To See/Be Seen

Data Visualization

Graduate Thesis, 2023


︎New York, NY

Since the supreme court legalized interracial marriages in the case of  Loving v. Virginia in 1967, the multiracial population has steadily increased and is now considered the largest growing demographic in America. But more often than not, mixed experiences go unseen or misrepresented.

Visualizing the need for multiracial representation in media & its impact on self-identity, To See/Be Seen is an explorative visual database that centers multiracial experiences in the media over the last 30 years. It gives a home to marginalized narratives through abstract data-driven 3D forms.

                                                     
Tools
Sketching                          
Excel
Observable
Three.js


Each form is encoded with data of a single media type from IMDb and sorted by keyword descriptors, above is TV shows. Through exploration, one can uncover stories where they can see themselves and be seen by others who’ve come to learn more about experiences beyond their own.
The black represents stories about multiracial experiences. The pink about all marginalized groups. And lastly, the form’s misty transparent white represents stories about the dominant culture - this layer can be interpreted as the foggy effect of assimilation. This cloud of white culture surrounds marginalized people in their everyday lives.


A keynote presentation that explores the project more in depth was delivered last May.

Watch Video Presentation ︎︎︎
Iterative sketching served to work through the 3D to 2D visualization concept. Three user experiences concepts were investigated: Semi-Guided (1), Fully Guided (2),and Explorative (3).
After prototyping and working with the data, the Explorative(3) experience was chosen as the best path forward for the project.


© 2024 Tatiana Kalainoff
Brooklyn, New York