Bodies of Empathy: A Data Driven Approach to Design
What if we could wear data? What if we could feel it?
Data can be too complex to understand. Not only can figures be overwhelming to consume, but pie charts and bar graphs can be so boring. By mapping data into the physical form of garments, “Bodies of Empathy” attempts to “humanize” data by bringing it back to the physical world and making it relatable to the people from whom it has been collected. Levering on the power of embodied experiences to connect data to real bodies, the data-based garments are aimed at inspiring empathy in wearers to improve emotional connectedness.
Read more about the thesis.
You have been rejected!
The audience is invited to embody data through fashion and wearable technology! Five corsets on display are available to try on. Each corset represents the study permit rejection rate of a continent of the world.
Mapping the Data
Each “corset” represents the average yearly study permit rejection rates by continent of birth provided by the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada). The rejection rate is mapped to the size and the kinetic movement of the “corset”. The higher the rejection rate, the bigger the “corset” and the faster the “ heartbeat.” The lower the rejection rate, the smaller the “corset” and the slower the “ heartbeat.” The overall rejection rate is considered as the “normal heartbeat.”
