POWERLESS, left arm-SHAME, right arm-NUMB, and chest-BREATHLESS. The memories are handwritten in Chinese, trying to bring out more human connectedness.

62*25 inches

I use my arm as a medium. It has always been a trace of memories that I wanted to hide. The work is about the vivid memories of my parents' demands on me while growing up. And my inner response to those words. The text follows the grid of the scar on my left arm. Each of the five fingers represents a different meaning, linking various aspects of our lives.

The first feminine finger represents parents, the index finger represents personality, the middle finger represents faith, the ring finger represents marriage, and the pinky finger represents ability.

34*62 inches

My mother and I have always ended up fighting in our communications. What is the conflict? What is the problem? I recorded one of our conversations. The conversation was 22 minutes and 53 seconds long. What is the gap between us? To get a more objective perspective on how we communicate, I decided to visualize it.

First, I transformed the recording into a soundwave. I used a red string to represent my mother and a black string to represent myself. In Chinese tradition, the red string represents blessing and good luck, representing an emotional attachment. An invisible string links the individual and the family. The child and the mother each pull on one side of the cord. Like most families of origin, both the child and the parent long for the love and understanding of the other. I use the tangled threads to represent the conflict that emerges in the conversation, and our relationship is like a tangled mess that cannot be cleaned up.

29*62 inches

This exploration attempts to create emotional resonance with the audience by visualizing more personal data stories under the family of origin issues, and it encompasses family relationships and self-awareness. By representing such personal, emotional, raw data through sensory visual mediums that take into account the context of the information and the delivery of said information, we can forge an immediate emotional connection with the viewer.

EXHIBITIONS:

I&WE Graduate Thesis Exhibition 2022| Savannah, Georgia
2022 SCAD Graphic Design Showcase | Savannah, Georgia
LIMINALITY 2022 AAA Exhibition | Online Gallery, WUKONG Media
WOMEN IN ART 2022 | Online Exhibition, Las Laguna Art Gallery
A LONG LINE | Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gallery 263

The Visualized Human Narrative: An Emotional Approach to Data Visualization

The Visualized Human Narrative:
An Emotional Approach to Data Visualization